Imagine a government agency that is completely self-funded. No taxpayer money needed. Imagine also the head of that agency is appointed by the Governor, and yet, no matter who the Governor is, Republican or Democrat, the agency head is continually reappointed. Is that a pipedream?

      No, it’s reality. The Oklahoma State Banking Department is that agency. Its head, Oklahoma State Banking Commissioner Mick Thompson, who led the Banking Department to become self-funded, is the special guest speaker this week of the Rotary Club of Edmond.

      Thompson, who was executive vice president of Poteau’s Central National Bank, was appointed to the position of Commissioner on September 1, 1992, by Governor David Walters. Reappointed in 1996 and 2000 by Governor Frank Keating, and in 2004 and 2008 by Governor Brad Henry, Thompson has served as Banking Commissioner longer than any person in Oklahoma history.

      From 1976 to 1984, Thompson served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. He chaired the House Banking and Finance Committee, served as majority floor leader, and was a member of the Appropriations and Budget Committee. It was during his chairmanship of the Banking and Finance Committee that Oklahoma enacted its first branch banking and multi-bank holding company laws.

     Thompson has chaired the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, and has served as a Trustee of the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado. He is a board member of the Carl Albert State College Foundation and the Southeastern Oklahoma State University Foundation.

     The Graduate School of Banking at Colorado recently awarded Thompson the James C. Scarboro Memorial Award, which is presented annually to a commercial banker or banking educator who has provided outstanding leadership to the banking community and/or banking education nationwide.

     Thompson graduated from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, where he currently serves on the School of Business Advisory Council. He earned a master’s degree in education from Northeastern State University, as well as a graduate degree in banking from the University of Colorado in Boulder.

     With his wife, Peggy, Thompson lives in Edmond. They have three grown children and three grandchildren.

Please welcome our guest speaker, State Banking Commissioner Mick Thompson, to the Rotary Club of Edmond.

Andy