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Brian Marshall, BCL of Texas director of
                                                                                                                           entrepreneurship; Rosa Ríos Valdez, BCL of
                                                        Community Banks                                                   Texas CEO; Dick Wosniak of the Wharton Tractor
                                                                                                                          Company; and David Brennan of Extraco Banks
                                                        Help Bring Relief

                                                        for Hurricane-
                                                        Struck Businesses
                                                        In Wharton
                                                          n all the headlines about destruc-
                                                        Ition and rebuilding in the wake
                                                        of Hurricane Harvey, one narrative
                                                        has been virtually ignored: the
                                                        small Texas towns outside of the
                                                        Houston area that are dealing with
                                                        the same devastating impacts as
                                                        the metropolitan area, but with   With City of Wharton leadership   ber bank. Most of the small, local
                                                        less infrastructure, less national   represented on BCL’s board, the   businesses affected by this disaster
                                                        attention and less support.       company knew the community        lacked such connections, as well as
                                                           Wharton, Texas, about 60 miles   well. Working with the Wharton   the expertise to navigate the appli-
                                                        southwest of Houston, is one such   Economic Development team, BCL   cation process. BCL helped by lever-
                                                        town. An estimated 60 percent or   helped bring much-needed grant   aging connections between business
                                                        more of the residents had flood wa-  funds to the Wharton-area busi-  owners and sponsoring banks.
                                                        ter in their homes or on their prop-  nesses that experienced flooding   Fortunately, BCL partner banks
                                                        erties in this city of less than 10,000.   during Hurricane Harvey.  stepped up to help, too. First Na-
                                                        Countless businesses were damaged.   Another important piece in this   tional Bank of Eagle Lake, Extraco
                                                        During tough times such as these,   recovery effort was the community   Banks and Woodforest Nation-
                                                        businesses need urgent support and   banks. The Federal Home Loan   al Bank all sponsored affected
                                                        it takes solid leaders to step up.  Bank (FHLB) offered $15,000 grants   businesses. In total, partner banks
                                                           BCL of Texas, an economic      for businesses to rebuild. However,   sponsored $220,000 in grants that
                                                        development firm with offices in   to be eligible, businesses had to   were awarded to recovering Whar-
                                                        Austin and Dallas, did just that.   be sponsored by an FHLB-mem-    ton businesses.
                                                                                                                               “We know the Wharton com-
                                                                                                                            munity and are committed to its
                                                        IBAT Marketing Acquires Bankers Digest                              local recovery,” says Rosa Ríos
                                                                                                                            Valdez, BCL’s president and CEO.
                                                          BAT Marketing Inc. acquired Bankers Digest earlier this year. It has been   “We’re honored to have the oppor-
                                                        I published weekly since 1942 and covers Southwest banking industry   tunity to help where the need is so
                                                        news in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico and   great, and to provide value to the
                                                        Mississippi.                                                        communities we serve.”
                                                           “We are dedicated to maintaining
                                                        Bankers Digest’s content elements that
                                                        have made it one of the most reliable                               Moody Bank
                                                        and widely read publications through-
                                                        out the Southwest,” says IBAT’s Chris                               Rolls Out Rebrand
                                                        Williston. “We have given our assur-                                     oody National Bank has re-
                                                        ances that the publication will remain                              Mbranded to reflect the bank’s
                                                        devoted to all banking news and open                                services, goals and values. Founded
                                                        to all advertisers—exactly the way it                               in Galveston in 1907, Moody Bank
                                                        currently is published.”                                            has grown to serve the greater
                                                           Banks are encouraged to continue                                 Houston, Galveston and Central
                                                        forwarding news of employee and                                     Texas regions with new products,
                                                        officer promotions, merger-and-acqui-                               services and technologies.
                                                        sition announcements, new locations                                    “Our research confirms that
                                                        and other pertinent bank news to                                    our customers count on us for the
                                                        [email protected].                                    personal service of a community


                                                      14 | THE TEXAS INDEPENDENT BANKER
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