Community Bank - Joplin, MO (page 3)

The shape
of things
to come

...canopy reduces cooling costs by 10-15% and, rising three feet above the roof, reducing maintenance, Architect Steve Morrill told Interiors & Sources magazine about the Broken Arrow facility.

The publication's May 1995 issue, in an article by writer Diane Wintroub Calmenson, describes the interior design this way: "

An open ceiling system provides plenty of vertical space for hanging the bank's advertising banners. The ceiling's exposed deck, duct work and track lighting further the retail image of the bank.

"The lighting is reflected off the ceiling's glossy paint finish and the highly polished floor tile for a bright atmosphere. Two bands of white neon that mimic the neon around the canopy, plus wall sconces, enhance both the retail image and the brightly lit atmosphere."

Community Bank & Trust now has 10 locations and $165 million in assets. Joplin, its largest market, has excellent quality of life and virtually no unemployment, Lee says. Among its pluses are still-vigorous older industries that have been around for two or three generations, plus a variety of new ones which have filled up one industrial park and created demand for another one.

The city has two fine hospital complexes, he adds, and considerable rehab work is under way downtown. Due to Joplin's crossroads location, a number of trucking companies call the city home, too.

So the Joplin branch has a lot going for it, even without the striking design. "But if it is as successful as we think it is going to be, we will consider building other branches this way," says Stipp.

The canopy over the Community Bank & Trust building serves several purposes: a locoation for distinctive signage, helping to cool the interior and shading the front entrance and the drive-in area. The neon over the drive-in notes that the bank is "employee owned and operated."

Others see bright future
for community banking

lot of community bankers like Ray Stipp and Bill Lee are optimistic about the future of their profession. Recently the CPA and consulting firm McGLadrey & Pullen, LLP, based in St. Paul, Minn., used its monthly Banknotes to ask readers for their opinions about the future of community banking.

These were some of the responses printed in the July issue of the publication:

"As a career community banker, what particularly struck me was the 10-year old reference to community banking's 'one key advantage .... the service-oriented, intimate relationship they maintain with their depositors.' As consolidation continues to thin the ranks of the banking industry, it is my observation that this advantage is more clear cut than ever."

"As larger banks swallow up smaller banks the level of service and relationships will suffer and these communities will begin forming new banks to fill that need."

"Service, local control, community reinvestment these are all issues of importance that I see at work each day .... and I know they are issues of concern to MY customers. And they are all reasons that community banks must survive."

"Fortunately for all concerned, banking is a diverse business and our customers' needs are too varied to be served by a one-size-fits-all, mass-produced approach to service."

"The challenge then, for community banks, is to embrace technological improvements in product delivery capabilities, train our people, and still maintain the hometown touch. Those community banks that can achieve these objectives have, in my opinion, a bright and profitable future."