Banker quietly invests.(David A. Straz, Jr., chairman of Southern Exchange Bank)

This year has been particularly interesting for David A. Straz Jr.

The longtime Tampa resident and Milwaukee native merged City First Bank into Southern Exchange Bank and bought a sizable chunk of PowerCerv Corp., a Tampa software company.

Marquette University named him Alumnus of the Year, 15 years after etching his name on its business college. His position as Marquette's chairman takes him back home often, as does his interest in Firstar Corp., Wisconsin's largest bank.

Now, after all his success as a community banker the last three decades, Straz says it's time to think about slowing down. Being a father will tend to do that.

"I don't intend to continue that kind of a burden," Straz said during a break in local board meetings earlier this week. "In the future, I will scale back some or all of that."

Straz, 56, maintains a low profile despite his heavy community involvement in two major cities. He attributes being what one …