Kish Bank celebrates 4th annual community recognition event


Kish Bank celebrated community and the charitable and innovative work being done by professionals, volunteers and non-profit organizations in the region when more than 300 people attended the 4th annual Kish Celebrates Community Reception in the Mount Nittany Club Lounge at Beaver Stadium on Thursday, June 21.

Kish Bank CEO Bill Hayes started the night off by referring to a recent Gallup study that ranked State College third among 26 small U.S. cities; the study explored cities’ connections between economic growth and residents’ emotional attachment to the location.

“What was surprising about the correlation between economic growth and volunteerism and community pride was that it contradicted what you may expect,” Hayes said. “It was pride in place that generated economic growth rather than the other way around. And when you think about it, how State College ranked near the top of that survey, it’s pretty astounding to think that community pride and giving drive economic growth and not the other way around. I can tell you it was very reaffirming for us at Kish.”

The annual reception kicked off four years ago with the help and dedication of Penn State Lady Lions Head Basketball Coach Coquese Washington. Each year features a different keynote speaker, and past speakers include James Franklin and President Eric Barron. This year, the keynote speaker was Nittany Lions Head Basketball Coach Patrick Chambers, who spoke on teamwork as it relates to creating a successful community.

“That’s what Kish is about, and that’s what the community is about — it’s about the people,” Chambers said. “Let’s not forget that. I’m sure they have great buildings and great banks and we have great buildings, and we have this massive stadium and it’s awesome, but let’s not forget about what this is about: the people and helping one another. It’s very genuine, it’s very authentic, it’s very real. And that’s how you find success: when you have that level of trust.”

The night culminated with the presentation of the annual Humanitarian of the Year award to Dr. Peter Hudson, the Willaman Professor of Biology and Director for the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State.

He was recognized for his work researching infectious and transmittable diseases among species across the globe and their impact on human health. He also established the Penn State Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics and provides leadership and support to research teams within the Huck Institute.

Hudson spoke on his belief that the biggest problem faced in the world today is population growth, and how he feels supporting the education of women around the world is an important step in the right direction.

“The intolerance that we see in this world is really not acceptable,” Hudson said. “Intolerance towards ethnicity, towards gender, towards religious belief is really not right. I think many of those issues arise from the population growth rate we are seeing, and we know what the solution is, and it’s very simple: it’s educating women and giving them the capability to move on. That is the most important thing, and it seems so obvious that we as a university should be helping global education, we should be helping people in developing worlds with their education.”

Throughout the evening, other organizations and individuals were also recognized for their charitable efforts to support the community and the world.

Finalists for the Outstanding Nonprofit of the Year award were The Arc of Centre County, which empowers individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and Strawberry Fields, which is in the process of opening Good Day Café, a restaurant that creates jobs for people with developmental disabilities.

Semifinalists for this award included the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life of Mifflin and Juniata Counties and Huntingdon County Pride, an organization that provides programs for persons with disabilities caused by birth defects.

Washington later presented a Pink Zone check for $142,441.01, funding that will support breast cancer organizations, charities and research centers.

The night closed with Greg Hayes, president of Kish Bank, presenting the Community Impact Award to Kish Bank Senior Officer and Commercial Relationship Manager of the State College Atherton branch, Denise Quinn.

“We don’t try to quantify the economic impact of our financial support to the community, it is simply part of who we are and what we do,” Bill Hayes said. “But for our regional community bank that is headquartered here, that is entirely focused here, it’s a source of great pride that we can play our part in the positive force of this region and this community’s commitment to caring, volunteering and giving.”

 

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