VCNB employees who have been with the company for 25 years or more were honored at the CBI annual Shareholders meeting Tuesday.  From left are Donna Kopis (31), Brenda Fee (36), Dan Donahue (29), Darlene Merkle (47), Cheryle Lange (30), Barb Clemons (28), Kim Ward (38), Sandy Bates (32), Joe Griffith (25), Julia Bolen (33), Mark Erslan (25), Cathy Rutter (26), Jane Nickels (37), Brenda Brooks (37), Chris Gill (25), and Tom Will (36). Not pictured are Ben Crow (32), Brenda Winegardner (31), Greg Westenhouser (30), Suellen Nice (29), Stacey Buckalew (27), Rita Teeters (32), Jaime Lines (29), Melanie Powell (31), Doris Courtright (33), Beth Patterson (27), and Bonnie Craiglow (27).

Lancaster, Ohio – Community Bancshares, Inc. (CBI) held its annual meeting Tuesday evening, celebrating 150 years of banking with nearly 200 guests in attendance. CBI is the holding company for Vinton County National Bank (VCNB), a community bank that opened in 1867.

Chairman Thomas D. Will, welcomed shareholders and their guests and reflected on the bank’s long, storied past as well as its promising future. He noted that VCNB is the seventh oldest bank chartered in Ohio and the 22^nd largest bank in the state.

Will is a fifth generation banker whose ancestor Daniel Will founded the bank in McArthur, Ohio. He discussed some of the values and the people that have helped the bank evolve and grow over time to not only survive the decades but to thrive through the ages. “I sometimes wonder what Uncle Dan would have thought about the bank today but I hope he would be pleased that we have stayed strong and profitable,” Will said.

He then turned the gavel over to CBI Secretary/Treasurer Ben Crow who informed shareholders that total assets grew 1.7 percent in 2016 to $883.5 million. The book value of CBI stocks is $76.65 per share, an increase of 3.12 percent.

Vinton County National Bank President, Ronald Collins presented the state of the bank and introduced three major goals for the bank in 2017. Those goals are to embrace change, to take advantage of technology and to listen to the customer. “The bank of the future will not be decided in the board room, it will be decided by our customers,” Collins said.

Collins also recognized the bank’s second president, Aaron Will, for hiring the bank’s first female employee in 1925, years before most other banks were employing women. Belle Jenkins went on to become Vice President, to serve on the Board of Directors and to be employed by the bank for 55 years. He noted that Jenkins had paved the way for countless women at VCNB and said that among 221 employees at VCNB, 167 are women.

He noted that there were countless people over the decades who helped make the bank the strong institution that it is today and led a moment of silence for all those who came before and who could not attend that night.

He went on to debut a brief video about the bank’s history and to recognize employees who have 25 years or more of experience with the bank. Those employees are: Darlene Merckle, Kim Ward, Brenda Brooks, Brenda Barber Fee, Julia Bolen, Ben Crow, Sandy Bates, Brenda Winegardner, Cheryle Lange, Greg Westenhouser, Dan Donahue, Suellen Nice, Barb Clemons, Stacey Buckalew, Cathy Rutter, Joe Griffith, Chris Gill, Mark Erslan, Donna Kopis, Jane Nickels, Rita Teeters, Tom Will, Jaime Lines, Melanie Powell, Doris Courtright, Beth Ann Patterson and Bonnie Craiglow.

Vinton County National Bank is celebrating their 150 year anniversary throughout 2017 with special events, a new museum in their McArthur office and other activities. Learn more here or follow the bank on Facebook.