Springfield Business Journal_2020-08-28

SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL | ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT G I V I N G A DV I S E R S R E G E N T B A N K A D D R E S S 32 7 1 E B att l e f i e l d Rd . S u i te 1 0 0 S p r i n g f i e l d , M O 65 8 0 4 P H O N E 41 7. 8 8 6 .1 3 3 0 W E B S I T E www. re g e nt . b a n k TO P E X EC U T I V E S M i c k N i t s c h , S p r i n g f i e l d M a r ket P re s i d e nt K i m C a s h , V P/ D i re cto r o f Tre a s u r y S e r v i ce s N i c B u r l i s o n , V P/Co m m e rc i a l Le n d e r This year as the COVID-19 pandemic struck we were holding weekly marketing meetings discuss- ing the campaign originally scheduled to roll out over the summer. Then we asked the question, “What if instead, we take this money and use it to help in a time so many people are hurting?” Nonprofits struggle financially in good times and we were struck by how this crisis would certainly hurt them even more. Standing behind our core value “Show You Care” we decided that we wanted to repurpose our $50,000 marketing budget to nonprofits in our five markets. We asked nonprofits to submit stories of what they were doing during COVID-19 to help their commu- nity. An independent panel reviewed 700 submis- sions, picking the two that seemed to be doing the most good with even more limited resources than usual. Top prize was $15,000, second prize was $10,000. Then we opened up our social media channels for nominations of other nonprofits. Votes were tallied and the top five received $5,000 each. Not only did we give these seven organizations much needed financial help, the social media contest brought awareness to so many nonprof- its. We reached a quarter of a million people and received 7,000 comments across all platforms. Those organizations that didn’t receive money got the benefit of having their organization in the spotlight, which we hope greatly benefited them as well. Selling is second at Regent Bank. Before we even discuss products, we talk about how we can give back to the communities we serve. We encourage employee engagement in local charitable orga- nizations, with several of us serving on nonprofit boards. We are always proud to work with nonprofits because we know we can achieve greatness when we all work together. It felt good to help nonprofits that were already hubs in their communities but were going above and beyond during this time of crisis. This project was a much better use of our marketing dollars. We always lead with giving in mind and we always will. Sincerely, Mitchell Nitsch Springfield Market President P u t t i n g O u r M o n e y W h e r e O u r M o u t h I s Nic Burlison (Left) VP/Commercial Lender | Mick Nitsch (center) Springfield Market President | Kim Cash (right) VP/Director of Treasury Services 8 2020 GIVING GUIDE