Gary and Hanna Canada of Bank of England, England, Ark.
The American Bankers Association has announced the recipients of both the Bruning and Blanchfield Awards, the association’s premier awards presented for contributions to ag banking. For the first time, this year’s Bruning Award will be presented to a husband-wife team, Gary and Hanna Canada, two agricultural bankers known for running Bank of England in England, Ark., hand-in-hand.
Gary Canada—the bank’s chairman and president—is a longtime ag banker who has served on numerous committees and boards throughout his career, including ABA’s Agricultural and Rural Bankers Committee, the Bayou Metro Irrigation District and the Arkansas Rice Council. In addition to running the bank, he has run a cow-calf operation and farmed cotton, rice and wheat. His wife, Hanna—who serves as EVP at Bank of England—began her banking career as a teller and today serves on the board of directors.
Winning this year’s Blanchfield Award—which is presented to a non-banker for contributions to ag and rural banking—is James Radintz, who recently retired as a senior executive at the USDA’s Farm Service Agency. During his 38-year career at USDA, Radintz held several leadership positions, including deputy administrator for farm loan programs and director of the loan making division. Both awards will be presented at the ABA National Agricultural Bankers Conference, Nov. 10-13 in Dallas.