POCATELLO — Addressing a crowd of local officials, business representatives and area residents at the Juniper Hill Country Club on a recent Tuesday morning, Citizens Community Bank CEO Nathan Christensen detailed his vision for the future and spoke upon the importance of family.

Invited by the Pocatello-Chubbuck Chamber of Commerce for their CEO Breakfast Series as a keynote speaker, Christensen introduced himself to the crowd and gave insight into his upbringing, his family and his years of involvement and expertise in the banking field.

With more than 16 years of experience that began as a mortgage loan officer, Christensen ascended the ranks working in positions such as senior lending manager and senior credit officer before his promotion to president just under two years ago.

Christensen also detailed the recent acquisition of Bank of Idaho from Citizens Community Bank parent company Glacier Bancorp Inc. The contract is expected to close in May of this year, and systems conversion is estimated to be completed around November at which time the Bank of Idaho will operate as a Citizens Community Bank.

“This merger with Bank of Idaho adds so much value and it’s such an exciting opportunity for not only our staff and Bank of Idaho, but for the community,” Christensen said.

Christensen expects a projected 180 employees across 12 retail branches, with the Citizens Community Bank headquarters still remaining in Pocatello. Bank of Idaho branches in Boise and Washington will convert to Citizens Community Bank sister banks, Mountain West and Wheatland.

“Now I’ve got 180 new family members,” Christensen said. “I think that's really special, because that's what we are. We treat each other like family. We treat our community like family. We're concerned about every individual that is working for us and every individual that's with us and that's what separates us from the (competition).”