The Killbuck Savings Bank opens new Kidron branch
A nice crowd turned out to celebrate Killbuck Savings Bank’s official arrival in the town of Kidron. The bank building was created to fit in well with the simplistic style of the town.
On Wednesday, Aug. 14 a host of visitors including a number of dignitaries joined many people from the Killbuck Savings Bank family to celebrate the grand opening of the new Kidron branch with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The bank served lunch following the ceremony and celebrated with the people of Kidron in what they believe will be a great addition to the town.
Kidron native Gerald Swartzentruber of Sommer and Swartzentruber Contractors was instrumental in bringing attention to the possibility of a bank in Kidron, and KSB utilized the contractor’s knowledge of his hometown to create the building.
“I have banked with KSB for many years, and they told me that if a location for a bank ever opened up here to contact them,” Swartzentruber said.
That opportunity arose when the old cheese house on the corner became available for purchase. Ironically Swartzentruber’s father built a bulk of the cheese house, and Swartzentruber constructed the other part, so there was definitely a history there.
Swartzentruber said it was an ideal place for a bank, right on the corner with easy accessibility and easy to locate.
In the process of razing the old cheese house, KSB brought Swartzentruber on board to design the new bank. The question then arose, what did they want the bank to look like?
“They said, ‘You live here and you would know better than any of us,’ so they kind of left it up to us to design something,” Swartzentruber said. “We had the challenge, and we wanted it to fit in with the community. That was a Swiss, Amish and farming community.”
The company began doing some research and design work and came up with a bank that took on a barn theme to it. They presented it to the KSB board, and they loved it.
Swartzentruber said the Kidron community is blessed to have KSB banking capabilities right in their own back yard where they can do community banking with ease rather than having to travel to do so.
“With a bank like this here in Kidron, we know exactly who we are dealing with. They fit in so well, and this is a huge asset to our community,” Swartzentruber said.
For KSB, moving into a community like Kidron is something they cherish because they pride themselves on the very idea of being a community bank and making banking easy for communities throughout the area.
For KSB CEO Craig Lawhead, seeing his bank make the move to the Kidron community was something special.
“The Killbuck Savings Bank Co. is a relationship-based lender that continues to operate under a vision of being a local, homegrown, community bank that promotes prosperity, economic development and improves the quality of life of its customers by providing the best banking experience possible,” Lawhead said. “The Kidron branch will have the ability to provide individuals and local businesses accessibility to a wide range of financial resources including our team’s unique knowledge and insight into the surrounding area.”
During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Lawhead spoke about how invested the bank has already been and will continue to be as it has quickly blended right into the Kidron landscape.
“Being a part of a community and investing in the people there and the businesses there is extremely important to us,” Lawhead said. “It is these local communities that are at the heart of all that we do. They put their trust in us, so we are honored to be able to give back to them by putting deposits we receive back to work for farmers and businesses.”
KSB has joined the Kidron Merchants Association, participated in the recent bicentennial celebration, and donated to area schools and the Kidron Fire Department.
KSB President Victor Weaver said Sommer and Swartzentruber did an amazing job of designing a facility that captured the essence of the community as well as something that was uniquely KSB. He also said they sensed a true connection with the people of Kidron, and it should be beneficial to everyone.
“We believe we will fit in here very well,” Weaver said. “We have a good footprint in this area already, and we look forward to seeing more growth as we continue to settle in here. We feel very strongly that whatever community we are in, we need to take on a role of being actively involved in every way possible. That is what a community does.”
He said the ability for people of Kidron to stay in their hometown to do their community banking is something that was exciting for KSB to be able to provide.
Inside, a staff of seven people will greet the public, led by Jeremy Kimble serving as the branch manager and Karen Christman as the mortgage loan officer.
“I love the idea of being in a new area and meeting new people,” Kimble said. “KSB saw a need and wanted to be able to meet that need for the people of Kidron and the surrounding area. We believe we have picked a great spot and have a wonderful facility to be able to serve people to the fullest.”
The Killbuck Savings Bank Kidron branch is located at 13253 Emerson Road in Kidron.