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Farmville resident Earl J. Allen recently completed the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado (GSBC). Currently employed as Benchmark Community Bank’s Senior Vice President, Allen was one of 166 graduates from the 2023 class. 

Also working as Benchmark’s compliance officer, Allen’s experience, education and certifications allowed him to enter as a second-year student in the program’s 72nd annual school session. He received his diploma in banking after successfully completing two weeks of classroom training annually over a two-year period. Classes focused on financial management and strategy, innovation and engagement, leadership and culture, and lending.

“In his time with the Bank, Jake has built on a solid foundation of regulatory compliance policy and procedure that allows Benchmark to work exceedingly well with the various agencies that oversee banking,” said President/CEO Jay Stafford of Allen’s accomplishment. “We are very proud to support Jake as he continues on his banking journey.”

In addition to the on-site sessions, Allen’s training with the GSB at Colorado program included three intersession projects, as well as an extensive bank management simulation course during which students assume the roles of senior management of a commercial bank. Part of the process includes involving themselves in the group dynamics and managerial skills of managing a bank in a competitive environment with changing economic conditions.

The Graduate School of Banking at Colorado is America’s Premier Community Banking School, boasting more than 8,000 alumni since its inception in 1950, and educating approximately 600 bankers and regulatory professionals from around the nation annually. GSBC prides itself on its commitment to providing unmatched higher education to America’s community bankers.