Bankers Cash In With Investors

Heartland Community Bank is a 10-year-plus success story in Johnson County (including placement on the Indiana Chamber’s Best Places to Work in Indiana list for 2008). But when veteran bankers Steve Bechman and Jeff Goben decided to venture out on their own to get back to the customer service roots that were so important, there were more than a few anxious moments.

After all, it takes money to be in the banking business. As part of their investor tour in the summer of 1997, they were prepared to meet with business and community colleagues at Greenwood’s well-known Jonathan Byrd’s cafeteria. They were warned, however, that thousands of invitations for such events might only yield 50 attendees.

When they pulled into a full parking lot, they weren’t sure if it was the dinner special or a special event attracting the crowd. They were pleasantly surprised that the approximately 300 people came to hear them — and invest in their new enterprise.

Goben recalls, "The who’s who of Johnson County and southern Marion County were in the room that night. It was a tremendous vote of confidence."

The rest, as they say, is history. BizVoice has the Heartland Community Bank story in its current edition.

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