First National of Orrville Opens Bank in Salem
SALEM, Ohio -- While it won’t be open for business until 9 a.m. Friday, the top management of First National Bank of Orrville cut a ribbon Tuesday to celebrate the opening of its newest office, 2424 E. State St.
Helping President and CEO Mark Witmer, Vice President Andy Estock and branch manager Russ Hill snip the ribbon were Mayor John Berlin and Audrey Null, executive director of the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, and attorney Shawn L’Italien, chamber ambassador.
The success of its loan production office, 1070 E. State St., persuaded Witmer, who grew up in Columbiana County, and his senior management that both the bank and its customers would benefit from the larger role the office intends to play.
First National Bank acquired the 0.6-acre site last spring and has built a structure of 3,500 square feet that encompasses 2,000 square feet of office space and a 1,500-square foot drive-thru pavilion.
The pavilion has four lanes including one for an ATM.
Inside are offices for bank officers to originate mortgages, other consumer loans, agricultural loans and other commercial loans, four teller stations and a vault that holds safe-deposit boxes. Three tellers, Cindy Ehrenberg, Patti Conser and Kathaleen Mangus were at their stations Tuesday preparing to greet customers Friday.
When it announced last May that it would open the branch, First National Bank said it would employ seven in the Salem office. Witmer also assured the community that its staff would be active there.
”Salem and its residents have been very supportive of our [loan production office] and we feel our investments will be rewarded in the community,” Witmer said.
Where larger banks have been closing offices or reducing services in smaller communities, First National intends to expand its presence in Salem and communities of a similar size. “Our employees live and work here,” the CEO said, “and we will actively participate in the community.”
In 2012, First National Bank was the fastest-growing agricultural lender in Ohio, Witmer noted, among banks with $10 million and more in loans to farmers. The bank intends to expand its presence and agricultural lending in Salem and a 25-mile radius that takes in northern Columbiana County, southern Mahoning County and western Pennsylvania.
First National Bank chose the east side of Salem to build its newest office, a light-orange brick building, Witmer said, because it’s where “most of the recent development in Salem has taken place.”
First National Bank, the sole subsidiary of National Bancshares Corp. in Orrville, has assets approaching $500 million and offices in Wayne, Holmes, Summit and Stark counties. Orrville is also the home to the J.M. Smucker Co., known for its preserves, jellies and peanut butter. Free samples of Smucker’s preserves will be available at the teller windows during the grand opening, the executives noted.
Copyright 2013 by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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