Celebrating Our Dads | Happy Father’s Day
In celebration of Father’s Day, we invited dads from our team to share lasting words of wisdom they learned from their own fathers, and the impacting life lessons they’ve learned from raising their children.
JON ECKERT
President and Chief Executive Officer
What have you learned from your father?Be grateful for where you are, but never settle for where you are.
Best piece of advice?
Success won’t just come to you. You have to go out and get it!
What have you learned from your children?
While we try to teach our children all about life, our children actually teach us what life is all about.
MARK ODOM
Executive Vice President, Commercial Banking
What have you learned from your father?Everything. He is still my role model today, and the way he lives his life, with the positivity he instills, is something I’ve always tried to emulate.
Best piece of advice?
You learn more during your failures than you could possibly ever learn during your wins — but it sure is fun to win!
What have you learned from your children?
Patience, humility, and that sarcasm is hereditary!
BRUCE IRICK
Executive Vice President, Private Banking Manager
What have you learned from your father?
The value of education, a strong work ethic, and serving your community. My dad was the first member of a large extended family to graduate from college. He was very proud to be in a position years later to allow my brother, sister, and me to attend The University of Texas at Austin and graduate free of debt. He was in the banking business for a number of years and had a late-career change teaching high school English. He always worked hard no matter the job and passed that on to his three children. I also saw my dad involved in our community growing up and often attended fundraising events with him. I think that’s why serving on various boards over my career has been so important to me. My dad passed away a few years back and my family now hosts a golf tournament every year that awards two partial college scholarships in his honor.
Best piece of advice?
As a parent, it is important to be present and engaged. I was active in sports growing up and I can only recall my parents missing one football game or track meet in all of those years. I knew they would always be there. I took this lesson and did the same with my sons, Bennett and Brandon. The reward was great for me as a parent and provided a lot of great memories.
What have you learned from your children?
I continue to learn from Bennett and Brandon daily. Bennett now has a four-year-old daughter, Brinley, and a two-year-old son, Braxton. He is a great dad and I hope that seeing me and my dad over the years helped him define what he wants to be to his two kids. Brandon moved to New York City in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. He is living and working in NYC and it was a bold move at the time. Watching him move from Austin, get out of his comfort zone, and take risks is something I greatly admire. He has taught me it’s okay to step out toward the edge a bit!