Choice Bank Named 2024 Business of the Year by Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber 

The Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce has named Choice Bank the 2024 Business of the Year!

The Business of the Year award recognizes the businesses in the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo (FMWF) area making a significant impact, driving economic growth, and making the region a vibrant region for us all to live, work, and do business in. Businesses were evaluated according to growth, innovation, creativity, community impact and involvement, and unique achievements relating to a specific business or industry.

“On behalf of our 500 plus employees we’re ecstatic, humbled, and so grateful to receive this prestigious business award from The Chamber,” Eddie Sheeley, Choice Bank Fargo Market President, said in his acceptance speech. “Choice Bank has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing banks in America, one of the best banks to work for in the U.S., and we’re extremely proud to be North Dakota’s number one ag bank every year since 2011. One of my favorite core values of Choice Bank is bettering the places that we live.”

We have delivered on our #PeopleFirst Promise and given back to the FMWF community in several ways:

• As part of our annual leadership retreat, 100 Choice employees gathered to help fill 500 birthday bags for the Golden Drive Homeless Kids program. More than 350 of these were dispersed to schools and homeless shelters in the FMWF area, while the remaining were shipped to schools in surrounding areas. During the holiday season, we also sponsored a gift drive for Golden Drive Homeless Kids to support the over 1,000 homeless kids in the Fargo, Moorhead, and West Fargo communities.
• Every year, we donate $25,000 to the United Way of Cass-Clay as part of a commitment to support its mission of helping our neighbors meet their basic needs through safe housing and adequate food. In addition to this corporate gift, $10,347.08 was donated by 95 employees, which was a 140% increase over our 2022 giving.
• In 2023, our employees gave 7,098 hours of volunteer service. Choice Bank team members in the FMWF area donated over 1,200 hours of volunteer time to 69 local organizations, including West Fargo Events, Hospice, The Arts Partnership, ND High School Activities Association, Junior Achievement, and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
• In 2023, we distributed $150,000 in grant funding to 16 child care facilities across rural North Dakota through our Child Care Grant program. We launched this grant in 2021 to provide financial assistance to rural licensed child care providers. Since then, we have distributed $450,000 among 53 child care providers.
• The annual Hawaiian for Hospice fundraiser was founded in Fargo, ND, in 2012  in partnership with a local hospice care organization. We have since raised over $1,300,000 and expanded our event into Bismarck, Dickinson, and Grand Forks to support Hospice’s services.

Brian L. Johnson, the CEO of Choice Bank, expressed his gratitude upon the bank being recognized as the business of the year: “Looking ahead, we remain committed to identifying new ways to fulfill the financial needs of our customers and the wider community,” he stated. “Growth is a constant in a dynamic organization like ours, encompassing an expanding workforce, market presence, and geographical reach. It’s a privilege to guide such an exceptional team of dedicated professionals.”

In the last year, Choice Bank demonstrated its core value to embrace change and encourage innovation. We have moved into 2024 with even more focus on supporting the continued evolution of the financial ecosystem. We added over 50 new positions in 2023, increasing its employee count from 474 to 516, and grew to $5 billion in assets. With such workforce growth, we have put renewed focus on its culture by implementing additional leadership training. Throughout 2024, we will focus on engaging new team members in the Choice culture while maintaining our dedication to delivering exceptional customer experiences across the board.

Bettering the places we live is one of our core values and we’re dedicated to supporting the families and businesses in our communities. Learn about our People First history here.