The late President John F. Kennedy said:  “Change is the law of life.  And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” 

President’s Kennedy’s words could not be truer, and we are asking our shareholders to look to the future by electing two new members to our Board of Directors at our annual stockholders meeting on April 11.  However, I believe it is just as important to honor the past – and we have two Board Members who have decided not to stand for re-election who deserve high honors for their service:

• Ted Waterman, Sr. has served on our Board since the bank’s first heartbeat in 1966.  He has been our leader on the loan committee, attending over 1,100 loan meetings.  His background as a real estate appraiser has kept us on firm ground for over 42 years. 
• Local attorney Jerry Adams has served on the HomeTown Bank Board for 28 years.  His wise counsel has been a calming force during times of major decisions.

HomeTown Bank has been blessed with a long history of dedicated board members, officers, and staff. I thank both Mr. Waterman and Mr. Adams for their loyal and dedicated service to HomeTown Bank, and for the many years of support they have given me personally. 

On the slate of directors to fill the two vacant board positions are Ted Waterman, Jr. and Greg Garrison.  Ted is the son or our retiring director and is a Galveston businessman.  Greg is a local attorney. 

I can relate to the task facing each of our new directors – both have big shoes to fill, and I was in that position myself when I arrived at HomeTown Bank on June 15, 1988.  I was to work under the legendary Doug Lee for six months and take over as President when Mr. Lee retired at the end of the year.

I was excited and ready for my new responsibilities, but following a legend is never easy – can anyone remember who replaced Babe Ruth in the Yankee outfield?

It was a true blessing to have the opportunity to work with Mr. Lee. And like virtually every other aspect of my career at HomeTown Bank, I was fortunate to be able to draw upon the talents of a tremendously dedicated Board of Directors, Officers and staff. Almost twenty years later, many of those ladies and gentlemen continue to serve HomeTown Bank.

Ted Waterman, Jr., and Greg Garrison have been chosen to make sure we do not “miss the future.”  And I am sure they will find as I did that the people at HomeTown Bank are the reason for our success.   Our goal is to make sure you find that to be true in all of your banking relationships with us, too.

On a final note, April is Community Banking Month all across this great country.  Over 8,000 banks from Texas to North Dakota, and from Miami to Portland, proudly claim the distinction of being dedicated to serving only the businesses and individuals in their local communities.  As a proud community bank, we know our success is measured by the success of our customers. 

Thank you for choosing a community bank, and thank you for selecting HomeTown Bank.  

Jimmy Rasmussen
President & CEO

P.S. George Selkirk replaced Babe Ruth in right field when the Bambino went to the Boston Braves in 1935. They even gave Selkirk Babe’s #3 slot in the batting order, and let him wear Ruth’s #3 jersey. He hit .312 that year, but was eased out with the arrival of Joe DiMaggio.