Bank of America 2001 Annual Report Download - page 7

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It is a responsibility not only to our shareholders, but
also to our customers, who look to us to help them manage
their financial lives and achieve their dreams; to our asso-
ciates, who have chosen to employ their skills and talents
here and who deserve every opportunity to reach their
personal and professional potential; and to our communities,
which are deeply invested in this enterprise, and upon which
the future prosperity of our company rests.
Fulfilling our responsibility to the communities we
serve, of course, has always been a fundamental part of the
way we do business. So I am pleased to report that we
continue to hit our annual goals in our 10-year, $350 bil-
lion community development lending commitment. The
investments represented by this commitment are working to
rebuild low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in cities
across our great nation, from Baltimore to San Diego and
from Miami to Seattle.
I also am pleased that the Bank of America Foundation,
long one of the most generous corporate foundations in
the country, has adopted new guidelines for its programs
that will focus resources in the coming years on a single
issue: helping children succeed in life. In pursuit of this
goal, the Foundation will support programs in early child-
hood development, economic and financial education, and
teacher development. The Foundation will be joined by
every business group in our company as we pull together to
prepare America’s youth to lead us toward a better future.
As we work to prepare our future leaders, we also this
year paid tribute to the man who led our company to where
it is today. Hugh L. McColl, Jr. retired as chairman and CEO
at our Annual Meeting of Shareholders last April. In 18 years
as our leader, Mr. McColl transformed our company from a
small, southeastern commercial bank to one of the largest
and most comprehensive financial services companies in
the world. Our job today is to take our company to a place
on the world stage that reflects Mr. McColl’s vision – and
we thank him for the opportunity.
This spring we also celebrate the career of Bill Vandiver,
a 35-year associate who provided leadership in many of
our businesses over the years, most recently serving as
Corporate Risk Management executive. Bill will retire on
March 31, and will be missed by all of us who had the
honor to work with him.
Finally, I would like to thank our board of directors for
the
guidance and support they have given me in my first
year as your chairman and CEO. In particular, I’d like to
welcome John R. Belk of Belk, Inc. in Charlotte, Steven
McMillan of Sara Lee Corporation in Chicago and Patricia
Mitchell of PBS in Alexandria, VA, all of whom joined the
board last April at our annual meeting, as well as Peter
Ueberroth of The Contrarian Group, Inc. in Newport Beach,
CA, who joined our board in June.
One of the great challenges we all will face in the
coming years is the new world in which we are living since
the September 11 attacks on our country. Like all Americans,
we worked hard on September 11 and afterward to protect
and care for our teammates and fellow citizens. Tragically,
not all of our teammates escaped the attacks unharmed.
Liam Colhoun, Susan Conlon and Robert (Bobby) Hughes
worked on our Global Securities Operations team in the
World Trade Center and were lost in the attacks. All three
were last seen either in the World Trade Center or in the
immediate vicinity attempting to help others escape. These
teammates and friends lived and died with honor, courage
and valor, as true American heroes. Their actions live on as
an inspiration for all of us.
In closing, I would like to thank all those who have
supported our country in this time of great national need.
We will remember our heroes, and we all will work harder
than ever to build a company – and a country – that honors
their memory and their great sacrifice.
Kenneth D. Lewis
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
February 11, 2002