Heart of the Flathead
Welcome to the Heart of the Flathead, where we sit down with the change-makers, the unsung heroes, and the everyday folks who give this place its pulse. If you live here, love here, or just want to know what makes Kalispell and the Valley tick—you’re in the right place.
Heart of the Flathead, is produced by David Wigginton, in partnership with LeftBrainRightBrain Marketing. Listeners can find the podcast online at HeartoftheFlathead.com and LeftBrainRightBrain Marketing at lbrbm.com. The content for Heart of the Flathead podcasts and any show notes and transcripts are copyrighted by David Wigginton. All rights are reserved. Reproduction and rebroadcasting, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without written permission. Contact David Wigginton by clicking the Send Us a Text link at the top of the episode description.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or production team. Appearance on the show does not constitute an endorsement of any goods, services, or opinions discussed. This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional, legal, medical, or financial advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on the content of this show.
Heart of the Flathead
Banking on Community
Mike Smith, Market President of Glacier Bank, joins the inaugural episode of Heart of the Flathead to share his journey from a blue-collar upbringing in Wisconsin to becoming a key financial leader in the Flathead Valley. Since moving to Kalispell in 2006, Mike has navigated the challenges of the Great Recession, mortgage lending, and community growth while helping shape Glacier Bank’s strong civic presence. With a commitment to supporting 75% of the nonprofits in the Great Fish Community Challenge and fostering a culture of volunteerism among employees, Mike underscores the bank’s guiding principle: “Our customers don’t care how smart we are as bankers until they know how much we care about them.”
The conversation also explores Mike’s thoughtful take on balancing economic growth with the preservation of the valley’s natural beauty and character. He addresses urgent challenges like rising property taxes, digital fraud, and the fraying of community connections—calling for more collaboration and civility between long-time locals and newcomers alike. Capping off the episode with personal reflections and lessons learned, Mike shares his hope to be remembered as someone “whose actions made a difference”—a fitting message for a series devoted to the people helping shape the heart of the Flathead.
Heart of the Flathead is sponsored by:
Heart of the Flathead, is produced by David Wigginton, in partnership with LeftBrainRightBrain Marketing. Listeners can find the podcast online at HeartoftheFlathead.com and LeftBrainRightBrain Marketing at lbrbm.com. The content for Heart of the Flathead podcasts and any show notes and transcripts are copyrighted by David Wigginton. All rights are reserved. Reproduction and rebroadcasting, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without written permission. Contact David Wigginton by clicking the Send Us a Text link at the top of the episode description.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or production team. Appearance on the show does not constitute an endorsement of any goods, services, or opinions discussed. This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional, legal, medical, or financial advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on the content of this show.
Welcome to the Heart of the Flathead, where we sit down with the changemakers, the unsung heroes and everyday folks who give this place its pulse. If you live here, love here or just want to know what makes Kalispell and the Valley tick, you're in the right place. And now here's your host, dave Wiginton.
Speaker 2:Welcome everybody to Heart of the Flathead and I'm excited to introduce our guest today, mike Smith, market president of Glacier Bank. Mike, thanks for joining us today. You are actually the inaugural guest on the Heart of the Flathead, so we're grateful for your willingness to be on here today and thanks for chatting with us.
Speaker 3:Well, dave, thanks for the opportunity. It was good to get to know you a little bit better a few weeks ago. Hopefully, I will answer all your questions in a timely manner.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Thank you Well again for everybody that's new to the podcast. This is something that we want to interview the change makers and the impact makers in our community and Mike is a member of the Glacier Bank. Leadership and is a member of some nonprofit organizations in our community is a great place for us to start. So, mike, why don't we just start getting to know you a little bit? Maybe tell us a little about where you're from, a little bit about your life's journey and how you got to where you are today?
Speaker 3:I originally am from River Falls, wisconsin, so that today is a suburb of St Paul, minneapolis, very blue collar rural community. Big employers in that area were Anderson Windows. My family all worked for 3M so I learned what hard work means. My dad worked four shifts, so that means you're working every week and you might get two days off a month and that's kind of what I learned about work ethics. So he was a great role model.
Speaker 3:So after high school I went to college in my hometown for a few years and then off to Minnesota at St Cloud State, then moved to Colorado after graduating from St Cloud State and from there I was in the mortgage industry. I had an uncle who had a mortgage company there and that was in 1985. I met my wife and we relocated to Kalispell in 2006. At the time we had two three-year-olds and a two-year-old and thought this is a great place to raise our family. My wife is a fifth generation Montanan so you know she tries to tell me I can't ride in her coattails, but you know we're very passionate about Montana. So and you know from there, that's when Glacier Bank hired me was in 2006. So that very blessed to move up here and we've enjoyed all the outdoor activities as we raised our kit, and now it's just Kirsten and me as we look to the future.
Speaker 2:Great, well, we're glad you're here and maybe you can give us a little bit of an overview of your journey within Glacier Bank, because you didn't come. My understanding is you didn't come here as the market president. You came in. I think the mortgage Correct. Is that right?
Speaker 3:Yeah, my background in Colorado was mortgage banking and so I was hired in 2006 to be the real estate manager, so really to focus on mortgage lending construction lending and really did that from 2006 to 2020. So I was able to learn really the hard part of banking and the great recession. That was a very tough time because a lot of people were struggling with payments and values that were well below what their mortgage balances were. In 2020, Bob Nystuen retired. He was the former president of Glacier Bank. I was fortunate enough to replace Bob and I was fortunate enough to replace Bob. So I've been in essentially the president's world market president role since late 2020. Effective date would probably be January 2021.
Speaker 2:It's a great journey. So Glacier Bank obviously is an institution here in the Flathead Valley. It's been around for decades and I know there's lots of grandparents that have owned, or still own shares in the bank stock. Maybe give us an idea. What is Glacier Involvement apart from its core business? I know I see they sponsor a lot of different things. How does Glacier Bank contribute and participate in our community here?
Speaker 3:Great question, dave. Again back to the basics of our business plan and then I'll answer your question. But really we focus on three things. One is we gather deposits, so we really try to protect our customers' money. We obviously are very active in lending. And the third prong is community spirit, and so our team is very active with donating their time outside the bank. You know we sponsor a lot of the community events. You know their banquets, dinners, races, you name it. You know we're we're very active. But you know the other thing our, our team does a great job at is, you know, just out, donating their time.
Speaker 3:So you know, one of our big initiatives is around kids, and so we teach kids to save in all the elementary schools and some of the high schools and it's really fun to you know to see how that, what that impact has with the kids and really all the nonprofits that we support. You know we're active through the Great Fish campaign that's going on right now. I think there's 80 nonprofits. Glacier Bank has donated to 60 of those. So you think about that, 75% of them, and some are smaller, some are larger. This goes back to the beginning of Glacier Bank. But our focus is our customers really don't care how smart we are as bankers until they know how much we care about them. And so that's what we talk a lot about behind closed doors at Glacier Bank is are we making a difference in the community? I mean, it's certainly easy to write checks Obviously we have to be successful financially but really it's also donating that time. You know our actions speak for. You know what's important to us and what the impact we have in the community.
Speaker 2:That's pretty amazing. So Glacier Bank donates to 60 of the 80 nonprofits in the Great Fish Challenge. That's pretty remarkable and an amazing I mean statistic, I guess, as you think about it, but great for our community that the bank is giving back so much. Are there any specific nonprofits or organizations that you're involved with outside of Glacier Bank and, if so, what do you do there?
Speaker 3:Sure, yeah, not as much. You know, when I became president I kind of backed off. What I'm most involved with these days is NeighborWorks Montana, which is really a statewide organization, but you know I've been part of the in the past part of the Kalispell Chamber, the Flathead Community Foundation, which is now a function of the Whitefish Community Foundation. I was involved with the Police Action Committee back in the day and so a lot of different nonprofits. But now my focus really is on making sure our staff is more involved out in the community and making sure that I'm attending all the different community events. So I probably backed off more on that and getting our team out pushing away from the desk.
Speaker 2:Got. It Sounds like you're a pretty busy guy, though, if you're out attending events and motivating your team to be out in the community. Speaking of motivation, what drives you to do what you do at Glacier Bank?
Speaker 3:but a part of that threefold mission that you started with but a part of that threefold mission that you started with, I think. To me personally it's how do you make a difference? And so that's what drives me as far as motivation. I think it's fun to be at my position and being able to turn the dials a little bit. And what impact does that have on our customers, our bottom line, and really mentoring our different leaders to say, hey, are we growing deposits, are we growing loans, and is our community activity meeting the needs of not only Glacier Bank but the community? And so that's kind of what drives me every day and kind of simplifies what we're trying to do as an organization as well.
Speaker 2:So, as you think about those different things, obviously you're incredibly busy. How do you unwind or decompress outside of work or during the day? What are some of your hobbies or activities that you engage in to do that?
Speaker 3:I think you know, when our kids were younger it was you know doing, you know certainly things with them. They're all now outside of Montana, but you know we like to boat on Flathead Lake. That's important. I like to golf. Sometimes I'll go out, you know, late, later in the afternoon or later at night, and just play a few holes. Uh, you know, by myself, and, um, you know, just kind of think about what. What are we trying to do? What am I trying to do? Uh, in the winter it might be more reading. I used to ski, I would say probably now more. Uh, snowshoeing, things like that, and certainly a glass of red wine from time to time. Uh, helps as well.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. From time to time helps as well, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 3:What's. What's your? Uh, what's your golf handicap? Oh, um, not very good. It's about 18. I used to be much lower, but it seems that hasn't been a priority, or I can't hit the ball as straight as I once could, so, but it's still fun to go out and play in different tournaments with friends sc, scrambles, things like that but I don't keep scores often, so it's just you know how am I hitting the ball and just kind of enjoying a nice walk.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. It's one of the golf's, definitely one of the things that's enjoyable to do here during the spring and summer and fall season. So glad you're able to do that.
Speaker 1:Heart of the Flathead is brought to you by Glacier Investment Management. Your life is more than a portfolio. It's your family, your future, your legacy. Isn't it time you aligned your money with your purpose? At Glacier Investment Management, we act as your personal financial director, bringing it all together, so every move you make builds towards what matters most. To learn more, visit GlacierInvestmentcom or to schedule your personal consultation, contact us at 406-890-7155. Again, that number is 406-890-7155. And also by Whitefish Financial Services. Time is money, as the old saying goes. If you're buried in bookkeeping, payroll processing or navigating your business's finances, you're losing both. At Whitefish Financial Services, we cut the noise, you run the business, we handle the rest. To learn more, visit whitefishfinancialcom or give us a call at 406-863-9638. Again, that's 406-863-9638, because wasted time is your most expensive line item.
Speaker 2:What we're trying to accomplish with Heart of the Flathead is we're trying to build connections in the community to create a stronger community. And as you think about the Flathead, you've been here for gosh almost 20 years now. What does a better, stronger future for our community look like from your perspective? And, if you're at liberty to say so, how does Glacier Bank think about that as well?
Speaker 3:That's a tough question, but I think how do we do a better to get better or stronger? I think it has to be more collaboration. I think we do, I think, a good job partnering with some of the larger businesses on being involved in some of the nonprofit activities. But I think, as we look to the future, does some of the business leaders get together and, you know, help, you know, maybe sit down with the city and the county and, you know, all put our heads together? I think there's room for improvement there. We're certainly.
Speaker 3:You know just watching some of the developments, you know, coming through, getting approved or being, you know, suspended or delayed. You know it appears that our community is getting. Maybe are we growing, have we grown too fast? And how do we, you know, make sure we don't lose the beauty of the Flathead? You know, I think, you know I moved here, you moved here from other areas and I think it's important that we all are stewards. You know, for the future, that we have two great lakes, you know two beautiful ski hills, glacier Park and all that. It's important that we, you know, you know, make sure that that is our priority as we continue to grow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, those are big responsibilities, for sure.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I do think, yeah, and you know, it seems. You know, and it seems through COVID or COVID's a long time ago, but maybe we've lost some of our civility and grace. And how do we get back to the basics? On understanding, there is two sides to an argument, where I'm not always right, You're not always right, but can we listen and go? Okay, maybe. How do we land in the middle? I think you know in my mind, I think that's what the flathead is about. And so do we get back to the, you know, a middle ground instead of too far left, too far right. So that's my hope, that's my personal opinion.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the art of compromise is, uh, definitely, um, not as prevalent as it once was. What, what, what do you? I mean, you mentioned a few things there. I mean, what, what do you think are some of the obstacles, uh, in our community not not globally, but here in the flathead that uh, maybe prevent us from being able to get together and hear each other and work towards a common ground solution and not have this mentality of it's all my way or no way.
Speaker 3:I'm not sure it could be. You know, is some of it. Dave, maybe you know We've seen a lot of growth and so people from the outside have come into the Flathead for our beauty and for our less traffic. But maybe they want us to go in a different direction and people that moved here have to embrace what was, what was our culture and for the people who've been here a long time need need to embrace. You know we have to change a little bit, but you know, I think we have a lot of growth continuing to go on right now. That may cause some challenges. And so you know, I think you know the county is seeing some of that, you know side as far as looking for a new jail, and that's something that we need.
Speaker 3:But again we're caught up in property tax. I think that's a really fuzzy impact. That's probably something I hear every day from a customer is our taxes are going to go up 5,000. My property value has doubled 100%, and what's that impact going to go up 5,000? Or my property value is doubled, you know a hundred percent, and you know what's that impact going to be. And so I think there's a lot of uneasiness right now. And then, you know we throw in the national scene with tariffs and you know, I'm not sure how that's playing out.
Speaker 2:So I think there's just a lot of uncertainty, and so people are maybe reaching out with some of that frustration around the uncertainty Seems like trying to understand first versus responding may be a good approach to, I guess, connecting with people and allowing them to express their frustrations and concerns, which it sounds like you are dealing with quite a bit at the bank Are property taxes the biggest concern. I assume they are right now, but are there other concerns that your clients bring to your attention recently or even in the past year?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think on the banking side certainly all the fraud that we're experiencing around people phishing, where they're getting into our customers' computers sending links, that people are getting caught, you know romance scams, all the different things that people are losing money on.
Speaker 3:You know not only banks but our customers, and so you know I think that's been certainly a challenge in the banking industry is how do we get ahead of that?
Speaker 3:I think on the social issues, you know some of the challenges that I look back on my career, it's hard to believe. You know the kids growing up today. You know the pressure that they're under with social media phones. You know there is no, there's no timeout, so they're constantly being involved. You know with who knows what. You know through their phones or their friends, and so I think that has led to some of that where it's easy to send a nasty email or a nasty text, and so we see that a lot on our frontline staff or our call center, where people used to be a little bit more understanding, and now you know anybody can send an email out, and so you know it's important that you know we don't get too attached to that email but what's the message and try to resolve the problem and not take too many things personal. But it's hard, I think, especially with the younger kids on what they're dealing with today.
Speaker 2:How do you help your team maintain perspective in the face of that kind of adversity?
Speaker 3:Well, I think what we try to, you know, is it's not their fault. You know, like our call center, you know, during COVID was, you know, probably getting 30,000 calls a month, you know. So, if you think about that, a thousand a day and we just didn't have enough staff. You know, that was the other challenge and so we just said you got to do your best, but always, you know, we, you know, try to talk about grace and and just try to help each customer and that's what's critical for our success.
Speaker 2:Well, Mike, we're going to approach the wrap-up point of the podcast at this point and we've got a series of questions that we call the Flathead Five, that we will be asking all our guests and they're really just rapid response questions to help us get to know you a little bit on topics that are popular and more pervasive in our valley here. So we're going to jump into those right now, if you're all right with that, and um and go from there. So, uh, what's your favorite hidden gem in the community?
Speaker 3:Um, depends on the time of year, but I like this time of year and the spring. I love walking on the East side of Kalispell. You know it's uh um, there's a lot of different architecture there, so that's always fun. Um, I think you know personally, I live north of town, so I like walking on a certain golf course in the morning and don't hear and smell the sound of cutting grass. So those are things that I enjoy that help me start my day or end my day.
Speaker 2:I've actually seen you walking on the east side before, so I live on the east side, so I've seen you walking like, yeah, that's Mike. So okay, Grizz or Bobcats.
Speaker 3:Well, I have to go with Grizz. My wife is a U of M grad, so I would say that. But I'm very impressed with what the Bobcats have accomplished, not only from education but on the sports scene. But we're a Grizz family.
Speaker 2:What's your favorite outdoor activity in the Valley?
Speaker 3:Boating on Flathead Lake for sure.
Speaker 2:What do you know today that you wish you knew when you started out?
Speaker 3:That's a good question, dave, I think don't be afraid to fail. You know what we talk about with our team as we implement new things. It's try, fail, learn and how do you fail faster so you can try again. So I think when I was younger I was always afraid of making mistakes and I think as you get older, everything works out how it's supposed to work out. So I didn't think that way in my 20s and early 30s.
Speaker 2:I didn't think that way in my 20s and early 30s.
Speaker 3:When your story is over. What do you want the one or two sentence review on your book to be? I don't like talking about myself, but I guess it would be. You know he was a good guy, devoted husband, father. Family was his priority and I guess I hope my actions made a difference with those who I came in contact with. Pretty simple, but that's a tough question, so hopefully others will answer it better for you.
Speaker 2:Well, I like that. I think that Flathead is all about family, definitely and I think you talk to people that have moved here, that have been here for five or six generations. It's about family, and so it's good to be in a community where family is a priority and we're all working together and hopefully we can build a family within our community as well that can thrive and flourish into the future. So, mike, I can't thank you enough today for coming on and being our inaugural guest, and thank you for taking the time, and it's been great getting to know you, and I hope that our listeners will also feel that they know you a little bit better after listening to this interview today and can't thank you enough again, so we look forward to speaking with you in the future.
Speaker 3:Well, thanks, dave, and best of luck with Heart of the Flathead and kudos to you for going down this path. I know you have other things you're working on, so I think this makes a difference in our community, and so best of luck, and if we can help with anything, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Speaker 2:Thank you, mike, appreciate it. Okay, see you Dave.
Speaker 1:Heart of the Flathead is produced by David Wiginton in partnership with Left Brain, right Brain Marketing. Listeners can find the podcast online at heartoftheflatheadcom and leftbrainrightbrainmarketing at lbrbmcom. The content for Heart of the Flathead podcasts and any show notes and transcripts are copyrighted by David Wiginton. All rights reserved. Reproduction and rebroadcasting in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without written permission. Contact David Wiginton at heartoftheflatheadcom with your request. The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or the production team. Appearance on the show does not constitute an endorsement of any goods, services or opinions discussed. The podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional legal, medical or financial advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on the content of this show.