By Brenna Eller
McPHERSON, Kan. — Peoples Bank and Trust’s 125th anniversary was on Nov. 1, 2023. The bank hosted the Chamber Connection for the McPherson Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Nov 2.
Tom Pruitt, the current Peoples Bank and Trust President, shared the bank’s history on Thursday beginning with the story of when the bank was founded in 1898. Pruitt said he has often wondered what the founders F.A. Vaniman and Mary thought the day they opened the bank doors for the very first time.
“They obviously saw something in McPherson,” Pruitt said. “There was influence from McPherson College.
Vaniman remained president for 50 years according to Pruitt, retiring in 1948. Vaniman died just a year later.
“Being president for 50 years is quite an achievement,” Pruitt said. “There’s only been seven presidents of the bank in all the 125 (years), and I am the seventh.”
After Vaniman, the presidents of the bank were Paul Sargent, Wilbur Yoder, Stan Sargent, Marvin Crum, Tom Harms, and now Tom Pruitt.
“Our foundation is here in McPherson and remains here in McPherson. And F.A. and Mary, when they came in, saw something about McPherson that I think remains today,” Pruitt said. “And that is they saw opportunity. They saw a progressive community, they saw industry, and they saw people that wanted to build and move forward. And I’m thankful that Peoples Bank yet today is still a part of a community like that.”
When Pruitt thinks about the history of the bank, he thinks about all of the people who worked there throughout the 125 years.
“None of them knew us, but they all came to work every day. They worked hard, they showed up, and they built the bank for what it is today,” Pruitt said. “But we also had great customers who are very loyal, we had great ownership, and we had a great progressive community. And without that, I’m not sure how you build something like what Peoples bank has become.”
The four core values: Work hard, be honest, have vision, and build relationships are what Peoples Bank and Trust live by and as Vaniman and Mary started the values, the bank has continued to uphold them.
“We can never forget from where we come,” Pruitt said.
Pruitt said he is thankful to be a part of the community.
“McPherson is such a rare gem on the landscape of the state of Kansas,” Pruitt said. “The people that live here, the values that we have and that is what makes McPherson successful and that’s what makes businesses like ours so successful.”
The goal for the current team of the bank is to leave the future employees a viable business, progressing and impacting the community. Challenge of McPherson and the community.
Brad Bengtson, the President of the McPherson location for Peoples Bank and Trust shared on Thursday that he was happy to see such a great turnout from the community.
“We wouldn’t be here 125 years later without great leadership and Tom is a great example of that,” Bengston said.
Bengston gave a shoutout to all of the employees for their hard work and dedication to showing the core values Pruitt previously mentioned: working hard, being honest, having vision and building relationships. He said there is a billboard right outside of Peoples Bank and Trust that he sees every day and when he leaves, he asks himself, “Did I make an impact on my community?”
“That’s a strong thing to look in the mirror and ask yourself every day.” Bengston said. “That’s what our employees do.”
Peoples Bank started Refer a Friend Get a Gift in May, which is where an existing customer refers a friend for a gift. For any questions, ask someone from the deposit staff or other staff members.
Angie Timson said Peoples Bank has a staff of just over 200 people across its 17 locations.
“We have great staff,” Bengston said. “We’ve been around a long time, and it’s a great place to work.”
Other items at the Chamber Connection: The next Chamber event will be the McPherson Chamber Annual Meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at the McPherson Community Building.
the McPherson Public Library will be having another Trivia Night on Nov. 6 and the theme for tonight’s is the show Parks and Recreation. The trivia will be held from 6:30 – 8 p.m. at the McPherson American Legion. It is $2 per participant.
Don’t forget to vote on Tuesday, Nov. 7! Go to your designated county’s polling places and visit the county website if you are in need of any further instructions or if you want to know about the candidates running.
