Independent Banker - August 2024 - 52

{MEMBER MILESTONES}
as well as the consistent monitoring and critical analysis
of market conditions and the banking industry. Many
of the community bank's shareholders are descendants
of the same families who founded it, and there has been
very little turnover in its executive officer ranks.
All that said, The Bank of Marion was an early
adopter of online and mobile banking and has stayed
ahead of the curve technologically. It recently upgraded
its core operating system to streamline operations
and enhance customer service capabilities, which, the
community bank believes, is a fitting way to celebrate its
150 years in business.
The Bank of
Marion in 1874,
the year it was
founded
The Bank of Marion is
a major donor for the
athletics program at
Emory & Henry College.
through World War I, World War II. And we were going
through a lot of change and uncertainty in 2020. "
Snodgrass notes that The Bank of Marion has
maintained its culture throughout. " And I do believe
those conservative ways, the old sayings, have been
passed down from president to president. I attribute
our longevity to that, " he says. " We've always had a very
good, supportive board of directors comprised of local
businesspeople, and I think that has helped as well.
And that tone from the top extends down throughout
the organization. "
He says The Bank of Marion found success in its
foundational values of determination, optimism and the
steadfast commitment to excellence set by its founders,
125 years
BANK OF HALLS
HALLS, TENN.
Let's travel forward 25 years to 1899. In the final days
of the 19th century, the world was witnessing major
technological breakthroughs. Hydraulic elevators were
installed in the recently opened Eiffel Tower-a boost
for those not wanting to climb the 1,710 steps to its
top-and automobiles were all the rage.
Meanwhile, in Halls, Tenn., a new bank opened under
remarkably modest circumstances. Bank of Halls was
located in the back of the McDearman and Rhodes
Grocery Store and run by one teller, a young man by the
name of Isaac Burton Tigrett.
According to the President's Report from Jan. 10,
1937, many were doubtful
that the bank would
succeed. The report
cited, " Our safe was the
cheap kind which you see
discarded in the rubbish
heap of many country
stores, but which at that
time cost, when new,
about forty dollars. This
one was borrowed. The
books and some stationery
were the discards of the
Dyer County Bank. ...
Mr. Tigrett, the elected
cashier, who got $35 a
month, if he earned it,
was just as economical in
the purchase of fixtures,
equipment and stationery as were the directors in
fixing salaries. "
The president who wrote those words was W. T.
Nunn, a member of the family that has been with the
" The town of Halls
has not changed
much over the
years. So, I think
that's the main
thing that helped
us survive; we knew
everybody in town. "
-NICK NUNN,
BANK OF HALLS
52 // ICBA Independent Banker // August 2024
Independent Banker - August 2024

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