Usually, chambers of commerce note the positive milestones in their communities. But in a stark and unusual acknowledgment of hard economic times, the Henry County chamber recently gave an award to a failed bank.
Four months after First State Bank became the last and largest of Henry's five homegrown banks to close, the chamber honored the Stockbridge institution with a framed proclamation at its April board meeting. The bank's former president and chief executive, David Gill, and other bank employees in attendance received a standing ovation.
"It has had such a legacy in terms of community involvement," chamber President Kay Pippin said. "They were a true community bank and symbolic of all the community banks and the good works they did and what happened to them."
Honoring a failed bank is unusual, said Carolyn Brown, chief executive officer of the Atlanta-based Community Bankers Association of Georgia.
"I’ve not heard of this happening before. I think it's wonderful," Brown said. "This bank’s legacy is still powerful even though it no longer exists. That’s quite a unique approach to honor them."
The posthumous award highlights how integral local banks are in their communities and just how widespread bank failures have become.
Some 78 banks have failed in Georgia since 2008, the most of any state in the country. Five of those banks have been in Henry. Another six Georgia-based banks that failed also had branches in Henry.
While it’s not the epicenter of Georgia bank failures (that's Fulton County), Henry is among the hardest-hit counties. It was a center of bank start-ups and relocations and boasted a cadre of fast-growing local banks a decade ago. The state’s banking crisis has since claimed all of those institutions.
"It was like a hurricane moving through Henry County," First State's Gill said.
Founded Oct. 8, 1964, First State Bank closed its doors in January and was taken over by Hamilton State Bank of Hoschton.
Community banks like First State helped Henry grow and thrive during the boom times of the late 1990s and early 2000s, but a heavy concentration in real estate ultimately killed Henry's local banks. Three of the five banks that went under have since been replaced by other outside banks.
The failed banks "definitely left a mark in the community," said Diane Ide, communications director at the chamber.
"It harks back to the day where people knew their neighbor and bankers knew the people and business was done on a handshake. I sort of think that day is gone," said Ide, whose daughter-in-law worked at First State.
In addition to making loans for homes and business start-ups, First State built a legacy as a white knight bank. When Henry was in danger of losing its LPGA tournament, the bank stepped in and gave $10,000.
When the chamber was struggling financially years ago, First State made loans and financed the construction of the current facility, contributing enough money to furnish one of the rooms. "Now it's viable," Gill said of the chamber.
The bank also financed millions of dollars worth of church construction in and around Henry, in addition to donating tens of thousands of dollars to local charities.
For 18 years it sponsored the Miles for Meals Walk, the big annual fund-raiser for the county's Meals On Wheels program. Bank employees also were given time to deliver meals for the program. (Hamilton State is a sponsor of this year's Miles for Meals Walk.)
When First State closed, "it devastated a lot of us," said Susan Craig, director of Henry County Senior Services, which runs the Meals on Wheels program. "It was a very community-oriented bank."
Beyond charitable giving, the bank's top officers served on numerous boards. Gill served as chamber president and board member. During his decade with the Henry County Development Authority, the agency brought in more than $1 billion in business investment to Henry.
"I don't know if anyone will step in and do that now the way we did," said Gill, who is retired and still living in Henry County. "There are banks that try to act like community banks, but their focus is not solely on Henry County like our focus was."
Since First State no longer exists, the proclamation honoring the bank will hang on the wall of the chamber.
Said Gill: "It was very thoughtful of the chamber to recognize the contributions of the bank over the years."
Continuing coverage
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s team of business reporters has provided comprehensive coverage since the community banking crisis ramped up in Georgia in mid-2008. With the state leading the nation in banks that have gone under since then, you can depend on the AJC to stay on top of this continuing story.
