Johnson elevated to chair of ABA marketing network council; two new council members named. (ABA Resources).

Alista J. Johnson has been named as the new chair of the ABA Marketing Network CounciL She is the senior vice president and director of marketing at Highland Bank, St Paul, Minn., and has been a CounciL member for five years.

Her term lasts for one year. Johnson has worked in bank marketing for 13 years, starting as a marketing representative at Signal Bank (later, Signal Financial Corn.), Eagan, Minn. She worked her way up to vice president and director of marketing before moving to Highland Bank.

She has experience in strategic planning, market research, public relations, advertising, promotion, product development, communications, training and professional development.

She has a B.A. in business from the University of St Thomas, St. Paul, Minn., and a master degree in marketing from the same university. Johnson is a 1991 graduate of the ABA School of Bank Marketing & Management.

Here are profiles of the two new ABA Marketing Network Council members:

Chistyn L. Divine

Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing

First National Bank of Pennsylvania Hermitage, Pa.

Years in banking/marketing:

Years in banking/marketing: Seventeen.

Seventeen.

Education:

Bachelor's degree, University of Kansas; ABA School of Bank Marketing & Management; Graduate School of Banking.

Greatest achievement in banking/marketing:

Developing new products for our customers, seeing them succeed in the marketplace and being recognized for this by the ABA Marketing Network.

Worst day in banking/marketing:

Having to pull an entire campaign from the market the day before it was scheduled to start and develop a new one in one week based on a different strategy. This was a result of poor communications on marketing's part. Other than that, there has not been that many bad days. When there are, I try to learn from them, move on and forget them.

Word of advice for fellow marketers: Learn to understand the financial side of the bank and how it applies to marketing.

could start my banking/marketing career over again (but knowing what I know now), I would:

Begin this career path earlier. I love what I'm doing.

Teresa Ziebarth

Vice President of Sales Processes and Customer Relationship Management

Marquette Financial Companies

(recently acquired by Wells Fargo & Co.) Minneapolis

Years in banking/marketing: Twenty-two.

Education:

Greatest achievement in banking/marketing: Managing a couple of very successful mergers and acquisitions that resulted in greater conveniences for our customers.

B.S. degree in marketing from Moorhead State University in Moorhead, Minn.; graduate of the ABA School of Bank Marketing & Management; graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking; Kellogg Graduate School of Management Executive Program, "Creating and Managing Strategic Alliances"; Graduate, "The Disney Approach to Quality Service," Disney University.

Worst day in banking/marketing: The first time a community banking organization that I was working for-and that a number of us had worked very hard to position well within the markets we served-was purchased by a large regional banking organization.

Word of advice for fellow marketers: Stay flexible. The greatest experiences I've had in my career were not the result of long-term personal planning. A person can't plan for a bank sale, merger, etc. A person can, however, determine how they will react to these events. Look at the glass as always half full instead of half empty.

If I could start my banking/marketing career over again (but knowing what I know now), I would: Make all the choices I made, working for various super community and community financial organizations. I would realize, however, that making this choice also would open up the possibilities of marking several employer changes, with bank mergers and sales to larger entities. I created many great adventures for myself that I would never have anticipated when I first began my career.

The following are the names of the existing ABA Marketing Network Council members:

Immediate Past Chair: Stephen R. Martin, vice president, marketing, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co., Canandaigua, N.Y.

Sandi Carlyon, senior vice president, marketing, Broadway National Bank, San Antonio, Texas.

Robert Culler, senior vice president, Installment/Consumer Loan Department, First State Bank and Trust Co., Caruthersville, Mo.

Richard G. Dorner, president and CEO, Ann Arbor Commerce Bank, Ann Arbor, Mich.

John H. Hill, senior vice president, Trust & Investment Management, Wachovia Bank, N.A., Winston-Salem, N.C.

Scott V. Williams, senior vice president, marketing, The Palmetto Bank, Laurens, S.C.