Independent Banker - September 2023 - 41

met. " But every business, barbershop,
drugstore, everything in their business
district was destroyed, " he says. " So,
there's still a ways to go to get those
back up and running. "
First Federal plans to be with its
neighbor every step of the way. " It's
a bond that's not going to be broken
now, " Garlich says.
fPaying it forward
It's a bond born from community spirit
but also from adversity. " We're very,
very familiar with hurricanes, being on
the Gulf Coast, " says Renfroe, " so we're
familiar with other people coming to
our area to help us, other banks from
other areas, and even banks within
our area that have not been impacted
so much, helping each other. So, we're
always willing to help in times of need. "
Familiar might be an
understatement. Almost 20 years ago,
on Aug. 29, 2005, a 20-foot storm surge
from Hurricane Katrina devastated
Pascagoula, First Federal's hometown.
Ninety percent of the town was flooded.
Over half of the community bank's
employees suffered severe damage to
their homes, and half of those lost their
homes entirely.
It's almost impossible to imagine
the devastation. Yet the team pulled
together to help their neighbors get
through it. When asked how they did
it, Garlich, whose own home was under
four feet of water, laughs, " In flip flops! "
Renfroe recalls that, despite the
personal loss many of his team had
experienced, they still showed up to
service the bank's customers.
Garlich believes that what got them
through the devastation was the sense
of community and the sense of family
at the bank. " One of the major benefits
of the culture [here] is the 'family' and
how they took care of the employees
who needed it, " she explains. " If we
needed time off to go work on our
houses, it wasn't even questioned.
That's just the culture, the same thing
you would do for your family. "
Then, on June 19, 2023, the city
of Moss Point, which shares a border
with Pascagoula, was hit by an F2
tornado. The team at First Federal
was there again, cooking up more than
1,500 lunches for the volunteers and
community members and supporting
the Rebuild Moss Point Fund.
For Renfroe, paying it forward is
non-negotiable, which is why First
Federal shows up for the Bank of
Anguilla, for Moss Point and for all
the charities it supports.
Showing up in person is even more
important for everyone involved. " It
would have been easy for First Federal
to say, 'OK, we're going to send
Clockwise from top: First Federal team
members preparing for the benefit they
held for Bank of Anguilla employees after
the tornado; a complimentary lunch for
Moss Point citizens and volunteers affected
by the tornado; Alan Renfroe planning with
other bank employees
" It would have been easy for First Federal to say,
'OK, we're going to send Anguilla a $10,000 check.' But we
knew from prior experience that it would be beneficial for
our employees to actually get involved and participate. "
-ALAN RENFROE, FIRST FEDERAL SAVINGS & LOAN
Anguilla a $10,000 check,' " he says.
" But we knew from prior experience
that it would be beneficial for our
employees to actually get involved ...
and then send the money as a result of
our efforts. That made our employees
feel like they had contributed. "
Garlich believes it's essential
that businesses and banks get their
employees involved, listen to them and
meet those needs. To that end, Renfroe
recently sent out a survey to his team
asking where they would like to make
an impact, beyond all the community
outreach they had already done.
The team chose Adrienne's House, a
domestic violence shelter for women.
Fundraising has already started.
Renfroe, who plans to retire within
a year after 46 years with the bank,
laughs, " I thought I might try to just
go out with a bang and see how much
stuff we can get done in one year! "
Roshan McArthur is a writer in California.
independentbanker.org // 41
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Independent Banker - September 2023

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