ABA honors nine community banks with leadership award.

• Position: ABA RESOURCES

THE ABA HAS RECOGNIZED NINE BANKS for their outstanding leadership by honoring them with an ABA Community Bank Award. The 2011 awards were presented in seven categories ranging from Improving Financial Literacy to Reaching Out to the Underserved. Winners were announced at ABA's National Conference for Community Bankers in San Diego on Feb. 22.

The ABA selection committee awarded nine banks from a field of more than 180 nominations based on the innovation, creativity and effectiveness of the bank's approach to making a difference in its community.

The 2011 award winners for extraordinary work are:

Building with Habitat for Humanity

* Boone County National Bank, Columbia, Mo., for acquiring an 11-acre development land site and donating it to Habitat for Humanity, which was struggling to secure land at the time. The bank has become a partner with Habitat, and the bank's employees will build part of the 30 homes that will soon be on this property.

Encouraging Volunteerism

* First Bank, Ketchikan, Alaska, for its Community Service Award Program, which helped community-based organizations in need with a "Pay it forward" volunteer approach.

Fundraising for Foundations and Local Groups

* BankWest Inc., Pierre, S.D., for its Honor Flight program which sent 109 World War II veterans from their local area to Washington to see the World War II Memorial.

* Eaton Federal Savings Bank, Charlotte, Mich., for its role in the "Stepping Up for Kids" program, which helps underprivileged residents obtain basic necessities.

Helping to Achieve Homeownership

* MidCountry Bank, Minnetonka, Minn., for its array of programs to help homeownership become a reality for many, including local, state and federal programs offered in emerging and traditional markets.

Improving Financial Literacy

* Monroe Bank &amp...