Big birthday for Sevier County Bank

In the early 1900s, it was really easy to get in touch with the Sevier County Bank. You just dialed 61.
How times have changed. The bank today has myriad state-of-the-art electronic delivery systems.
Founded in 1909, the bank has survived several wars, the Great Depression, floods and recessions, and it has grown to eight branches and more than $415 million in assets.
Yet, even as they gathered Monday, March 9, to celebrate the first 100 years, bank officials are looking ahead to the next hundred.
"The bank's board, officers and employees are honored but humbled to be recognized for these 100 continuous years of service,” said Chairman Ross B. Summitt. “All we can do is our very best to provide our customers and the people of our communities with another 100."
Monday’s centennial celebration brought to the bank many state and local officials, along with bank board members and customers. Among the dignitaries were: State Representative Richard Montgomery, Greg Gonzales, commissioner of the State of Tennessee’s Department of Financial Institutions; Bridget Baird, who brought a special message from U.S. Sen. Bob Corker; Tenn. Supreme Court Justice Gary Wade; Tim Amos, representing the Tenn. Bankers Association, and Jane Chedester from U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander’s office.
Honorary declarations and proclamations were presented by Brian Atchley, mayor of Sevierville, and Sevier County Assistant Mayor Greg Patterson.
The bank’s board includes Bill Brown, Joe Jim Summitt, James Temple, Zach Wade, R.B. Summitt II, Lyle Overbay, Richard Isenberg, Ross Summitt, Chair, and Mae Summitt, advisory director.
Making his city’s presentation to R.B. Summitt, recalled that he had borrowed $900 from the bank to buy his first car.
“I remember asking Mr. Summitt if I needed to read the loan paper that was on the one-page document, and he responded ‘Son, if you make your payments on time there’s nothing in there that will hurt you, but if you don’t it sure isn’t going to help you’ so I made my payments on time.”
Patterson, representing the county government, said, “It’s a Great honor to be here and the great dedication and service and support that this bank has poured back into the community is truly appreciated.”
Carroll Hughes, an insurance representative, recalled, “I’ve been selling insurance to Sevier County Bank for 30 years, since 1978. I remember when I first started they told me that if I didn’t sell during the spring or summer, I’d never sell in Sevier County because everything closes down in the fall and winter. Boy, how things have changed.”
“There are not many banks that I know of that are 100 years old with all the attributes Sevier County Bank has, “said Greg Gonzales, commissioner of the state Department of Financial Institutions. “Sevier County Bank really represents community banks throughout the state. It’s a success story. It’s so much different than the large national institutions you hear about everyday. It’s not about this institution – we have a sound system in TN – so don’t let the national news bother you. It doesn’t translate to the local economy.”
Over the past 100 years, the bank has been an important part of Sevier County’s growing economy. Sevier County Bank is older than the Federal Reserve, income taxes, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the FDIC, but as it marks its 100th anniversary, its president recognizes that not everything has to change to succeed.
"It's the same Sevier County Bank name, headquartered on the same piece of ground operating with the same original banking philosophy and the same $30,000 in capital," said R.B. Summitt II. "In other words, all through the years, the bank's capital has grown in step with its assets to its current level of over $45,000,000. No new stock has been sold or issued and the board never considered taking bailout money."
A different perspective on the bank’s impact in Sevier County was provided by historian and author Patsy Gaylon.
"It has been enlightening and at times very touching,” Gaylon said, “to read through the
original, hand-written minute books and ledgers, seeing behind the numbers to the decisions made to work with farmers, businesses and their families through good times and bad, finding more than one occasion where the bank forgave a debt but allowed the family to keep their livestock so they could eat."
When Sevier County Bank's longtime president and cashier Sanders Atchley died, the board recruited Ross B. Summitt who came to work on July 1, 1949, continuing to do so to this day. In November of that same year he and Mae (Kimbrough) married; they have resided in their Sevier County home and contributed to the success of their bank ever since.
"I'm pleased the bank has made a difference over the years, but I'm surprised at all the customers who tell me how we helped them through a rough patch or hard times," Ross B. Summitt said. "You know really it was all our loyal customers and good employees that have made the bank what it is. If you don't take care of your own customers and employees, you won't last."
SCB Senior Vice President Jo Anne Williams agreed with her father. "Our customers tell us they want real people they can talk to, a real hometown bank where decisions about their finances are made on the spot, not hundreds or thousands of miles away,” Williams said. “You know they mean it when they bring their children and grandchildren in to open their accounts."
To mark its 100 consecutive years, the bank is hosting several events and weekend long refreshments. The public is invited to stop by any Sevier County Bank office this week. There will be refreshments, gifts and fun for the kids.
"It's our way of saying 'thank you' to our customers for letting us serve them and be their 'real hometown bank," Williams said.
HISTORY BY THE NUMBERS
61 – The bank’s first phone number.
$7,544 – Cost of the first “bank house” that Sevier County Bank built in 1910.
1952 – The year the first drive-through bank opened in Sevier County.
453-6171 – The telephone number for Sevier County Bank’s time and temperature line, established in 1972 and, to this day, offering this service to the community, free of charge.
1 – The bank has had only one name for the past 100 years.
1968 – The year Sevier County Bank opened its first bank branch in Pigeon Forge.
36,525 – Number of days since Sevier County Bank opened its doors.