Independent Banker - May 2020 - 57

Bob Washburn,
president and
CEO of LifeStore
Bank, recently
commemorated the
reopening of the
bank's Jefferson,
N.C., branch.
new systems and processes and, as a whole, we've
experienced a lot of growth. "
Happy State Bank
Making people smile
Happy State Bank was originally named First State Bank
of Happy. Contrary to what you might think, neither name
was the result of a modern rebranding exercise. Like many
community banks, this one was named after the town in
which it was founded-in this case, Happy, Texas. So why
was the town named Happy?
" Before the town was settled, cowboys in the 1800s
found one little creek in this flat dry area with no trees, and
so they named it Happy Draw, " says J. Pat Hickman, CEO
of the $3.8 billion-asset community bank, now based 35
miles away from Happy in Amarillo, Texas. " Then when
the railroad came through, they established a depot to fill
the engines with water, and they called it Happy. In the
late 1800s, when the windmills came in, the town was
settled, and the bank was founded in 1908. The town has a
slogan, 'The town without a frown!' "
First State Bank of Happy changed its name in 2004
when it opened a branch 80 miles north in Stratford,
Texas, prompting a lawsuit by the First State Bank of
Stratford because the names were too similar.
" Some on our staff thought we should rename it Happy
State Bank, as many people in the town had always called
us that, but me-the 'marketing genius'-initially thought
it was the most stupid bank name I had ever heard, "
Hickman says. " So, I paid a consultant $25,000, and they
presented 10 or 12 names that were just horrible. "
The name Happy State Bank was floated again. " The
lady who owned this firm then looked at me and said,
'With all due respect, you're really, really wrong about not
wanting that name,' " Hickman says. " 'Happy is the only
word in the English language that people use every day
with no negative connotations.' And everyone in the board
room was nodding their heads in agreement. " Hickman
relented, and the name was changed to Happy State Bank.
" It changed everything, " he says. " Our employees had
bigger smiles on their faces, and our customers also smiled
more. Now, I realize that I was an idiot. "
Today, the community bank has truly leaned into
its name. It buys ads in the form of sticky notes on
newspapers in many of its markets on all of the major
holidays. The notes wish readers a happy New Year,
Valentine's Day or St. Patrick's Day, with Happy State
Bank's name on the bottom.
The new name has helped the community bank expand
into bigger markets, Hickman says. When Happy State
Bank moved into Dallas seven years ago, the board looked
for the most visible building on the Dallas North Tollway
and rented a space just so the community bank could put
up a huge sign on the building. Happy State Bank has
replicated the strategy for other new branches in Texas.
" I do some public speaking around the state, " Hickman
says, " and someone once introduced me as the CEO of
arguably the best-known bank in Texas. "
Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a writer in California.
independentbanker.org Q 57
http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - May 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - May 2020
