The Bank of Bramblewood survived the Great Depression through the dedication, hard work, and conservative practices of its first president, Red E$.$ Kash. Indeed, Red's personal drive and business skills helped the Bank of Bramblewood thrive during his $50-$year tenure as president. After his retirement, his granddaughter, Patty, took a position with the bank. Patty inherited her grandfather's business skills and by $1994$ she had risen to become the second member of the Kash family to head the bank.

Patty admits she owes a great deal to her grandfather's leadership and advice, but she also quickly points out that the banking industry has changed significantly since Red retired. Patty graduated from college with a degree in finance, and also holds several certifications with the American Institute of Banking. "What Granddad achieved during his era was truly remarkable," Patty points out. "But times have changed, and banking regulations and bank competitors have certainly changed. If we hope to prosper in this century, we have to adjust to new competition, learn to work with new technologies, and take advantage of new opportunities. The Bank of Bramblewood has always operated for the benefit of our customers and we will continue to do so$.$ But we must serve them more efficiently and creatively than in the past."

The Bank of Bramblewood promotes a sustainability initiative encouraging all transactions increasingly to be paperless. Each time the bank issues checks or sends out a paper statement, it includes a promotion asking customers to support methods that eliminate paperwork. The bank encourages customers to use debit cards, smart cards, direct deposit, and direct payments, as well as online statement retrieval. All of these tools are used in conjunction with the bank's

limited documentation checking program.

check clearinghouse system.

electronic funds transfer system.

automated deposit system.