Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 22I
I FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sund»y, Mirch 28,1998
County’s second bank
later became Wachovia
By Alton Bridges
Staff Writer
On Valentines Day of 1964, a
group of businessmen received
word from Secretary of State Ben
W. Fortson that the charter of
incorporation for the Forsyth
County Bank had been issued.
The incorporators of the new bank
' were Eldo Grogan, A. C. Smith,
Carl Jackson, George Bagley,
John Stiller and Leon Boling.
The actual charter was granted
on June 15 and the first stockhold
ers meeting was on June 18.
Boling was the President and
Chairman of the Board. The bank
started with a capitalization of
$250,000.
Boling still remembers the work
and efforts required to start the
bank. Not since the late 1920 s had
Forsyth County had more than
one bank, and getting a charter
was not easy.
‘. “A. C. Smith and I talked about
" starting one,” said Boling. “The
♦ r ajea was beginning to grow. There
?• was not but one bank and a lot of
I tanking was going out of town for
* Whatever reason. We knew a lot of
> people were banking in Canton,
“■.Gainesville, Dawsonville,
and other surrounding
£ towns. We thought the people
C should have a choice of banks
r here in Cumming. We also wanted
’’ to make a little money there
* was a profit motive.”
By the end of 1964, the bank
> had total deposits of
$1,575,987.03 and by June 29,
1965, the bank had total assets of
% $2,542,486.93.
< “Our growth was beyond our
5 expectations,” Boling remembers.
* “The money that was deposited in
banks returned to
Cumming and it helped the local
£-,economy. Some of the people
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who earlier thought Cumming
was too small for an additional
bank saw the growth and agreed
later that the two locally owned
banks really helped the communi
ty. The money that had been
going out of town and helped
other communities were being
loaned to people in this county.”
By 1974, the Forsyth County
Bank had grown so much that the
building at 106 W. Maple Street
had to be remodeled and expand
ed. By 1978, the first branch was
opened at McFarland Road and
Ga. 400 and that facility operated
with two employees.
At the end of 1982, the main
office had an automatic teller
machine and two years later one
was opened at Hubbard’s
Cupboard at the intersection of
Hwy 369 and Ga. 400.
By June, 1985, more remodeling
had taken place at the main office.
This remodeling more than dou
bled the building and the drive-in
tellers were removed from the
main office.
In July 1985, Forsyth County
Bank was reorganized as Forsyth
Bancshares, Inc. and in October
of the same year a branch was
opened in the Ingles Supermarket
in Merchants Square Shopping
Center.
In December, 1986, the Forsyth
County Bank (Forsyth Banc
shares) merged with the First
National Bank of Atlanta and
Wachovia, a bank with the main
offices in Winston-Salem, N.C.
“We really did not want to
merge or take any part of manage
ment, or ownership, of the bank
out of local hands,” said Boling,
“but they made us such a great
offer that members of the board of
directors were afraid the share
holders might sue us. Everyone
INESS & INDUSTRY
I^ MBBhliii •
IsdßU ■ 1 Q
a K" 4' I
Some early members of the Board of Directors of Forsyth
County Bank, including back row (L-R) Eldo Grogan, Charles
Ingram and Roy Heard. Front row, (L-R) A.C. Smith, Leon
Boling and George Bagley.
who owned stock in the local
bank owned stock in the parent
company.”
The early chief executive offi
cers of the bank included John
Stiller, Ralph Kirby and Don
Thompson. Boling was President
and Chairman of the Board for
almost 20 years. “I like to think
Forsyth County Bank was one of
the reasons this county started
growing when it did,” said Boling.
“I am not one of the individuals
who wants things to remain the
same. Cumming needed the finan
cial institutions to support the
growth that started in the ‘6os and
has continued ever since. Almost
every day since before the bank
was chartered, I have seen some
thing happen in Forsyth County
that indicates we are better today
than yesterday.”
Then Boling chuckled,
“Sometimes I complain about the
traffic, but Forsyth County is a
great place for families and busi
nesses to locate. We have a great
school system, a new hospital
facility and a rural atmosphere
where people care about one
another. We also have the finan
cial institutions to support all this
growth.”
Today Wachovia continues to
play a significant role in the bank
ing community in Forsyth County.
“We have grown in deposits and
loans at a rate of approximately
25 percent per year for the last
couple of years,” said Sandi
Jernigan, Senior Vice President.
“A significant amount of our
growth has been in commercial
loans and checking accounts. We
also stress our ‘Private Banking’
program, which targets affluent
accounts. We also have a residen
tial mortgage department that
makes both construction and long
term loans for the homeowner.
The regular checking and savings
accounts have always been impor
tant to the success of Wachovia.”
“We want to invite everyone to
take a look at what we have to
offer,” said Jernigan. “We love to
say, ‘Welcome to Wachovia. Let’s
get started.’”
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From Bank of Cumming’s
history to Nationsßank
By Alton Bridges
Staff Writer
The Nationsßank operation in
Cumming has a long history.
Long before it was Nationsßank,
it was the Bank of Cumming. The
Bank of Cumming was .chartered
in March 1904 with a total capital
of $25,000.
Many people still remember the
days when someone could walk
into an auto dealer, or local store,
write a check for a new car or
merchandise, go see “Mr. Roy”
Otwell, or one of the loan offi
cers, and borrow the money to
clear the check. There were no
credit checks. “Mr. Roy” made
sure he, and the employees, knew
everybody in the county.
Roy Otwell became a director of
the Bank of Cumming in 1927
and Chairman in 1930. He served
until past his 90th birthday in
1984. He also served as mayor of
Cumming for 30 years.
Bobbie Echols remembers grad
uating from Forsyth County High
School in the mid-’sos and going
to work at the bank. In 1990, she
had completed 35 years with the
bank and had held almost every
position.
“‘Mr. Roy’ was good to me,”
said Echols. “We all started off at
the bottom of the hierarchy and
he never failed to promote and
work with the employees who
tried. He did the same thing With
our customers. ‘Mr. Roy’ worked
with anyone who owed him of the
bank money. I remember helping
sweep the floors in the bank.
Tellers don’t do things like that
now. I guess that is one of the rea
sons I loved the Bank of
Cumming. I was a part of every
thing that happened.”
It was a simpler time. ‘“Mr.
Roy’ expected us to know the
names of everyone who walked
into the bank,” remembers Echols.
“When someone new came into
the bank, we would write their
name down, write down the 1 type
of car they drove, how they were
dressed, anything to distinguish
them from someone else. I
teamed from ‘Mr. Roy’ that peo
ple loved to have someone .dall
them by name. He was a .very
patient person.”
On Sept. 30, 1930, the total
assets of the bank were $52,553.
One person who remembers
See NATIONS, Page 241