Servant leadership, cultural acknowledgment and community collaboration drive Susan Chapman Plumb every day.
The chief executive officer and board chair of Local Bank in Hulbert, Oklahoma, says that treating customers like family is a trait central to her Cherokee culture. It’s also something that her late father, longtime banker Gary Chapman, instilled in her as far back as she can remember. And as a Cherokee Nation citizen whose family has lived in present-day northeast Oklahoma since long before statehood, it’s a value that she doesn’t want anyone to forget.
“My father treated everyone the same and was always looking for ways to help people,” Chapman Plumb. “That’s a value I’m proud our bank is known for.”
This year Chapman Plumb joins the Bank’s head office Board of Directors, a familiar public service role for her. From 2017 to 2022 she served on the Bank’s Oklahoma City Branch Board of Directors.
“I believe in and am committed to the decentralized nature of the Federal Reserve; I think it’s part of the backbone of the economy and critical to keeping the American economy on track,” she said. “Community banks should have a role to play in that. I’m grateful the Kansas City Fed recognizes that and allows me to represent the minority-owned and community-owned institutions. I’m also proud that a Cherokee senator helped shape that vision.”
Oklahoman Robert L. Owen, a U.S. senator and Cherokee Nation citizen, helped author the legislation that established the Federal Reserve. Chapman Plumb is the only female Native American bank owner and CEO in the United States. She noted that her father, who died in 2019, was involved in Cherokee banking for 40 years. He headed the investment group of tribal members who bought the Bank of Cherokee County when it was the smallest bank in Oklahoma with about $6 million in assets. The bank has been renamed Local Bank and today is a community development financial institution with five office locations and about $347 million in assets.
She said that it is important that the Federal Reserve understand the perspective of community banks, particularly given the decline of community banks on the national level.
Chapman Plumb earned a juris doctorate at the University of Tulsa and practiced law for 10 years before returning to community banking more than 30 years ago.
She said that starting her day around 6 a.m., she often finds herself multitasking by sending email to employees and making calls to ensure things are running smoothly.
“To create an environment for our customers that feels like a family, we need to treat each other like family, so I’m always checking in on people, their families, and their lives to make sure everyone is doing well," Chapman Plumb said. “This atmosphere is what makes community banks so important.”
Learn more about Ms. Chapman Plumb here.