On September 26, the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) recognized two of the industry’s finest for their service to community banking. The IBAT Chairman’s Award and the IBAT President’s Award were bestowed during the association’s Awards Luncheon, held during IBAT’s 48th Annual Convention in Fort Worth.
Curt Nelson, IBAT’s director of membership, received the IBAT Chairman’s Award from Tom Sellers, outgoing chair of the association. The Chairman’s Award is the association’s highest honor, selected solely at the discretion of the IBAT chairman. It is given to an individual who has made an extraordinary contribution to the community banking industry, going above and beyond the call of duty.
Nelson joined IBAT in 2005 as senior vice president of membership. In 2009, he was named president of IBAT Services Inc., a subsidiary of IBAT, and in 2019 he assumed his current position. As director of membership, he is directly responsible for managing all membership activities and initiatives for the association. Prior to joining IBAT, Nelson served a 27-year career with Deluxe Corp. His positions with the company included national sales recruiter and district sales manager for Texas. Nelson began his banking career following graduation from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a BA degree in economics and international relations. He also received a diploma from the Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems at Georgetown University.
In 2019, Nelson was appointed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to the Texas Judicial Compensation Commission for a term that expires in 2025. His community involvement also includes nine years of service on the San Antonio Christian Schools board of trustees, four of those as chairman. Nelson is married and lives in San Antonio with his wife, Linda. They are parents to three adult children and have four grandchildren. His interests include baseball, politics and travel.
The IBAT President’s Award was bestowed to Chet Fenimore, co-founder and chairman of Austin-based Fenimore Kay Harrison LLP in Austin, by IBAT President and CEO Christopher Williston. Fenimore Kay Harrison specializes in providing legal services to community banks throughout the nation on a full range of corporate, securities, governance, regulatory matters and mergers and acquisitions. The President’s Award is given at the sole discretion of the association’s president and CEO to an associate member that goes above and beyond the call of duty in servicing the community banking industry, IBAT members and the association.
Fenimore brings more than 30 years of experience as a legal advisor to financial institutions and as a former federal and state banking regulator. He represents banks, thrifts and other financial institutions, as well as their investors, directors and executive officers in a full range of corporate, transactional, securities and regulatory matters confronting the financial services industry. Prior to founding his own law firm in 2010, Fenimore was the managing partner of the Austin office for Hunton & Williams LLP, an international law firm. He also served as a partner at Dallas-based Jenkens & Gilchrist from 1996 to 2007. An Oklahoma native, he earned his BS degree from Oklahoma State University and a JD degree with honors from the University of Oklahoma.
