Mary Wilkerson is senior vice president of marketing at Central Bank of Boone County in Columbia, Missouri, a $3 billion dollar community bank. She joined the bank in 1992 after serving as director of public relations for Stephens College for four years. Prior to moving to Columbia, Wilkerson was a public relations manager for Smith, Bucklin & Associates, the nation’s largest non-profit association management company, based in Chicago. Her career began with Luhrs Marketing Research, a small family-owned research firm in Chicago. She graduated from Bradley University in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in public relations and theater, and is a Certified Financial Marketing Professional. She graduated from the American Bankers Association School of Bank Marketing and Management in 2000. In addition, she is a member of the University of Missouri College of Business Marketing Advisory Board and received the college’s highest honor for a non-graduate, the Special Citation of Merit in 2005.
Wilkerson has a long history of community involvement since moving to Columbia in 1988. She has been the writer and editor of three major documents for volunteer-led efforts on behalf of the City of Columbia: Columbia 2000, Columbia 2000 II and the Columbia Community Recreation Center Report. She was also a member of the City of Columbia Civic Plaza Committee and the Columbia Image Award Committee for the Convention and Visitors Bureau. She is currently chair of the Avenue of the Columns Committee, which was originally known as the Eighth Street Beautification Committee when it was first formed in 1991. She has served in leadership positions on the board of directors for many non-profit organizations including Community Nursery Schools, Phoenix Programs, Inc. and Planned Parenthood of Mid-Missouri and Eastern Kansas. Her Columbia Chamber of Commerce leadership roles have included chair of the Communications Committee, chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee, Business Expo Publicity Chair, Leadership Columbia Arts Program Chair in both 1994 and 1999, and chair of the Mayor’s Appreciation Breakfast in 1992, 1997 and 2001. She has also led volunteer projects for organizations such as the American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, American Red Cross, Voluntary Action Center, Nora Stewart Nursery School, Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Missouri Focus on Leadership and the Celebrate Women of Ragtime Festival. In addition, she served on the fund-raising steering committee for the Stephens College Community Campaign for over four years and co-chaired the campaign in 2001, 2002 and 2004 breaking their fund-raising record in two of the three years. In 2004, she served on the American Bankers Association Marketing Conference Planning Committee and was a member of their Editorial Board for three years. She served in several leadership roles in her seven years on the board of the Special Business District in Downtown Columbia, which is now known as the Downtown Community Improvement District. She also served in leadership roles for the City of Columbia as a member of the Downtown Columbia Leadership Council and, in 2011, she co-chaired the Electric Bond Issue Committee to assist in the public approval of a bond issue, which passed with 87 percent of the vote. She currently serves as past president of the Mareck Center for Dance.
One of her proudest accomplishments was the celebration of the bank’s 150th birthday which inaugurated the Roots N Blues Festival in 2007. That first event was a free two-day concert in downtown Columbia. More than 80,000 people attended the event, generating an estimated positive economic impact of $10 to the community.
As a speaker, Wilkerson has shared her knowledge of public relations, marketing and financial services at both national and international conferences including the American Bankers Association Marketing Network and the Marcus Evans International Financial Services Marketing Conference. She has conducted countless local presentations and seminars for a variety of organizations.
When she is not geeking out over marketing data and customer analytics, or volunteering, Mary can be found at local music venues, theaters, art shows and performances of all kinds.