Pub. 8 2019 Issue 4

l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s 6 “It became apparent to me after talking with entrepreneurs that support for the bank would be there, so I began to focus on the organizers who would ultimately become our board of directors. We invested seed capital, we put together the business plan and offering documents, and began putting the application together all the while raising capital from friends, family, and members of the local community. Three- hundred sixty-four days after, our charter was approved by the state. We opened our doors on June 19, 2006, in a double-wide trailer with five people; today we have 30. We have great shareholders, customers and employees,” said Knutson. Knutson was not politically active until about 2010 when he had to get involved to protect the investors. Knutson was appointed to the State Banking Board in 2011 and he was reappointed in 2013 and again in 2017. He also began to get actively involved with the KBA, serving on the board, as Chairman of the State Affairs Committee and as a member of the Federal Affairs Committee. “The dedicated professionals working on our behalf at the Kansas Bankers Association and the bankers volunteering their time to make our industry better was an inspiration to me as we went through one of the worst periods of time for banking in my Kurt with 2018 Corporate Finance Academy interns. Baseball coach Knutson rallying his team. The Knutsons - Jack, Leanne, Katie and Kurt. Knutson teaching the Global Business Class at Center for Advanced Professional Studies. lifetime. It is an honor and a privilege to serve as the KBA’s Chairman and work alongside so many talented people,” said Knutson. “The association plays a very important role in our industry, from advocacy both at the state and federal levels, to talent training and development, to aiding in keeping us compliant with the myriad of regulations. Kansas banks are the lifeblood of the Kansas economy,” added Knutson. Financial literacy is a passion for Knutson and Freedom Bank. The bank became actively involved with the Blue Valley School District. Freedom Bank was the first home to the Global Business class of the Center for Advanced Professional Studies CAPS. Knutson has taught many CAPS classes and worked with the CAPS students on financial literacy courses that were taught by CAPS students to other district students. Freedom Bank has raised thousands of dollars for the Blue Valley Educational Foundation and Blue Valley high schools along the way. Those activities have led to the formation of the Freedom Founders Forward Foundation (Four F). One of the elements of the Foundation, the Corporate Finance Academy was established in 2017. The Corporate Finance Academy is a nine- week paid internship that is designed to provide insights to business students (college juniors and seniors) with the complementary skills of common sense, people sense and street smarts in an active and positive real-world environment. One of the Strategic Initiatives of the KBA for 2020 is to actively educate and promote the banking industry to improve the industry’s image to aid in the recruitment of future bankers. “We have seen that students aren’t considering a career in banking because they haven’t been exposed to the many positives the industry has to offer – they have just heard so many negatives about banks and banking from the financial crisis that it isn’t on their radar as a career. Once they are exposed to the many aspects of banking, we have found that they become very interested in banking as a career,” said Knutson. In his spare time while the bank was being formed (sounds like an oxymoron), until about five years ago, Knutson was actively involved in youth sports coaching baseball, football and girls basketball. “I wanted to be involved with my kids and their friends, because you never get that time of your life back. People asked how I found the time to do that while starting a bank. Everything is a choice, and I wanted to be involved, so sleep was sacrificed. It was a wonderful experience getting to know great young people,” said Knutson. He now enjoys “low-key” golf with Leanne (and Katie and Jack as well, when all of the schedules line up).