The Indiana Bankers Association created the Leaders in Banking Excellence Awards in 2018 to showcase exceptional individuals who have positively impacted Indiana banks and the communities they serve.
This year’s awards were presented on Monday, Sept. 8, at a ceremony at the IBA’s Annual Convention in French Lick. Dignitaries who honored this year’s four recipients were U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym, R-Ind. (via video); Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, majority caucus chair of the Indiana State Senate; Director Thomas C. Fite, Indiana Department of Financial Institutions; Christopher D. Cook, president and CEO of The Farmers Bank, Frankfort; IBA Chairman-elect David M. Findlay; and Amber R. Van Til, IBA president and CEO.
Each honoree was invited to make their own comments and was then presented with an ebony keepsake plaque. The ceremony culminated with a viewing of the honorees’ crystalline plaques that were later placed within the permanent Wall of Excellence on display at the IBA offices.
All inductees were nominated by IBA member organizations and approved by the IBA Board of Directors. Congratulations to the 2025 class of Leaders in Banking Excellence:
- Thomas W. Dinwiddie, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, Indianapolis
- Donald E. Goetz, DeMotte State Bank
- Karen I. Miller, The Farmers Bank, Frankfort
- Christopher J. Murphy III, 1st Source Bank, South Bend
Class of 2025 Plaque Inscriptions
Thomas W. Dinwiddie, a partner at Wooden McLaughlin LLP, which merged into Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, has been a leader in banking, real estate and real estate finance for more than 50 years. He represented the Indiana Mortgage Bankers Association for more than 30 years, regularly participating in drafting statutes governing mortgage lending in Indiana and becoming the first recipient of the Indiana Mortgage Bankers Association’s Distinguished Service Award. Tom regularly speaks to banking organizations across the country on compliance and real estate finance issues, bringing a national scope to his mortgage banking and finance practices. Beyond his law practice, Tom was appointed to the board of Merchants Bank, Carmel, in 2002 and the board of its holding company in 2022. He is a graduate of DePauw University and of the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.
Karen I. Miller, past president and CEO of The Farmers Bank, Frankfort, began her 30-year banking career in 1985 at Clinton County Bank & Trust, moving to The Farmers Bank in 1995. A 30-year member of the Indiana CPA Society, Miller eventually served as chief financial officer of the bank before becoming the first female president/CEO and board member in the bank’s history in 2006. She retained that title until her passing in 2015. Active in her community, Miller was a past president of Clinton County Partners in Progress and Frankfort Main Street, and served on the boards of the Indiana Bankers Association, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Clinton County Chamber of Commerce, Clinton County United Way and Clinton County Community Foundation. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Ball State University and received her Certified Public Accountant certification from the State of Indiana.
Donald E. Goetz has spent his entire banking career with DeMotte State Bank. Starting in 1976 fresh after graduating from Purdue University, he worked his way up to president & CEO in 1988 when he was just 34 years old. In his time at the helm, Goetz completed the successful acquisition of Morocco State Bank, established 10 new branches and grew the bank’s shareholder base significantly, maintaining healthy, stable returns year over year. He is a board member for the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions and Northwest Jasper Regional District (NORWEJ) Water Department, is a past president of the DeMotte Chamber, and has previously served on the Jasper County Tax Abatement Advisory Board and Kankakee Valley Intermediate School Bond Board among many other community organizations.
Christopher J. Murphy III’s banking career spans over 60 years, starting with an internship at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency when he was 17, then 3.5 years at Citibank after graduating from the University of Notre Dame, earning an MBA from Harvard and completing law school at the University of Virginia. He then joined his father-in-law and a group of investors to buy what was then The First Bank and Trust Company of South Bend, now 1st Source Bank, serving as a mix of director, president and CEO of the bank and its holding company for 52 years. Under his leadership, 1st Source has grown from $220 million in total assets with nine banking centers to $9 billion with 78 locations. Murphy has served on numerous local, regional and national for-profit and not-for-profit boards, including the Indiana Bankers Association, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. He was named a Sagamore of the Wabash in 2004 & 2024.
