Elevate Springfield featuring Justin Knoedler: Elevating Through the Power of Learning from Legends, Playing at the Highest Level, Community, and Coaching

Summary

In this conversation, Justin Knoedler shares his journey from being a professional baseball player to working at the Bank of Springfield. He discusses the challenges and experiences he faced in both careers, including the hidden dangers of concussions in baseball. Justin emphasizes the importance of hard work, dedication, and mentorship in achieving success, particularly in youth sports. He also reflects on the influence of legendary players like Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols on his career and his passion for coaching young athletes while balancing family life. 

Takeaways

• Justin learned valuable lessons from legendary players like Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols.
• Coaching youth baseball is a passion for Justin, focusing on skill development.
• He believes that self-motivation is key to success in sports.
• Involvement in local initiatives strengthens community ties.
• Providing excellent customer service is essential in banking.
• Encouraging employees to pursue passions benefits the organization.
• Adaptability and continuous learning are vital in any career.
• Collaboration within the community leads to collective growth.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Elevate Springfield, where we will dive into strategies and stories that help you rise to your full potential. Each episode, we'll talk about how you can take intentional steps to elevate your life and your business while making a meaningful impact on those around you. Along the way, we're going to bring in the change makers from our community that are already elevating. We'll bring the actionable strategies, you bring the discipline and follow through, and together we can elevate Springfield. Alright, let's go, Springfield. Time to 10X your life, your business, all of it. Time to crush those goals, time to get after it. Let's go. You are listening to the Elevate Springfield Podcast. Robert Farrell here, certified 10x coach, speaker, and mentor here to bring you actionable strategies. You bring the discipline and follow through. And together, we're going to Elevate Springfield. We're coming to you again from beautiful downtown Springfield in the Big Dog Construction Studio. Hey, we've got so much going on in Springfield right now. Make sure you are participating. Get out there, network with folks, be a part of the community, support local businesses, support local nonprofits, and let's go, we can all grow together. So, hey, another great episode for you today. We're gonna get right to our guest after the break. Hey, Springfield, when it comes to reliable, high-quality roofing, you don't want to leave things to chance. That's why you should reach out to Acosta Angeli Ruffing, your local roughing expert serving Springfield and surrounding communities, from quick dependable repairs to full replacement, from residential to commercial. They are your trusted pros. Call them today at 217-993-2748 or visit their website to book your free quote and inspection. Don't wait. A little leak now could lead to major damage later. Trust the local experts, protect your home, and get peace of mind with Acosta Angeli Roofing. And we are back, joining me on the studio today on a beautiful downtown Springfield day. We got Justin Canadler from Bank of Springfield. Justin how are you doing today, man?

SPEAKER_03 2:23

I'm doing great. How are you?

SPEAKER_01 2:24

I'm great.

SPEAKER_03 2:25

Appreciate you coming down today. Oh, it's good to do it again. It's been a little while.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Yeah, it has been. Been a little bit now. But for our audience, we're gonna talk about Bank of Springfield and everything. But first, let's have them learn a little bit about Justin. Tell us a little bit about your background, man.

SPEAKER_03 2:37

Oh, wow. Well, I was born and raised right here in Springfield, so very passionate about my hometown. I know you talked to a lot of the kids earlier singing the CEO about coming back to Springfield. And I always encourage them, spread your wings, get out, but you always got home, and this is home for me. And so went to Springfield High School after that. I was a you know, I was a baseball player and a student athlete. So went on to play at Lincoln Land Community College for a couple of years. And then I uh went to Miami, Ohio for a couple years, and then uh ended up uh playing 10 years of professional baseball. And that that journey was awesome and amazing and took me all over the country. And then uh those playing days came to an end. And when I got done playing ball, I started coaching and came back to my hometown and started helping out at Lincoln Land and loved every bit of that and coached some summer ball with a bunch of local uh talented kids and then uh started a family. And uh I knew that the the family life was not gonna particularly allow me to uh be gone on a bus for you know all weekend long and nights and all that stuff. So uh was fortunate enough to lean on my education and and my connections and join the Bank of Springfield. And I've been there for about nine years now. There you go. And it's been amazing. It's one of the best teams I've ever been a part of. So I went from baseball to banking, and I I I joke about it all the time that yeah, my baseball career was great. We got a couple cups of coffee in the major leagues and made a lot of cool connections and whatnot. I didn't make enough money to just sit around and play golf the rest of my life. Sure. Sure. Even though, even though my job now with the bank allows me to play a lot of golf.

SPEAKER_01 4:04

Right. A lot a lot of charity fundraisers out there and everything play golf at.

SPEAKER_03 4:07

So uh, you know, I don't I don't think that I would want to do that. You know, what I do now with the bank is just amazing. You know, I get to take care of a lot of our business customers and uh do some business development and anything else that I'm asked to do. So I'm kind of a little bit of jack of all trades at the bank, but um it's awesome and I I love it, and I don't foresee myself doing anything else.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

Right. So you said uh you have a great team at at BOS, but what were some of the teams you were on when you were playing ball?

SPEAKER_03 4:30

Yeah, so I I originally got drafted by the San Francisco Giants, and they were the they were the team that got me to the big leagues, and I spent seven years in that organization, so from 2001 to 2007. So I got to be around the the Barry Bonds circus, if you will, with you know the home run chase and you know the steroid era and all and all the stuff. That was that was the main part of my career. And then um when I became a free agent, I joined uh the Oakland Athletics and spent a year in their organization. And then I got passed around for a little bit. I was I was considered a veteran defensive catcher that could uh handle the bat a little bit. So I actually signed with the Cardinals in the spring of 2009. Went to spring training with them, was uh you know, was rooming with David Freeze and was around Yachty and Poohholes, all the all the all the gang. And uh unfortunately, I was the the odd man out. You know, big league teams you typically only keep two catchers, they had some prospect guys, and uh so they had to release me the last day of spring training. I had spent the entire camp with them, and there just wasn't a spot for me to stick. I had a pretty good spring, so I was uh out of a job, you know, and so I worked with my agent, got uh signed on with the Florida Marlins, spent a few months with them, and then I actually finished that year with the Chicago White Sox organization uh because they needed a catcher. And then the my last year was in 2010. I signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and that was that was a very cool experience for me. Uh, they brought a lot of guys to camp, but we're talking Manny Ramirez was around and Garrett Anderson, who had actually just passed away. I don't know, um, a veteran veteran guy, but Brad Osmus and Russell Martin were the two catchers. And that whole spring training, those guys were banged up, they were hurt. I'm like, I'm gonna I'm gonna make this team. And then you know, we get when we had Kershaw and you name it, and Joe Torrey was the manager, and Don Mattingley was our bench coach. I mean, so we had some guys, and it was just incredible to be in that clubhouse and be around all those guys. And again, I had a pretty good spring. I was I was doing everything that I needed to do to stick. Um, and because Osmith and Russell Martin were both banged up, I'm like, here we go. Well, I swear to you that those guys took like a get well pill the day before spring training broke, and here I am, you know, kind of the odd man out. Every organization has their prospects that they need to they need to place in, you know, double A, triple A and whatever. And here I am the veteran catcher that they kind of just use as an insurance policy in case somebody gets hurt. Well, so they didn't release me right away. I stuck around in um the triple A camp. And um, believe it or not, so I'm playing in a game for the triple A camp and I get plowed at home plate. Spring training game. Like you're not supposed to play. Yeah, you're not supposed to do that. Spring training because they've changed the rules now, you know, the Buster Posey rule. And so uh I ended up with a concussion that just knocked me down. And I and I had had I had probably had some minor concussions throughout my career, you know, being a catcher, you get a lot of foul tips and you get plowed, or you know, this guy swings a bat around and clocks you upside the back of your head. And I just always kind of blew it off, not thinking nothing about it. But this one actually rang my bell and you know, nauseousness and sensitivity to light and all that stuff. So I stuck around uh the minor league spring training complex there for about a month and just sitting in a dark room trying to recover, and uh it just dawned on me like I don't I don't want to do this anymore. Uh nor should I because you know the next one could could really scramble.

SPEAKER_01 7:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:45

And so my wife flew out and she helped me get home. I had my truck out there, she drove me home and I continued to recover back here in Springfield. And uh my agent called and said, you know, how you feeling, this, that, and the other. And I said, I think I'm done. You know, he had had some teams call and and want to sign me. The Dodgers granted me the my release. And so that was the last time I played professionally. And so I just with my talks with my agent and my wife, and of course I'm 30 years old at this time, so I'm not getting any younger. I'd gotten into Pro Bowl at the age of 20. So it was a heck of a run, an unbelievable experience. And um, so that's that was my last uh time playing ball.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

A lot of people out there probably don't think of that with how much your body takes as a catcher, how many times you might get hit in the head and things like that. I mean, they hear you hear about concussion all the time in football and different things, but you don't really think about it in baseball as much.

SPEAKER_03 8:33

But you would you'd get a bunch of that as a light shown on it until uh Mike Matheny. So Mike Matheny, a lot of people around here know he was, you know, he's a cardinal, unbelievable defensive catcher catcher, unbelievable guy. Well, he actually came to the Giants organization, I believe it was in 2005 or 2006. I can't remember. My years all get scrambled together. But he was the one who his career ended because of a concussion. And it was the double impact syndrome from a lot of foul tips. And that's when they started to make sure that every player was doing the concussion protocol. They were doing, you know, the baseline impact testing, you know, and spring training to make sure, well, they've got something to go off of if somebody does get hit with a pitch or uh gets collision at home plate or whatever the case may be. So uh it's it's a lot more um you know prevalent now. So but yeah, the wear and tear in your body, I tell you, there's mornings I wake up and I'm like, oh my gosh, I feel like a 90-year-old. Right. Feel it in the knees and once I get going, but yeah, knees, hips, lower back, shoulders. Um and I try to I try to keep myself in the best shape I can. It's not as easy chasing an eight-year-old and a five-year-old around, but I want to make sure I can still chase them around, so I do what I can.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

Right.

SPEAKER_03 9:40

So that that bonds year, which year was that when he was run when he was going for the So I I believe he well, he hit 73 in I think it was oh two or oh three. Okay, yeah, that's my first thing. My first year getting called up was oh four. And so uh just being around him and and he no, he had not break the the career home run record yet, but the 73 year was early 2000s. And so just the way he went about his business, and you know, he's he's a very different type of player, obviously. And I in in my opinion, he is the best player of all time. I mean, you know, the guy had 2010 vision and had unbelievable hands and steroids or no steroids or whatever you know people want to believe, that guy could flat out play the game of baseball. And so it was very cool. My locker was pretty close to his. I never bothered Barry for anything. You know, you just let him do his thing. If he said something to you, you you know, shook your head and said thank you. Uh, but he he just went about his business and you know that's the kind of teammate he was. He wasn't, he was just gonna do his job.

SPEAKER_02 10:34

Right.

SPEAKER_03 10:35

Uh my my last day in the Giants organization in 2006 uh was my last day in the big leagues with them. I never asked Barry for anything. I was around for six years. Uh my locker literally was about 15, 20 feet from his three or four lockers. He had a he basically had his own cord and his big, big recliner and his TV and whatnot. But um I was like, you know what? I'm gonna I'm gonna kick myself if I don't at least get a ball signed by this guy. Right. And he's gonna be, you know, best player of all time. So I went over to his locker and I said, Hey Barry, you know, would you mind signing a bat in the ball for me? And I've told this story a million times. But and um I took one of my bats, you know, it says Justin Knaidler, San Francisco Giants on it. And so I handed him the ball and uh he signed the ball and he handed it back to me. And I said, Would you mind signing the bat for me too? And he kind of takes a look at it and he goes, I'm not putting my name on your bat. That'd be an embarrassment. And that's like okay, Barry, thanks a lot. And so I start to walk away. He goes, Hold on, hold on. So I I came back and he goes, You guys are just trying to get all my stuff because you don't think I'm coming back next year. And he took it, he took a one of his bats out and he signed it. Uh okay. He signed it, you know. He goes, What's your name again? And I said, Well, my locker's been right there for six years. The guy down the hall, uh and it was just on the bat that I handed him. He he signed it too, Justin. God bless Barry Bonds, and uh it was one of his signature bats. And so I still I still have that. And so the other cool thing that would uh Willie Mays was his godfather. Yeah, and uh Willie Mays was always around the clubhouse. He was he was always around and Willie was always great to just kind of talk to, and he was very cool about signing stuff.

SPEAKER_01 12:04

So you said Bonds is your number one. Do you have a Mount Rushmore of uh ball players?

SPEAKER_03 12:09

Oh my gosh. Well, you know, nowadays I love watching the the judges and the Otani's now in today's game, the Mike Trouts. Back when I played, I mean, you had you had gamers like Scott Rowland and and obviously Poole Holse has got to be up there. But you know, when it comes to just hitting, Barry Bonds is head and shoulders above everybody else. Chipper Jones and a lot of those guys that I that I grew up, you know, being around. But in today's game, it's it's the Otani and the Judge show. And um obviously we got some local kids too. I've been following the same Anunnaki kid, yeah, the SHT kid. I mean, it's just it's just cool to have another local kid that's making it and uh representing our our community proud.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

Super fun to see. Oh, it's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 12:46

I love it. Love every bit of it.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

So you're around all these super high achievers that are at the top of their game. Yeah. Right? Top of their game. Anything you gleaned from them that these high achievers, these superstars do differently than everybody else?

SPEAKER_03 13:00

Well, I tell you what, their focus, uh their work ethic is is always strong. I mean, you you you think b you would think that things came easy for Barry because he was he was so good, but I tell you what, that guy had his own special BP throwers. I mean, and that guy would take more reps than anybody. You know, and there's days where he's probably locked in and he's like, okay, you know, I I'm feeling pretty good right now. I don't have to overdo it. Albert Pools, I remember when I was in spring training with the with the Cardinals down in Jupiter, we took a we took a three-hour bus trip up to Tampa with to play the Yankees. And it's a long trip, it's a long day, but Albert made the trip, which a lot of veterans won't do in spring training because they just want to, you know, conserve their energy. So we went, we went on the trip. I don't think Albert had a great day at the plate that day. And so we get on them, we took a three-hour bus ride home. And I'm not kidding you, that guy, it was eight or nine o'clock at night. That guy turned the lights on the batting cage and started hitting off of a T.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_03 13:52

And I'm like, holy kill, I mean, I'm tired, I'm exhausted, I've been catching bullpins all day, warming guys up, got to do it again tomorrow. And uh, he went to the cage, turned the lights on and went to the batting cage.

SPEAKER_01 14:02

Just putting in the grind.

SPEAKER_03 14:03

And I'm just like, that that that that told me a lot right there. Like, you know, he's one of the best hitters of all time. He took 2009, he was at he was in his prime. Uh he didn't need to do that. Right. But uh he did it. So it was it was pretty cool. But yeah, I was the other thing I always joke about, I picked I picked a hell of a career to join. You know, there's 30 MLB teams and they keep two catchers each. So I'm trying to get one of 60 jobs in the world. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. So I got to experience that and it was just an amazing, amazing journey.

SPEAKER_01 14:29

Yeah, and I mean, that's an amazing accomplishment. Like you said, to be in to be in that realm, to be at the top of your game like that. That's just phenomenal.

SPEAKER_03 14:35

Amazing.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

So are you excited for all the baseball stuff that's happening in Springfield here with the growth of the shoes and the women's pro baseball and all that stuff?

SPEAKER_03 14:44

I tell you, I tell you what, they were they were talking about it on um on 970 this morning, you know, in San Madonna. They I think they were actually there talking to the the shoes people and trying to revive the Robin Roberts Stadium. But yeah, good for good for them. I am excited about that. Anything that brings uh excitement and activity to this to this community. We got the Shield Sports Complex that's been built, and we've been heavily involved with that since uh well, since the beginning of time, it seems like. And so we're excited that you know, everybody in you know the community, everybody at the bank is excited to see some some positive momentum being built out there. Jamie Toole and you know, his wife and and the and the team with the lucky horseshoes, good for them because they there's been many organizations in this community that have tried to do something out there and it gets a little momentum and then it kind of gets stale, and these guys just keep going and they're they're doing a heck of a job.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

So I think it's so cool that we're gonna have a like a bubble league here. Kind of back in COVID when they did the bubble league. You know, we're gonna have the bubble women's professional ball here in the fall. It's gonna be great.

SPEAKER_03 15:40

Well I'll tell you what, last night I had 14 eight-year-old girls at softball practice, and uh I would be ecstatic if one of those girls wanted to play in in some type of professional softball or baseball because coaching isn't is is my passion now. I really do love it, you know. And and I I have I've got one speed and it's probably a little too intense for for 14 uh eight-year-old girls, but uh hopefully they uh they they'll appreciate it someday. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:05

Well, well, tell us a little bit more about where you've coached and your coaching stuff that you've done.

SPEAKER_03 16:09

Man, so yeah, it really cut my teeth coaching at Lincoln Lynn when I got done. So when I got done playing, I was like, okay, what am I gonna do? Right. You know, and originally I was like, I, you know, my brother was already working for Bank at Springfield, and you know, he's my twin brother and he is our uh our CEO um for the bank. And so uh talked with him, talked with a bunch of other people, like what direction I want to go. And I was like, you know, I don't know that I want to go put on a suit and tie and uh get into the business world. And uh Ron Riggle, who was the AD and the head baseball coach out at Lincoln Land, you know, welcomed me with open arms. Of course, you know, um I'm an alum of Lincoln Land. So I just started coaching out there and I absolutely loved it. You know, my wife and I, you know, we were married, but no children yet. She was very flexible with me on, you know, spending the weekend on the bus, you know, being gone. And it was, it was easy for me to do. And she was, she was, she was allowing me to do that really. And you know, she was you know, very forgiving. So we um started coaching out there. I loved being in the trenches. You know, I didn't know if I wanted to be a head coach or not, but I loved being in the trenches, you know, throwing batting practice, helping a kid develop a swing, working with the catchers on how to call a game and you know, techniques of blocking and things like that. And that's still today what I love to do. I mean, if I if I'm coaching, I want to be in the trenches trying to demonstrate and do all those things a little bit harder with the way my body feels sometimes.

SPEAKER_02 17:23

Sure, sure.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

And I spent six seasons out there, you know, helping helping Coach Wriggle. You know, we went to the national tournament a couple times. Oh, cool. And so uh we had even had a couple players that uh that came through the Lincoln Land program that got drafted, you know, your Ryan Avers and your Nick Matons. So that was that was that was even more rewarding, you know, that not only was I helping kids move on to a maybe a different university, but we had a couple kids that got to go play professional baseball that I got to help develop. And I tell people all the time I I had probably 25 to 30 different coaches that helped mentor me, that helped mold me into who I became as a player. And I tried to, when I'm teaching uh you know, hitting or just teaching anything about baseball, I was like, I don't know everything, but I've got to learn a lot from a lot of different people. You know, I got to listen to Pool Holes talk and Don Mattingley and you know, people from different generations. And uh, I'm gonna try to just you know, word vomit all of it onto and see if see if something sticks. Um, but I tell them every day, I was like, the best coach you're ever gonna have is yourself because you've got to feel when you're doing it right, um, you've got to commit to you know certain things. It was it was it was awesome. And so I I did that during the school year. So fall, we we played a fall and a spring schedule out at Lincoln Land. It was it was a lot, but then in the summer we got to do some recruiting. But I took I took a group of local high school kids, like a local all-star team, and formed formed our own team, and we traveled to all the universities, and it was a recruiting tool for me, but it was also an opportunity for some local kids to get some exposures. Two different groups, uh, three years apiece, and that was awesome. My wife was my wife even loved that because again, we didn't have kids at the time, so you know, we're going to Columbus, Ohio, and we're going up to Ann Arbor. Traveling around fun, having fun. We're going to all these big universities that even I hadn't played at. And so it was it was amazing. It was a lot of it was a lot of fun. And so now I just I do some private lessons on the side. I'm gonna go hit with my nephew later. My nephew uh Colton Canadler, he's a senior at uh Chatham Glenwood. Okay. Uh he was the quarterback for the football team, but uh now he's the uh senior catcher. So uh when he needs a little tune-up, he calls in Uncle Justin. There you go. Uh we do a little batting practice just to get him feeling good.

SPEAKER_01 19:23

So no, that's gotta be cool for the kids that you teach and everything for you to have your experience already in the in the pros, but then also, like you said, being able to impart some of the knowledge that you learned from some of those legends in the game, too. That has to give you so much authority, really.

SPEAKER_03 19:39

It gives me a little bit of it, gives me a little bit of credibility. And um, you know, I'll have a I'll have a dad or a mom call me and say, Hey, you know, my son's six, can you can you give him a lesson? I was like, okay, well, I can't I can't do everything that I would want to do with obviously with a six-year-old, it's more or less just like, let's just see if we can get him in a stance correctly.

SPEAKER_01 19:56

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 19:57

In a consistent stance. But I'm not I'm not afraid to always take a look at a kid and be honest with a parent, you know, where I think they're at. But a lot of the time they just need to, they just need to practice on their own. You know, a lot of these kids will show up for a lesson and then I'll see them the following week or a couple weeks later. I'm like, okay, what have you done in the last two weeks since we met last? Nothing. Right. You know, and it's like, well, how good do you want to be? Right. You know, do you want to be good? Do you want to be great? You want to be the best? And you know, I I just flat out ask them and I ask them in front of their parents. Uh because, you know, they can they can spend all the money in the world on lessons, but it's it's not that lesson that's gonna make them better. It's gonna be the work that they commit to, you know, uh when nobody's watching.

SPEAKER_01 20:33

Right. Even like just what you said a few minutes ago with pooh holes sitting the getting hit in the cage at nine o'clock at night or whatever that was when you guys got to be.

SPEAKER_03 20:39

Yeah, the guy the guy was I mean, I don't know where he was at at the time as far as his contract, but the guy was probably making fifteen or twenty million dollars a year. Right. And it's guaranteed. So he didn't he didn't have to do that. He could have done it the next morning. Exactly. But uh yeah, it's it's it's been fun, and I still I still do a few lessons. As a matter of fact, I when we had our daughter, I was like, you know what, I'm I can't be half in, half out. So I I had to give up coaching out at Lincoln Land and it it it killed me. But uh it was good that I stepped away. You know, I was a new new dad, and that's my number one job is to be a good husband and a good dad. And I definitely don't want to fall short there. But I would show up to a couple practices and try to help out, and it just felt like I was there be when I could be there, you know. And so even though the players and the coaches still probably appreciate it, I was like, you know what, I got to be out. I gotta be out. Um I gave it, I gave it up for a little while. I wasn't doing a whole lot of instruction, and then uh the last couple of years I've been doing a few lessons for some of my my co-workers' kids, obviously my my nephews, and just try to work with them when I can. And then, you know, my five-year-old son, it's a little bit harder to teach him right now. I'm I I I keep telling Colton every time I hit with him, I was like, you know, at some point you're gonna take over Brooks because he's not gonna he's not wanting to listen to me.

SPEAKER_01 21:48

Yeah. So nine years at BOS now? Is that the thing?

SPEAKER_03 21:51

It'll be nine years this fall. Yeah, it's been it's been incredible. And um love it, love it. You know, every day's a little bit different, but my main focus is To obviously maintain and take care of our current business customers, a lot of our larger relationships, and then find new ones. Work very closely with all the other departments at Bank Springfield. So we're not just a one-trick shop. We try to be a one-stop shop for any business that uh has a banking need. So obviously we can do accounts and cash management and all the online digital stuff, but we also have our own BOS insurance agency. We have an asset management team for any institutional investing, um, you know, uh 401k benefit plans. We really do it all. And so, as you know, and you know, you're in the business world, it's all about making that relationship, right? Make make a good, strong relationship. Now we're not perfect, but we mess things up from time to time. But I tell you this, we're gonna make it right. We're gonna fix it, we're gonna make it right. And so it's awesome. We've really, we've really, really grown. We're up to uh 17 branches now. We're getting uh we opened up in Champaign and Bloomington in the last couple of years, getting ready to open up a location in Kansas City. And so I get to be a part of all that growth and uh just take care of uh customers one at a time.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

That's cool to see. You're gonna have a bank of Springfield in Kansas City.

SPEAKER_03 23:05

Yep, a BOS in Kansas City. Yep. Our brand is is Bank with BOS. And we start with people. You know, if you talk to our senior management team, my brother, the Morantz family, they uh they've always they always invest in people. So when we when we expand to a new market, we don't we've always grown organically, and it usually starts with an individual that we believe in, and we just give them the support and the reins to to grow that market. We did it in Jacksonville, we did, we've done it in Quincy, uh, we've done it in the Metro East in the St. Louis market. Uh and it it it's it's it's worked very well for us.

SPEAKER_01 23:40

That's awesome. I love it. So what has been your roles over those nine years? Have you been always in kind of what you're doing now, or has it shifted and changed over the biggest thing? Great question.

SPEAKER_03 23:49

Pretty much, yes. I got thrown into the banking, the banking world, and it was basically like, okay, just see what you can stir up, see what you can drum up. You know, I knew I I knew I could talk to people, I knew I could take care of people. I still learn things every day in the banking world. There's so many acronyms and ratios and all this stuff. But at the end of the day, I sell myself on behalf of the bank. And that's what I started out doing. And now, you know, I get to manage uh, you know, a small team of uh business services support, um, a couple other um business developers that that try to do the same thing that I'm doing. Yeah. But uh yeah, pretty much. I mean, and I I I joke too, you know, when when I'm especially like if I'm on the radio with Sam Adonia, Sam Adonia back, oh yeah, remind everybody uh what you do at the bank. And I said, whatever my brother tells me. Right, right. Uh it's so and you know, I couldn't ask to work for a better leadership team. Obviously, you know, my brother is our CEO, Mike Pence is our president. Tom Morance is still the chairman of our holding company, but he has since moved away from some of the day-to-day stuff. But I tell you what, the family culture that we build at the bank is just incredible. And we're only as good as our our team camaraderie and our team chemistry, and we feel like we do a pretty good job at that.

SPEAKER_01 24:55

Gotta ask, did you uh give pooh holes a shout and say, hey, you need anybody to manage that$200 million contract or whatever, however many million contract that was?

SPEAKER_03 25:02

No, I was so sad. I was so sad to see him go out to California. And obviously everybody's gonna do what's best for their family. And I think I think it was more than just the money. I think there was, you know, some family dynamic there. But I'm glad he came back and retired as a cardinal. I mean, that was awesome. But, you know, another great guy. I mean, that you want to talk about being a good teammate and you know, talk about something that I've learned from baseball to banking. I tell my young staff when I'm doing an evaluation with them at the end of the year, it's like, remember, the best thing you can be is the best teammate. You don't have to be the best producer, the best customer service representative we have, just be the best teammate that you can be, and it'll all take care of itself. And Pooh Holse was the best teammate. He didn't care who you are. And I compare this, and I don't want to bash on anybody, but you know, if you walked by Barry Bonds in the clubhouse and you you say, hey, good morning, Barry, he might, he might give you a little head nod or acknowledge. But you walk by Pool Hulse or even Manny Ramirez. I mean, these guys, I put these guys on the same level. Yeah. Hey, good morning, Manny. Good morning, Albert. And they they'd they'd give you a hug, you know, and they didn't they didn't know who I was. I mean, you know, I was I was the third string catcher that was around half the time or sometimes. Um, and so that's uh I took that away. You know, you can always be a good teammate, you know, to always be a great teammate.

SPEAKER_01 26:12

Absolutely. Well, you're just talking about the evaluations for maybe some of your folks. Walk us through that process. What do you got? What do you evaluate your folks on?

SPEAKER_03 26:19

So we do uh mid-year uh evaluations, end of the year evaluations. We we we try to set goals. You know, me personally, like I've never been driven by goals. You know, I just wake up every day and be like, all right, I'm gonna I'm gonna have the best Thursday that I can have today, you know. But um, you know, we'll we'll set some we'll set some goals, especially for the young, the younger kids that are just getting into banking. Obviously, we want to we want to we want to try to enhance their just banking knowledge because that's something still. They're I'll sit in a meeting someday and somebody will say this this word or this uh acronym. I'm like, what is that? So we that that's always a big goal, is just continue to enhance their their banking knowledge, maybe get involved with a different department just so that you can be dangerous enough to know what they do. Maybe there are some production goals that we have to that we have to talk about, whether it's accounts or uh you know whatever the case may be. Uh we're real big on customer service. You know, you you have you have to provide excellent customer service in our industry. Obviously, we we joke all the time, you know, you drive up and down Wabash Avenue and there's plenty of options. Yeah, you know, in the community banking world. May I mount there's a lot of options. Um so we have to stick out, we've got to be the best. So those are those are just some some high-level highlights that you know that we try to evaluate our staff on. Um the other the other big thing is we want all of our employees, and I think we're up to around 350 employees, we want them involved in the community. I see you and Jeff Dillman. I mean, I envy you guys, you know, I see you guys on, I feel like I'm not doing enough, you know. But we we try to encourage all of our employees to get involved in some capacity with something that they're passionate about. You know, I don't want to force them to get involved with, for example, local first if they're not passionate about it. Right. But find something that you are passionate about it and get and get involved. So that's another big part of our evaluation process is what are you doing out in the community?

SPEAKER_01 28:00

You say you kind of grow through your people. Do you guys have processes for them to be able to grow and move into other positions and everything? Upward mobility through the company.

SPEAKER_03 28:09

Yeah. We want to know how they envision themselves. Where do they see themselves in three years, five years, those those time frames? And find out what they're truly interested in. One thing that the bank tries to commit to is it we we try to think that all of our people are gonna stay with us forever. We know that's not the case. But we want to we want to know what you know what they're passionate about, right? Maybe they joined us as a retail teller. Well, we know they're not gonna stay in that teller line forever. So we give them the opportunity to shadow other departments. We have a manager trainee program that we'll we'll put some of our staff into. And it's sometimes it's a six to nine week program, and sometimes it's customized based on you know the individual's experience, just to go around and shadow the entire bank. And then we say at the end of the program, well, what'd you like? What didn't you like? Uh so that we can start to build some type of a path for them. Uh the other thing that I think is amazing, and I don't know how many other organizations do this, but we do a mentor mentee program internally at the bank. And so um we do it, we do a uh, you know, a survey and we you know ask all the questions to find out what the best matches are. And this year we've got the best turnout I think we've had. I think we've got like 30 plus matches. Oh, that's awesome. And uh I've participated almost every year. I missed, I missed one year since I've joined the bank. But I started as a mentee, and my first mentor was uh a guy by the name of Lynn Bandy, and he is our COO. And Jason told me when when I got matched, I said, I don't want to work in operations. Like that sounds that he goes, he goes, Lynn's been with us for almost 40 years. He goes, There's not a single person in this bank that has more knowledge than that guy. And it was the best thing ever. And so that that was the only year that I served as a mentee. I immediately moved into a mentor. It's just kind of what I do naturally. So um this year I've got a young man by the name of uh Caleb, and he is uh in our investment arm. But he's he's young and he needs to learn how to network and build relationships. And so that's uh that's gonna be our focus. And uh our first meeting is actually next week. So he's on vacation this week, or we would have done it this way.

SPEAKER_01 30:01

I love it. No, those things can be powerful, those mentor-mentee relationships like that.

SPEAKER_03 30:04

Yeah, I'm glad we do it. And and then uh I know I think we took a year off of COVID when when COVID hit just because of the obviously the social distancing and whatnot. I love the program because there's not like a set regimen and thing. I think you're gonna get out of it what you put into it, and I try to communicate that just from my experience in the program. You know, if you want to get something out of it, you gotta work with one another. And I learned just as much from it as a mentor as the mentee will. Right. And maybe I'll get more out of it this year. You never know.

SPEAKER_01 30:28

No doubt about it. Now you mentioned the like the employees if they have something they're passionate about, but BOS on the whole, you guys are involved in a lot of stuff. You I mean, see your logo on a lot of different events, a lot of different things. So what are some of the high-level things that you guys like to support a lot?

SPEAKER_03 30:45

Well, we're always gonna we're always gonna support our communities and the in the big things that are going on in the community. Um, we're obviously gonna support our customers. And so we've got a lot of non-for-profits that that uh that bank with us and partner with us. And that's what it truly is. It's not just a relationship, it's it's a partnership. Yeah. And so uh obviously, any anytime one of our customers comes to us and they've got an event, we we want to be involved. And we can't always be the premier sponsor of everything. You know, it it's pretty incredible the requests that come in. Oh, I would imagine you guys get a lot of acts. It is, but we're committed. This morning we're sitting here downtown. I mean, we're committed to helping downtown, obviously with the BOS Center and the and the naming rights there. Um, hopefully that commitment helps bring in more acts and and things like that to downtown to help the help the businesses down here. We're always we're always willing to listen and get involved in some capacity. Some sometimes we'll have somebody come to us that uh we just we just can't do it this year. We've got we've got a champagne market, we've got a Bloomington market, you know, we've got Quincy in Jacksonville and the in the St. Louis. And so we try to we try to spread our marketing allocation out accordingly and just do what we can. And I think as you know, we talked about m getting involved in my commitment. I do what I can. You know, I've been on the local first board and I'm currently serving on the United Way Board and I'm on the Lincoln Land Community College Foundation board. And so I do what I can, and I sometimes I do feel a little guilty when I can't make it to something, but then I just step back and be like, okay, I'm doing what I'm doing what I can. Right. Because at the end of the day, I got to be there for my wife, I gotta be there for my kids. Some of these events just aren't doable for me. Right. But we got a lot of employees that can help out.

SPEAKER_01 32:15

We do, yeah. There you do. Yes, you do. So the the Lincoln Land Foundation, that's one thing we haven't talked about much on the show. What all does what all does the Lincoln Land Foundation do?

SPEAKER_03 32:22

So the Lincoln Land Community College Foundation has been been around for quite a while. Um I'm very passionate about that. It's probably one of the favorite things that I'm that I am involved with. Matter of fact, I'm the chair of our board and we just had our gala um last Saturday night. But at the end of the day, bottom line is we provide scholarships, support uh for the students. And uh this year I think it's gonna be uh, you know, close to we're not quite to a million dollars this year, but last year I think we were 800,000 plus. This year it's gonna probably be over 900,000. And it is, you know, that we've we've got uh scholarship application process. So we will give close to 900, a little bit over$900,000 away this year to students that are in in some type of need. Some of these students are going to college, maybe, maybe be the first person in their family to go to college. Some of them are juggling family life and needing to start a new career. Um, some of them are, you know, military service. Uh some of them have just been a little bit down on their luck and need to get into a workforce program. So that's that's our job is to be there to support those students. And it is honestly one of the most rewarding things I've ever been a part of.

SPEAKER_01 33:26

And$900,000 with as affordable as Lincoln Land is. I mean, that buys a that buys a lot of college at Lincoln Land.

SPEAKER_03 33:34

Great, great point because our tuition is very affordable. I mean, we're talking fifteen hundred to two thousand dollars a semester. And I would say our average scholarship is probably twenty five hundred dollars. And some of them go up to five or even ten thousand dollars. Some of the nursing programs and the radiography tech programs are pretty expensive programs to get into. But our donors are amazing. Uh, we've got a great staff that is always out, you know, trying to recruit more donors. Uh you think about that, that large number, and then the average scholarship is$2,500 to$3,000,$3,000. That's a lot of students. Yeah. A lot of students that we're helping. And I'm I'm part of our scholarship review team. And I think we had over 500 plus applications last year. So we're we're helping, you know, about half of them. I mean, I think half of them, you know, and some of them put a lot more effort into the application process, but reading, reading their testimony, if you will, or the, you know, their their their essay, oh my gosh, it tugs on the heartstrings. And so I will stay involved with the foundation and that college as long as I'm I'm breathing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:33

So very passionate about it. I haven't been a part of that, but I've been on a a part of a lot of different scholarship committees and everything. And you're right. Reading some of those applications, it does tugs at the heartstrings.

SPEAKER_03 34:42

It sure does. And so yeah, we got a lot of good things going on out there. And I know you're involved with the CACC, and a lot of kids are you doing some work out there to join the workforce immediately after they're done. But Lincoln Land is that next step, and I'm sure you see a lot of students take that jump. We do. Uh, and it's uh yeah, it's just great. It's great part to great to be a part of.

SPEAKER_01 35:01

Absolutely. Outside of these associations and the coaching and stuff, is there anything else you do personally to elevate your life?

SPEAKER_03 35:08

Wow. I love to coach my kids. I'm doing I'm currently doing coach pitch baseball, uh, softball, and then basketball has come to an end. But I actually think I love basketball the best. Really? Because it's not something that I was great at. So it's something that I have to work a little harder to learn some drills and some plays. You know, baseball comes easy. Softball comes easy. I can I can teach that stuff all day long, you know, come up with a with a plan. But basketball, I actually got to do a little research. You know, I got to elevate myself to be a better coach uh when it comes to basketball. But I got intensity, I've got enthusiasm, I've got the will to make these girls better. Uh, and then eventually my son. I I think I told you, you know, I wake up every day just trying to be the best version of myself. Every day is different, which I love. I don't have a set regimen of things that I have to do at the bank every day. So uh we'll see what today brings.

SPEAKER_01 35:59

There you go. Well, I mean, you traveled around a lot playing baseball and the whole thing. What's one of your favorite things about Springfield, Illinois?

SPEAKER_03 36:06

Oh my gosh, the people. The people. I mean, this this is truly one of the best communities. And again, I all the different communities that I've been in. I mean, I started in Salem, Oregon when I my first team that I played for, Hagerstown, Maryland, San Jose, California, Norwich, Connecticut, let's see, Fresno, California, Sacramento, California, New Orleans, Charlotte, North Carolina. These were my home teams that I was based out of. This community blows those all away. And it's because I do know a lot of people, but one thing that I always did as a player is I would get involved in the community. I wasn't just a guy that was showing up, catching, going back and sleeping and just doing it all over again. There was always a way for the players to get involved in the community. And there are some great communities out there, don't get me wrong. But uh, and and I even got some awards sitting in a box somewhere at home for community engagement. Oh, really? Yeah, within a community. So that's something that I'm passionate about. But Springfield, the people here, uh, they work together, they care. Uh, we've got our problems, we've got issues, but um, when when something happens, the way this community comes together, it's just it's just amazing. And family. This is where this is where I'm from, this is where my family's at. So um, I'm not going anywhere.

SPEAKER_01 37:15

There you go. Any advice maybe for young athletes out there that maybe want to follow in your footsteps and make it to the league? Any any advice for them?

SPEAKER_03 37:23

You know, you don't ever want to have any regrets for not for not putting in the work. Put in the time, put in the work. If you're if you're fortunate enough to have the resources to to get private lessons and things like that, which not everybody has, but with with the internet now and all the stuff that's out there, I mean, there's there's resources out there for you to get some to get some uh some instructions. If you want it bad enough, go for it, you know. And not everybody is blessed with just God given talent. I was. I was. I still I I firmly believe that my dad, God rest his soul, was not the best athlete. He was not. I don't I don't even know that he had one athletic bone in his own. Really? I know. Now my mother, yes. Okay. Um so you know, but I still think that my brother and I both were just were blessed, you know, a little genetics there, but blessed with just some God given talent, and uh we worked at it. I remember Jason and I had a paper route when we were in high school to make a look to make a little money. I don't know if I don't even know if kids do paper routes in the case.

SPEAKER_01 38:18

I don't know the name either, but I had one too growing up.

SPEAKER_03 38:20

Yeah, it was kind of a dying resource. But we would roll our papers every morning and then we would run our paper route and see how fast we could get it done. I mean, it was conditioning for us, we were throwing papers like a baseball, and I still, you know, that was our work ethic. That was the kind of work ethic of me. And then we went straight to to practice over at Springfield High School afterwards.

SPEAKER_01 38:38

So funny that you say that. My little brother and I did the same thing. Did you really we we'd have a competition see who can hit their route quickest and come back?

SPEAKER_03 38:46

Yeah, we had a double, we had a double route. It was it was an equal amount of papers, and so we we were we would we would run. And so uh yeah, it was it was just fun. So yeah, put in the work, put in the work.

SPEAKER_01 38:55

Love it. How do a pod with my daughter here on Tuesdays and we we talked about that and we she I said I said, Yeah, my first job was actually a paper route. And she's like, huh? Yeah, like paper route. You know, we walked papers around and ran papers around.

SPEAKER_03 39:09

We still we still joke to this day. So uh the best athlete in our family is probably our younger brother Joe. And uh I don't know if you've ever met my younger brother Joey, but he is a massive human being. I mean, he's like six five, six six. I mean, he just looks at weights and he and I think he could have been a an NFL defensive lineman. Now, he just didn't he didn't have the same work ethic that Jason and I had. He had the talent, had the ability, and he just, you know, he did what he he he he lived it, live life the way he wanted to live it. He didn't have ambitions to go play professional baseball like I did or play in the NFL. He just wanted to play on the high school team and you know, maybe go play college. So he inherited the paper route. Once Jason and I went off to college, he inherited the paper route because he said he wanted to make the money, right? My mom and dad ended up doing the paper route. We still give him crap to the day. Like, your paper route, Joe, or mom and dad's paper.

SPEAKER_01 39:58

That's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_03 39:59

Then they still gave him the money. I'm like, this is spoiled, rotten little brother.

SPEAKER_01 40:03

Yeah. The old youngest child. Exactly. There you go.

SPEAKER_03 40:06

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 40:06

Well, Justin, so much great stuff today. I always like to close with these last couple of things. Let's give the audience a piece of advice. One on the personal side and one on the professional side to help them elevate their life or business.

SPEAKER_03 40:18

Well, if you're really looking to elevate your life, I would say um, you know, just do what you can. You know, there's there's people that have different capacities and can can do more than others, whether it's in a giving capacity or a time commitment capacity, just do what you can. Do what you can. You know, that's that's kind of how I've been living lately, is I I do it, I do what I can. You know, I want I I see something out there on social media. Man, I wish I could attended that. But I couldn't. I couldn't do it. Couldn't make it work. So just you know, do what you can. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 40:47

And professionally?

SPEAKER_03 40:48

Probably a little bit of the same. Um, you know, if you're if you're somebody that's out there that um doesn't necessarily love what you're doing, um whether it's in a your current role with your company, maybe you love your company, uh, but you just want to do something different within that company, or maybe you want to do something completely, don't be afraid to do something about it. I I tell I tell kids all the time, you know, especially, you know, you might change your career between I think the average might be five times in in a lifetime, maybe seven. I know I saw a stat somewhere and I can't recall it, but don't be afraid to do something about it. If you're not happy, do something about it. No doubt. You know, there's there's help out there, do something about it.

SPEAKER_01 41:24

Yeah, I tell students that all the time. You're gonna change your mind a a bunch of times, you know.

SPEAKER_03 41:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:28

Do it. So and is there anything we can do community-wide to help all of us here elevate Springfield and the surrounding community?

SPEAKER_03 41:36

Aaron Powell Keep working together. Just work together. And again, we all try to do what we can, and I keep going back to that. But uh from a from a community-wide um we get we can't we can't be afraid to take another step forward and take some risk. We gotta continue to work together, everybody as a as a community. It's the only way we're gonna continue to sustain what we currently have and grow.

SPEAKER_01 41:56

Aaron Powell That's right. That's right. When we work together, we grow together. Yep. Well, appreciate you hanging out with me for a little bit this morning, man.

SPEAKER_03 42:02

It was good, good to kind of reconnect. I know we bump into each other when we can. Right. But uh yeah, always happy to jump in and uh just let me know if you ever need anything, man.

SPEAKER_01 42:10

Absolutely appreciate all your support over the years. And if somebody's out there, of course they can just stop by one of your branches or head to the website or anything like that if they want to do some business with you, right?

SPEAKER_03 42:19

Yep, easy to get a hold of. But uh yeah, we're we're BOS. And uh yeah, if you ever have any questions about banking, we're living in a crazy world of fraud right now. Don't be even if you don't bank with us, reach out to us. We're happy, we're happy to get you the resources that you need.

SPEAKER_01 42:31

There you go. Well, thanks again for all your support over the years, brother.

SPEAKER_03 42:34

You got it. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 42:35

Well, we're gonna let Justin get back to elevating Springfield. But for the rest of y'all, we'll be right back. Looking for expert tree care with hometown integrity, look no further than Sangamon Tree Service. They're your trusted local pros, delivering quality workmanship, exceptional customer service, and fair, honest pricing every time. Whether it's trimming, removal, or storm cleanup, their team brings professionalism and care to every job, big or small. Call the name your neighbors trust, Sangman Tree Service, or visit them today at SangamentreeService.com. Sangaman Tree Service, rooted in quality, built on trust. Looking for personalized insurance with hometown care, David Hilst, American Family Insurance Agent's here to help you protect what matters most: your family, your home, and your dreams. Whether it's auto, home, life, business, David and his team are proud to serve the Springfield community with trusted advice and reliable coverage. Local service, real relationships, peace of mind. Call today or stop by their office. They can build your dream protection plan together. Call 217-726-6343. Well, thank you for joining us today, everybody. Appreciate you making us a part of your day. Hey, don't forget while you're out on social, check ours out. You can check my personal one out at Robert Farrell at everywhere. Check out those Elevate Springfield pages, those big dog business coaching pages as well. Check us out over on YouTube. Give us a subscribe, give us a like or a follow on any of those channels. We would certainly appreciate it. So, hey, take what you learned today. You bring the discipline and follow through and together. That's right, y'all. We're gonna elevate Springfield. Be great.

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