On Wednesday, Sept. 25, more than 300 people gathered to celebrate and tour the new First State Bank location that has recently opened in Whitesboro. At 5 p.m., the bank opened its doors to a welcoming reception that included refreshments, give-aways, building tours and heart-warming speeches by the people who made the new build possible. The Whitesboro Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting to welcome them into the Chamber.
When First State Bank’s regional president, Jeff Butts, first opened a location in Whitesboro on Jan. 21, 2020, he couldn’t have imagined where the future would take them.
Although First State Bank was well-established in the Gainesville area (after all, it’s the oldest bank in Texas, first chartered in 1905), there really wasn’t anything in Whitesboro. Working with his friend Tim Ferguson, owner of Dennards, Butts was able to lease some building space in the same parking lot as the western store. The location was Charter #11 for the bank.
Butts built his team, hired some employees, and in just 18 days had the branch up and running. While the location was successful, just five years later, the business had outgrown its space.
Butts approached the company and sought approval to construct a new building in Whitesboro that would allow First State Bank and its employees to better serve the Whitesboro community. Working with an architect in Sanger, a team began working on schematics and broke ground in December of 2022.
In the meantime, Butts and his staff began asking the community what they wanted to see in a new bank building. The result is a beautiful 11,000 square-foot building that includes 2,500 square feet of leasable space and a 2,500 square-foot conference room for business meetings, corporate events and community gatherings.
“It’s been a long road, and while we love the new facility, I’m glad that we’re finally at the finish line so we can get back to focusing on our customers,” Butts said.
First State Bank opened its new doors to the public on July 11, 2024. They have eight employees (more than half of whom have been in the banking business at least 30 years each) and provide a variety of banking services.
From business accounts to personal checking and savings, First State Bank is able to handle consumer and mortgage loans, money markets, certificates of deposit, IRAs and HSAs. In a time when online transactions seem to remove the need for personal contact, First State Bank continues to develop a sense of community through their Interactive Teller Machines (ITMs), a video interface that enables customers to interact with real people in remote locations.
All of this is how First State Bank continues to deliver excellent customer service and convenience to its customers.
“What really sets us apart in our industry is the personal touch we provide our customers,” Butts said. “We love working in a smaller town and being part of the community. Our employees know everybody in this town. We see them at stores; we wave at them on the street. We really value that one-on-one, in-person interaction. At First State Bank, we treat our community as our home, our customers as our neighbors and employees as our family.”
In addition to hundreds of customers and community members who attended last week’s grand opening, guests also included members of the Whitesboro Area Chamber of Commerce, staff from other First State Bank locations and First State Bank President Lloyd Reiter and CEO Ryan Morris.
While Butts had several people to thank during his public address, he made a point to recognize the major contributors to the bank’s success.
“I’m extremely fortunate to work with some wonderful ladies who help keep this business running,” Butts said, introducing his staff. “I couldn’t do all of this without them.”
First State Bank is now located at 542 Hwy. 377 N in Whitesboro. Their business hours are Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. (Drive-through hours begin one hour earlier.) For help with banking needs, call their main number at 903-564-4433.