The Community Bankers of Michigan (CBM) elected James North to serve as Chairman of the Board during the Association’s 46th year of service to the Michigan Community Banking Industry. North took the gavel for the coming year, September 27th, at the association’s Annual Convention held at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Traverse City.
North is President and Chief Executive Officer of First National Bank of St. Ignace, in St. Ignace, Michigan. Jim is the son of the late Michigan State Senator Walter North and his wife Sally. He was raised in St. Ignace, where he graduated from LaSalle High School. He received his degree from Western Michigan University (WMU). Jim currently serves on the Mackinac Straits Area Health Board as Treasurer and as Chairman of the Board of the City of St. Ignace Downtown Development Authority. He is also active in several other community organizations including the local Kiwanis Club. Mr. North and his wife, Kim, have four children and enjoy school sporting activities, boating and camping.
Jim has worked at First National Bank of St. Ignace for the past 21 years. He was initially hired as CEO at the age of 34 and became President in 2001. North has been serving the banking industry for over 30 years.
“We are delighted to have Jim North as our chairman in 2019-2020. Jim is an outstanding banker who has been very active advocating for the banking industry and the interests of the customers and communities our banks serve, both in Lansing and in Washington, D.C. He is a very engaged community leader in St. Ignace, Mackinac Island, Mackinaw City and surrounding communities. He has been a great board member for many years and will be an exceptional chairman for CBM. ” said Michael J. Tierney, CBM President and Chief Executive Officer.
“It is an honor and privilege to be elected to this position, and I take very seriously the important work of advancing the interests of community banks across Michigan”, said Jim North.
He added “Community banks are the pulse of the communities they serve, and the income taxes those same banks pay go to support schools, law enforcement, and other vital emergency services in Michigan.”
In addition to Mr. North, the CBM elected the following officers to one-year terms. Michael J. Burke, Jr., President and COO, Lakestone Bank & Trust, Lapeer, was named Chair-Elect; Mishelle Comstock, President and CEO, Shelby State Bank, Shelby, was selected as Vice Chairman; and David C. Williams, President and CEO, Upper Peninsula State Bank, Escanaba was selected to be Secretary-Treasurer. Michael J. Tierney, President and Chief Executive Officer of the CBM remains in his post as head of the Association.
The following community bankers will serve as members of the CBM’s board of directors during the coming year:
Robert Wolak, SVP, Commercial Lending of State Savings Bank, Caro
Cortney Collison, President/CEO, Union Bank, Lake Odessa
Douglas J. Ouellette, Chief Community Banking Officer, Mercantile Bank of Michigan, Mt. Pleasant
Mark Kolanowski, President/CEO, Highpoint Community Bank, Hastings
Robert Fisher, President/CEO, Lake-Osceola State Bank, Baldwin
Shelly Brooks, President/CEO, Mayville State Bank, Mayville
Julie Goll, President/CEO, Blissfield State Bank, Blissfield
Jae Evans, CEO, Isabella Bank, Mt. Pleasant
Tim Ward, CEO, Eastern Michigan Bank, Croswell
Eugene Lovell, President/CEO, First State Bank, St. Clair Shores
Jeffrey Kopelman, President/CEO, Main Street Bank, Bingham Farms
Doug Ouellette, Chief Community Banking Officer of the Mercantile Bank of Michigan in Mt. Pleasant will also serve as the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) State Director for Michigan’s community banks.
Officers of the Michigan Community Bankers Service Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of the CBM are; Chairman, Kevin Collison, President and CEO, Commercial Bank, Ithaca; President, Michael J. Tierney.
The Michigan Community Bankers Service Co. (MCBS) Board consists of Dan Bitzer, President/CEO, First National Bank of Michigan in Kalamazoo; Ben Schott, President/CEO, Thumb Bank & Trust, Pigeon; Stefanie Kimball, EVP, Chief Risk Officer, Independent Bank, Troy; D. Scott Hines, President/CEO Kalamazoo County State Bank, Schoolcraft; Bill Hufnagel, President/CEO, Dart Bank, Mason; Kelly Potes, President/CEO, ChoiceOne Bank, Sparta; Gary Sharp, President/CEO of Old Mission Bank, Sault Ste. Marie and Debbie Cunningham, President/CEO of Northstar Bank, Bad Axe.
The Community Bankers of Michigan is a 250-member trade association serving community banks, and their financial services partners, throughout Michigan, headquartered in East Lansing, Michigan.
