Community Banker of the Year Named

New Hampshire Bankers Association (NHBA) President and CEO Christiana Thornton announced that Kathryn G. Underwood, president/CEO of Ledyard National Bank, is the recipient of the “2015 Community Banker of the Year” award.

Underwood received the award at NHBA’s Annual Conference this past weekend.

Underwood was selected for this prestigious honor by a panel of leading public officials from the State of New Hampshire, including Senate President Chuck Morse, House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Chairman Rep. John Hunt, and state Commissioner of the Treasury William Dwyer. NH Banking Department Commissioner Glenn Perlow served as announcer and presenter of the award.

NHBA President and CEO Christiana Thornton said, “It is with great pleasure we honor Kathy Underwood with our Community Banker of the Year Award for her tremendous commitment to the individuals and communities of the Granite State. Kathy’s personal and professional focus of serving the needs of our state is extremely inspiring. She is a true role model for all, and deserving of this recognition.”

The panel of judges noted Underwood’s clear commitment to bringing positive change to her community with the creation of the first ever Go Red for Women event to increase awareness that heart disease is the #1 health risk for women in her area, and also bringing a “Fit Friendly” initiative to encourage local businesses to help their employees’ live healthier lives.

Underwood rolled her commitment to her community into her leadership role at Ledyard National by initiating a program called “Ledyard Lend a Hand.” She developed this program because she recognized that as a community bank, they had first-hand knowledge of the difficulties and challenges facing individuals, businesses, and non-profit-organizations. This program provides hundreds of hours of labor to local organizations through the volunteer efforts of the banks’ employees. It is such a successful and welcomed program that more than 50 percent of the bank’s employees participates.

There is no end to Underwood’s community and professional leadership. A contributor to Ms Underwood’s application stated it best when they wrote that she “possesses a rare blend of confidence, ability, intelligence and humility -- all of which are requisites of a successful leader.”

Each year, NHBA honors a New Hampshire bank employee who has gone beyond the course of ordinary business to help improve the State of New Hampshire through civic and community engagement. Recipients are respected industry professionals who have made a significant impact on those around them by inspiring others to become involved in community service.

Caption: Christiana L. Thornton, President/CEO of NHBA, Kathryn G. Underwood, President/CEO, of Ledyard National Bank, Glenn Perlow, Commissioner of NH Banking Department.