A bank on the other bank

By: Keith Coalwell, Vice President & Branch Manager, Moorhead
First International Bank & Trust, Member FDIC

We’ve always had a healthy presence in Moorhead, serving many customers in business, personal and agricultural banking, plus mortgage, investments, real estate and trust/wealth management services.

Now we’re right here
This week, our refreshed location in Moorhead celebrates its Grand Opening! We’re proud to officially be part of the Moorhead landscape, and we’ll offer all financial services right from our new location. We have experts from most areas right in our offices, or we will make arrangements to get you connected with the bankers and financial professionals you need.

Celebrate with us
Here are the details of our Grand Opening:

June 18
Open house: 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Ribbon-cutting:  10 a.m.
800 30^th Avenue South

We’ll be having picnic-style food, and we’ll have free gifts and tours available.

Please join us if you can. Or, stop in when you’re on our bank of the river. We’re excited to show you our new space, and especially eager to serve you.

Keith Coalwell is a Vice President and Moorhead Branch Manager.  He graduated from North Dakota State University in 1991. In his time away from work he enjoys spending time at the lake with his wife Michelle, children Danielle, Lexie and Drew and granddaughter Camille.

Three’s a charm with our Williston banks

By Glendon Olson, Williston President, First International Bank & Trust, Member FDIC

As Williston grows and expands at an amazing pace, we’re proud to open our third location: this one is at the intersection of 9^th Avenue and West Dakota Parkway. We think it’s also a perfect time to celebrate our 103^rd year in business!

You’re invited to celebrate our Grand Opening and 103^rd Anniversary. Here are the details:

May 10

Open house: 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.

Ribbon-cutting:  11 a.m.

1331 9^th Ave. NW

We’ll serve cookies, cake and coffee, and we’ll have free gifts and tours available.

Sneak peek

Here’s peek inside our new Williston bank location:

Six years in the making

The Grand Opening is almost exactly one year from our ground-breaking for the new Williston bank, but our expansion plans actually began in 2006. At that time, we considered remodeling our downtown location to accommodate our growth, but we opted to build this new bank. As it turns out, the timing was perfect. Some estimates say Williston’s population may double in the next few years.

We’re ready

Our office spaces and especially our staff members are perfectly positioned to handle all this new growth, both in terms of taking care of existing customers and serving new ones with all our banking, trust, insurance and investment services.

Of course, our other two locations will remain open. Existing customers will notice familiar faces at all our Williston banks, along with some new tellers, loan officers, investment and insurance representatives and support staff members. It’s exciting to welcome new members to our teams.

Please join our Grand Opening on May 10 if you can. Or, stop in when you’re nearby. We’re excited to share our new space, and especially eager to serve you.

Glendon Olson is the Williston President and has worked for First International Bank & Trust since 1991. He graduated from North Dakota State University in Fargo. When he’s away from work he enjoys hunting, fishing and spending time with his wife and two children.

Our Minot bank is back where it belongs

By John Drady, Minot President & Western North Dakota Market Manager
First International Bank & Trust, Member FDIC

I’ve had a date circled on my calendar for many months; March 25, 2013. That’s the Grand (Re-) Opening of our Minot bank location in the Arrowhead neighborhood.

In June 2011, the Souris River flooded this beautiful city so many of us proudly call home. Nine employees at First International Bank & Trust in Minot lost their homes in the flood. Many of our friends, neighbors, customers and other Minot businesses were deeply impacted by the devastation. Even more people continue to help us all recover. We’re grateful, and we’re proud to be back.

Even in the midst of the Minot flood, there was never any question that we would rebuild in this neighborhood. Our strong commitment to the neighborhood drove our plans, construction and now we get to celebrate the actual opening.

We’ve operated out of a temporary facility in Arrowhead while we rebuilt our bank. The new location actually is more visible, and you’ll notice some nice additions inside and out to help us better take care of our customers.

A second circle we invite you to join

I also have April 18 circled on my calendar, and I hope you will, too. That’s when our new Minot office will host their Grand Re-opening Celebration as well as Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours. We’re eager to show you our new space and hear how you, your business and especially your family is doing in your own Minot flood recovery.

We’re also adding a third location in Williston, and we’ll let you know the celebration dates for that Grand Opening, too.

Meanwhile, we appreciate your support during this time of transition, and we look forward to seeing you—and serving you—soon. Take care!

John Drady is the Minot President and Western North Dakota Market Manager. He’s been with First International Bank & Trust since June 1994. When he’s away from work he enjoys spending time with his wife Julia and his children, Jessica & Joshua.

A flood of caring

By Kim McLees, Operations Supervisor, Lending Department
First International Bank & Trust, Member FDIC

Most companies claim they care about their employees. Many say they treat their employees like family.

My employer built me a home. How’s that for a caring family?

In June 2011, the Souris River flooded Minot, North Dakota, devastating most of the city. Nine employees at First International Bank & Trust in Minot lost their homes in the flood.

Running out of the bank
The memory is as vivid as yesterday. The day after Father’s Day 2011, a co-worker’s wife called and told us to turn on the TV news. Predictions for the amount of water Minot would be receiving – more than twice the previous day’s reported prediction – were unfathomable. We literally ran out of the bank that day. We had 48 hours to evacuate our homes, and none of us wasted any time.

Waiting, wondering
We had to be out of our homes on Wednesday, and can you guess what we did on Thursday? We went to work! Evacuated from our homes and living elsewhere, all we could do was wait and listen for news. I received an email from my daughter in Colorado on Friday around noon; who was watching the Robinwood Estates Facebook page for updates.  Her email said: Crying. This just posted: Robinwood/Country Club/The Evergreens all under. That had been our home. For the next three weeks, the most my husband and I could witness of the damage was through binoculars.

 

“We want to do something”
The week after the flood, First International’s Minot president, John Drady, came into my office, looked me in the eye and said, “The bank has decided they want to do something.” Nine people had lost their homes, and at this time in Minot, housing was already difficult to come by. There was a new set of townhomes being built on the east side of town, and John said the bank would purchase the homes as temporary housing for the employees who had lost theirs.

I was dumbfounded. As empty-nesters, my husband and I didn’t need much room – but at the same time, we couldn’t live with friends and family forever. It took me about a second to take him up on the offer. After 167 days of living with faithful friends, my husband and I moved into a brand new, two-bedroom, two-bath townhome.

Flooded with help
New home aside, the way the bank rallied around those who lost their homes is truly inspirational. As the river rose, bank employees came from Fargo, Watford City, and other branches to help sand bag. And as the water subsided, the bank encouraged employees to take Fridays off to help colleagues clean out their homes and repair their lives. First International even opened a deposit account for employees to make anonymous donations for their colleagues who lost their homes.

My colleague Stacey’s beautiful, renovated Victorian home had water up to the ceiling, but he still managed to save it. FIB&T’s CEO, Steve Stenehjem and his wife, Gretchen, showed up one of those Fridays and Steve operated a pay loader all day to help dig up the rotting hedge around Stacey’s yard. (And boy, did he enjoy operating the big equipment!)

Today’s “normal”
More than a year has passed since the flood, and life is finally getting back to the new normal. In June, First International broke ground on its new Arrowhead branch building, which was destroyed in the flood. We’re all back to work and the other employees who lost their homes are again living comfortably with their families.

Doing right
One thing that has changed is our perspective. It is a cliché, but they say adversity brings out a person’s true character. In the case the Minot flood, it proved the spirit of First International Bank & Trust is one of community, caring, and doing right by your friends and family, no matter the cost.

Do you have a story to share from the Minot or Fargo floods? Share it here or on our Facebook page.

Kim has worked in the loan department of the Minot Broadway branch for 10 years. She loves anything to do with cooking, so you can either find her in the kitchen or relaxing with a cup of coffee watching Food Network! Her husband, Bill, is a district judge of the Northwest District. Together they have 5 children; Emily, Lindsay, Alex, and twins, Megan and Mallori and 3 grandchildren; Madison, Braden and Sydney.