When you think of the banking industry, you don’t expect to hear of environmental leadership or a commitment to the long-term health and success of customers, employees and communities. Until recently, those living outside of Colorado—or even outside of Colorado’s Western Slope—might not know about Alpine Bank.
“We believe that people today make purchasing decisions based on companies’ sustainability efforts, and Alpine Bank has put forth incredible effort in that area,” says Matt Teeters (Professional MBA 2013), executive vice president. In addition to its green commitment, Alpine Bank is deeply ingrained in the communities that it serves and works diligently to positively impact Colorado. Founded in 1973, Alpine Bank has 36 locations throughout western Colorado, and in April 2014, the company opened its first Denver branch. Teeters, who has spent his entire career with Glenwood Springs-based Alpine Bank, leads the Denver branch, located on 18th Street and Wynkoop in Lower Downtown (LoDo).
To get to know its new neighbors, the new Denver Alpine Bank launched a contest in March called “What Does LoDo Need?,” and invited people to submit business plans for future LoDo upstarts. The winner will receive an interest-free, two-year loan of $100,000. “We’re really serious about showing people that we are a community bank that wants to support our community,” says Teeters. Alpine Bank plans to open more locations throughout the metropolitan area in the years to come.
Alpine Bank also became a silver-level sponsor in the Daniels Corporates Partners program in March. The company is a longtime and avid supporter of education, and awards two renewable scholarships each year through its Alpine Bank Latino/Hispanic Scholarship program for Colorado Mountain College. “I see the University of Denver and the Daniels College of Business as a key partnership of Alpine Bank here in Denver,” says Teeters. “We are focused on growing our bank across the Front Range, and as the most respected institution in the Denver area, partnering with Daniels is a big part of that.”
Alpine Bank has always had a presence at the annual Career Fair at Daniels, and has hired several graduates over the years—and Teeters says he expects to do more recruiting from the College now that Alpine Bank is expanding into Denver. The bank will sponsor a community clean-up with the Graduate Business Student Association in May.
For Teeters—who commuted to Denver from Avon once a week for two years to earn a Daniels Professional MBA—becoming a Corporate Partner is a mutually beneficial partnership. “We support education because we care about giving back to a cause that Alpine Bank cares about, but we also see a tangible benefit to us as well,” Teeters says. “It’s clear to me that this relationship will be a reciprocal one that helps us build and grow our brand and create a great relationship with our new community here in Denver.”
Learn more about Alpine Bank at: alpinebank.com.