Ozarks Profile - John Himmel

What is your job?

As vice chairman and chief credit officer of Commerce Bank, John Himmel works with commercial relationship managers in solving customer problems.

Please tell us about your company.

Himmel said that Commerce Bank provides a full line of banking services at 330 Missouri, Kansas and Illinois locations including 25 branches with 355 employees and 43 ATMs in Springfield and southwest Missouri.

What prepared you for work in your business?

Himmel has an accounting degree and also graduated from the School of Banking at Louisiana State University. "I began as an internal auditor for the bank," he said. In the mid-1970s he worked at the Commerce Bank in Willard. "I left Willard in 1977 and continued to move around the Commerce Bank system quite a bit. My associates ... tease me about taking almost 25 years to get from Willard to Springfield."

What effect do you see recent developments in the economy having on the underwriting standards of your company and others, if any?

"There is considerable softness in our national economy and to a lesser extent some softness in our local economy," Himmel said. "Having a local and regional economy based on health care, education, tourism, light manufacturing, and the continuing reputation as one of the finest regions in our country for retirees, provides considerable insulation from what the rest of our nation sees. There, of course, is some slowdown in particular areas, but for the most part, our region's economic engine continues to chug along pretty well."

What do you predict regarding the demand for loans?

Himmel said the demand for loans and other retail and commercial banking services will keep growing. "Residential growth really runs our economic machine," he said. "Both retail and commercial business go where the people are and where the people are expected to continue to go. We've got plenty of inflow of new people. This bodes well for both our retail and commercial sector."

What's the best part of your job?

"Meeting and working with entrepreneurs," Himmel said. "There is a strong entrepreneurial spirit in the Springfield market and I enjoy working with those entrepreneurs in helping their businesses grow. ..."

Can you tell us something about your personal life and family?

Himmel and wife Cindy have been married more than 25 years and have a daughter, Allison, 12, a student at Cherokee Middle School.

How do you like to spend your leisure time?

Himmel enjoys the area's lakes and countryside. His favorite leisure activity is sailing. "I have a sailboat on Table Rock Lake that we try to get out on every weekend. Sailing is a great way to relax and is absolutely the most fun one can have at three miles per hour," he said. "If only I could figure out how to make the boat go a little faster."

by Frank Shipe