CLEARFIELD – Joseph B. Bower Jr., president and chief executive officer of CNB Bank, has announced that Kellie Swales, CFMP, marketing specialist, graduated with honors from the American Bankers Association (ABA) School of Bank Marketing and Management held June 9-15, at the Emory Conference Center Hotel in Atlanta, Ga.
The ABA School of Bank Marketing and Management is a two-year program that provides marketers, managers and specialists with a one-of-a-kind education under the guidance and direction of faculty advisors comprised of nationally distinguished marketing professionals.
Students develop strategies to promote new products and receive a solid foundation in financial services marketing principles and management practices.
During the first year, students focus on timely topics, such as product development, marketing return on investment and small business marketing.
Second-year students fine-tune their training by participating in BankExec: State-of-the-Art Learning, ABA’s unique proprietary computer simulation of real-life banking situations.
Students of the school were given an in-between session assignment to write either a marketing plan or marketing research topic paper to be submitted before the second year’s session. Based upon her outstanding work on this project, Swales was awarded honors graduation status.
Upon graduation from the ABA school, Swales was prepared for her professional certification. The Certified Financial Marketing Professional (CFMP) designation is awarded to individuals who demonstrate excellence in the field of financial services marketing.
To qualify for the CFMP certification, individuals must have certain levels of experience and education in the financial marketing profession, pass a comprehensive exam and agree to abide by a code of ethics.
The CFMP exam covers many areas including financial principles, laws and regulations, market research, characteristics of marketing plans and marketing components. Swales passed the exam on June 16, and successfully attained her CFMP certification.
Swales joined CNB Bank in June, 2013 after working as the Main Street manager of the Clearfield Revitalization Corp. (CRC). In her current position at CNB Bank as marketing specialist, she is responsible for assisting with the development of strategic marketing initiatives and the implementation of these initiatives.
In addition, she manages the banks advertising and direct marketing campaigns including researching, negotiating, coordinating and implementing these campaigns for all 38 branch offices of CNB Bank, ERIEBANK and FCBank, as well as 12 branch offices of Holiday Financial Services.
She also manages the bank’s social media pages, and the development and implementation of monthly sales promotions, which include merchandising, signage, lobby displays, brochures and flyers.
“Kellie joined CNB just a few years ago, and is a key member of our marketing team,” Bower stated, adding, “Her continued education in the field of financial services marketing will help us better serve our community. Kellie is a great fit for CNB, and we’re very pleased to have her on the team.”
A native of Clearfield, Swales graduated from Clearfield Area Senior High School in 2002. She went on to receive her Bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing from the University of Pittsburgh in 2006.
She currently resides in Clearfield with her husband, Rob, and two children, Denis and Elli. She is the daughter of Tom and Debra Truman, also of Clearfield.
In addition to her involvement in many events held by local non-profit organizations on behalf of the Bank, Swales is a member of the CRC Economic Restructuring committee. She is also a member of the Child Advocacy Center and also serves on the committee for the Penn Highlands Clearfield Auxiliary Charity Ball.