Bringing two banks together

Loretta George/Tribune photo Patrick Alexander is the Chairman of the Board of Landmark National Bank. Alexander is working to assimilate Citizens National Bank into the Landmark culture, he said.

After more than 100 years providing banking services in Fort Scott, Citizens National Bank merged with Landmark National Bank on Nov. 1. With that merger came a new leader for the bank.

Patrick Alexander, 61, the Chairman of the Board of Landmark, said the merger appealed to Landmark because of Citizens Bank's reputation.

"One of the key elements that attracted us to Citizens Bank in Fort Scott was the outstanding reputation that Citizens had and the leadership role which it played within the community," Alexander said. "Citizens also was an outstanding corporate citizen and played a key role in providing both financial services and community leadership. We plan on building on those strengths and continuing to provide the services and leadership that the community came to rely upon from the institution."

While he said it is unsettling to have the signs change on a longtime business, "We are hoping to earn the Fort Scott community's trust that the change will not adversely impact Fort Scott and may even bring some additional benefits to the community."

Alexander's duties as chairman of the board include absorbing the two banks into one cultural body.

"My primary responsibilities at this time are to oversee the assimilation of the Citizens organization into the Landmark organization and Landmark culture," Alexander said. "At the same time I am heavily involved in the strategic planning process within Landmark and have been charged with exploring additional opportunities for growth for the Landmark franchise. I am also actively involved in customer recruitment and business development. I act as a liaison between our management team and the board of directors," he said.

Alexander said he gains satisfaction from his job.

"It has been quite gratifying to see our organization grow over the past two-plus decades and continue to thrive and prosper when so many community banks are struggling with the difficult economy and regulatory burden. However, the most rewarding aspect of my job is assisting and providing the services that our customers need for their families to grow and to help our business customers meet their financial challenges in order for their businesses to grow and prosper."

Alexander started his career in banking in 1972, working part-time while a student at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, his hometown.

After graduating, he remained at the bank, First National Bank (FNB) of Lawrence, as the manager of retail banking and was also a commercial lender. Twelve years later he was asked by ownership of the bank to relocate to Manhattan, where he oversaw Kansas State Bank of Manhattan which had recently been purchased by FNB. In 1990, Alexander took the position of president and CEO of Manhattan Savings and Loan Association.

"In January 1993, Manhattan Savings and Loan became the first healthy savings and loan in the country to do a simultaneous mutual-to-stock and bank-to-thrift conversion," Alexander said. "The resulting organization, Manhattan National Bank, became publicly traded on NASDAQ. We successfully worked to continue to grow the bank throughout the 1990s. In 2001, we merged into Landmark Bankshares, Inc. and changed our name to Landmark National Bank."

At that time he was president and chief executive officer, and Landmark was located in nine communities with a total of about $250 million in assets.

"We continued to grow throughout the state of Kansas and with the Citizens Bank merger we now have approximately $830 million in assets with 30 locations in 23 communities across the state of Kansas," he said. "In May 2013, I was appointed Chairman of the Board of Landmark National Bank and its holding company, Landmark Bancorp, Inc."

In Fort Scott there are 33 associates employed at Landmark National Bank. These employees will continue to provide community banking services for Fort Scott, Alexander said.

"We expect our associates to provide civic leadership in the many great organizations that are serving the community," Alexander said.

Landmark National Bank will continue to focus on growth, "but in a manner that allows us to maintain our traditions of community banking with a personal touch," he said.

Alexander's family consists of his fiancé, Teri Buek; his son, Michael and Michael's wife, Melissa; and two grandchildren, Vivian and Grayson.