Reaching the Next Generation

How do community banks build real relationships with the next generation?

In this episode of Built to Matter, Susan Guess shares the story behind Paducah Bank’s Teen Ambassador Program, a youth leadership initiative that has connected nearly 400 high school students to their community over the past decade.

What began as a simple idea, inviting students to volunteer, represent the bank, and serve their community, grew into something far more meaningful: a network of young leaders that continues long after graduation.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
• Why community involvement works better than advertising for reaching young people
• How Gen Z values purpose, service, and connection over incentives
• The importance of financial literacy education for high school students
• How a student program can become a lifelong professional network
• What community banks can do to build relationships that last for generations

Ten years. Nearly 400 students. A leadership community that now stretches from high school to college to the professional world.

Because the strongest institutions don’t just serve the next generation. They help build it.

Built to Matter is a podcast about brand, leadership, and building institutions and lives that leave a legacy.