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79 B U S I N E S S P RO F I L E S B U S I N E S S P R O F I L E S S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N Such programs aren't unusual in the financial services industry. "But for us, bringing on college interns each summer is a very intentional process," Silsby says. "It's a real focus for our team, directed toward specific goals." Building the future of finance Recruitment is a high priority for the bank, whose workforce has doubled in size since Garofalo was an intern. Today, KSB is the 10th-largest Maine-based bank, with assets of over $1 billion. In addition to its main office in Augusta, KSB operates branches in Farmingdale, Waterville and Winthrop, and last year expanded outside of Kennebec County for the first time. KSB's new Freeport location, at 181 Lower Main St., is a loan office for residential and commercial borrowers and also offers electronic banking services. e growing demand for new talent has come as large, national banks have scaled back their Maine operations — reducing the pool of bankers from which to recruit, and the training available to them. So KSB, like many community banks, has developed its own management training program, and tools such as the internship program have become increasingly important. e bank even operates a standing Millennial Advisory Committee, which Garofalo leads and which provides feedback from younger staff on work-related issues. Still, the challenge of finding employees — the right employ- ees — is formidable. In a recent national survey by the American Bankers Association, 58% of community bank CEOs characterized hiring as "difficult" or "very difficult." And it ranked as a top concern, alongside regulatory compliance, keeping CEOs up at night. For Maine banks, the challenge is compounded by the state's demographics. e average age of Maine's residents is older and closer to retirement than that of any state in the country. But college students are moving away instead of becoming the next generation of workers. In fact, Maine ranks No. 8 among the 50 states in the percentage of students (59%) who depart after graduation, according to a 2017 study. Faced with numbers like these, Silsby believes banks like his have a responsibility to "show students a path to success." "We need to keep developing our own young people. at means helping them see why this is a great industry, a great state, and how bank employees have followed their own interests to pursue diverse opportunities, time and time again." Building the next generation of Maine bankers is especially important because community banks function as "mini economic drivers" for the towns and cities around them, according to Silsby. KSB also contributes to these communities in other ways. 148 years later, still a local bank Since KSB's founding in 1870 as a mutual bank, community service has been a central part of its mission, he says. e bank contributes 10% of its annual income to local nonprofit organi- zations and philanthropic activities. In 2018, it expects to donate more than $800,000. Each year, the funding supports hundreds of local groups and needs, from food banks to animal shelters to the arts and economic development. KSB employees also give their own time to assist neighbors in need. In 2017, bank staff provided more than 9,000 volunteer hours to community activities. (at's roughly equivalent to a week and a half of work time for each employee, Silsby points out.) At the MaineGeneral Health Walk for Hope, which raises funds to assist breast cancer survivors, the KSB team numbered more than 100 and raised $13,500 for the cause. In addition to helping others, this community-mindedness may also be helping KSB address the staffing needs its internship program was originally designed to solve. "Working as a seasonal teller, I experienced the connection between KSB and the community first-hand. I hadn't had much work history, but I knew there was something special about this," says Nichols. Garofalo, the COO, explains the connection this way: "Kennebec Savings Bank exists for the benefit of the community. at's some- thing I could sense even at age 18, something that was important to me, and I'm sure our interns feel that today." l Left: Andrew Silsby is Kennebec Savings Bank's president and chief executive officer. Below: Craig Garofalo, Kennebec Savings Bank executive vice president and chief operating officer, began his career as a KSB intern. P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F K E N N E B E C S A V I N G S B A N K P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F K E N N E B E C S A V I N G S B A N K Kennebec Savings Bank 150 State Street, P.O. Box 50, Augusta, ME 04332 Financial Services Andrew Silsby, President & CEO Founded: 1870 Maine employees: 135 www.kennebecsavings.bank

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