The ABA Foundation today awarded its sixth annual George Bailey Distinguished Service Award to co-winners Alex Fennoy and Detra Miller. Presented to a non-CEO banker demonstrating outstanding initiative, effectiveness and inspiration to others, the George Bailey Award is the American Bankers Association’s highest individual honor. This is the first year the award has been shared.
As EVP for community and economic development at Midwest BankCentre in St. Louis, Fennoy has led numerous efforts to expand access to banking, including opening two branches in historically unbanked areas in partnership with community-serving and faith-based organizations. According to a study from Washington University in St. Louis, the economic impact of these two branches alone exceeds $20 million. He also helped develop a unique product line designed to help low-income individuals save for emergencies and avoid predatory products.
Miller is administrative VP for minority business banking at M&T Bank. A veteran of the retail bank at M&T, she built on her track record of outreach to of female and minority entrepreneurs and created a new team to focus on these small businesses’ banking and credit needs. After just a little over a year, the coaching and mentoring provided by Miller and her team have led to 80 percent of her clients seeing success with credit applications.
