First Mid Acknowledges Importance of Celebrate Diversity Month
St. Louis, MO (April 29, 2024) As part of Celebrate Diversity Month, First Mid Bank & Trust (First Mid) wants to stress the importance of creating a welcoming and diverse environment for its employees as well as the customers they serve. With over 80 locations throughout the Midwest, Brian Gibson, Senior Vice President and Director of Community and Economic Development, said an individualized approach is often needed for each market they serve. First Mid has an internal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee with the goal of ensuring all voices and cultures feel represented.
“I often mention in our meetings that representation is important,” Gibson said. “That includes both customers and employees. Customers like to bank with people who represent them. That can be from a variety of perspectives including race, ethnicity, LGBTQIA, Veterans, disabled people, younger clients, older clients, and people from all walks of life. They all want to feel like they are represented at First Mid, and our goal is to make sure they always feel comfortable walking through our doors or through any interaction they have with the bank.”
Gibson said he often meets with community leaders, including nonprofit organizations and business owners in underserved communities. He is a liaison between the bank and stakeholders throughout the community, allowing First Mid to provide outreach in a comprehensive and inclusive way.
Gibson stressed that while Celebrate Diversity Month is important to acknowledge, First Mid strives daily to improve diversity on all fronts, not just in April. An important part of this initiative is educating the community on financial processes. Gibson highlighted that First Mid is a large bank, but acts as a community bank with its employees truly rooted in the regions they serve.
“We are a community bank located in rural, urban, and suburban areas, meaning we have a diverse customer base. Our mission is to ensure we offer exemplary service to all,” Gibson said. “We strive to be representative of the communities we serve by being intentional with our outreach efforts, helping ensure we are meeting the needs of all communities. Our goal is to take away the uncertainty of banking across historically underserved communities. This allows customers to form personal relationships with our bankers and know they can trust us to help meet their needs.”
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About First Mid Bancshares, Inc.: First Mid Bancshares, Inc. is the parent company of First Mid Bank & Trust, N.A., First Mid Insurance Group, and First Mid Wealth Management Company. First Mid is an $7.6 billion community-focused organization that provides financial services including banking, insurance, wealth management, brokerage, and ag services through a network of locations in Illinois, Missouri, Texas, and Wisconsin, and a loan production office in Indiana. Together, our First Mid team takes great pride in providing solutions and services to our customers and communities and has done so since 1865. More information about the Company is available on our website at firstmid.com. Our stock is traded in The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC under the ticker symbol “FMBH”. Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender.