Why Personal Relationships Matter More Than Ever in Community Banking

I was born and raised in Center, Colorado, and I spent my youth working in the fields of the San Luis Valley. Those early years taught me the value of hard work, knowing the people you serve, understanding their struggles, and being present when it matters most.

After 11 years with First Southwest Bank, I've come to believe that in our increasingly digital world, personal relationships in banking aren't just nice to have, they're essential. And they're becoming rarer by the day.

We live in an age where most people do their banking through apps and automated phone systems. When customers do call for help, they're often routed to call centers in other states or even other countries, speaking with representatives who've never set foot in Colorado, let alone understand the unique challenges of agricultural life in the San Luis Valley.

Don't get me wrong, technology has its place. Community banks like First Southwest Bank offer all the products, services, and digital tools that larger national banks provide. We have a mobile app, online banking, and modern payment systems. But the key difference is that it's personal. When our customers call, they speak with someone on our team in Alamosa and when they walk through our doors, we know their names. And that matters.

I try to maintain a simple philosophy: relationship over transaction. Banking is more than just money, it's about trust, stability, and long-term partnerships with our customers and our team.

Sometimes I'll meet with a customer and we won't discuss banking at all. Instead, we'll talk about their kids' sports, their recent vacation, or how the growing season is shaping up. Some bankers might see this as wasted time, but I see it as the foundation of genuine service. I pride myself on being an all-around banker, helping customers with all their financial needs, not just their loans.

I remember one customer I started working with back in 2014. He was buying his first semi-truck, a big step for him. Over the years, I've watched him grow that single truck into a fleet of five, then expand into land purchases, farming operations, and equipment acquisitions. What began as a one-truck operation has blossomed into a thriving trucking and farming business.

Stories like that are why I love what I do. Watching businesses and families grow, being part of their journey, that's what keeps me here. These aren't just account numbers to me. They're people I've known for years, whose children I've watched grow up, whose struggles and successes I've shared.

In an increasingly digital world, physical presence has become more powerful because it's increasingly rare. When you show up at someone's business in person, you're investing your most precious resource - time. That communicates something no email, text, or phone call can: you matter enough for me to be here.

I make it a point to visit my customers. These in-person meetings give me insights I could never gain from a loan application or even a phone conversation. And for them, it reinforces that their banker isn't some distant corporation, but a neighbor who understands their world because I'm part of it too.

Trust is the cornerstone of any banking relationship, and trust isn't built through automated messages or scripted phone calls. It's built through consistency, reliability, and genuine care for your customers' wellbeing and success.

At First Southwest Bank, we serve multiple generations of the same families, and we'll continue to do so in years to come. This multigenerational approach creates a depth of understanding that benefits everyone. We know family histories, business patterns, and long-term goals in ways that larger institutions simply cannot match.

This is what relationship banking means: prioritizing personal service, attention to detail, and prompt action for customers. It ties directly into our core value of "People First"—and in my experience, you can't put people first if you don't actually know them.

I often hear from customers who've tried banking with larger institutions. They tell me about being shuffled between departments, repeating their information to multiple representatives, or waiting days for callbacks from people who don't understand their business. Then they tell me how different it feels to walk into our bank and be greeted by name, to sit down and have a real conversation with someone who knows their history and understands their needs.

Exceptional service, in my view, is about how you make customers feel. Do they feel valued? Understood? Heard? Or do they feel like just another account number in a massive system?

I treat every customer as a priority, no matter how big or small their relationship with us might be. I try to make every experience easy, positive, and memorable. And I aim to be the kind of banker I would want to deal with—someone who listens, who cares, and who's genuinely invested in my success.

As our world becomes more automated and impersonal, as more interactions happen through screens and algorithms, the human touch becomes even more valuable. Community banks offer something that's increasingly hard to find: personalized service that can't be matched by larger financial institutions.

We have our customers' and our community's best interests at heart, not because it's a corporate slogan, but because these are our neighbors, our friends, and often our family members. Their success is our success. Their struggles affect us too.

Great customer service isn't a one-time act; it's a journey. And it's a journey best taken alongside people who know you, understand your community, and have a genuine stake in your success.

My career at First Southwest Bank has taken me from teller in 2014, to loan assistant in 2015, to portfolio manager in 2021-22, to senior portfolio manager in 2024, and now to agricultural lender in 2025. Every step has deepened my appreciation for relationship banking and reinforced my belief that personal connections matter more than ever.

In a fast-paced, increasingly digital world, I'm proud to offer something different: a banking relationship built on trust, knowledge, and genuine personal connection. Because at the end of the day, banking isn't really about money, it's about people. And people deserve a banker who knows their name, understands their challenges, and shows up when it matters.