Letter from our Chairman

Dear Friends,

Warren Buffet’s long time business partner and the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the late Charlie Munger, offered words of wisdom when he said, “Trust is one of the greatest economic forces on earth.”  

As our Towne family celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the founding of TowneBank, my heart is filled with gratitude and deep appreciation for the nearly 4,000 loyal followers whose trust in our small team of bankers led them to invest the astounding sum of $50 million to bring to life what would become the most successful launch of a new bank ever chartered in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  

To paraphrase the conceptual meaning of the African proverb, “It takes a village,” Towne became the beneficiary of the largesse of a wide range of community supporters where the average stock investment was a modest $12,500. In essence, the level of community involvement brought forth TowneBank as the “bank of the people, by the people, and for the people,” thereby setting in motion the bank’s pursuit of its dream to build a great community asset in the communities we would come to serve.  

Over the past 25 years, the financial success of the Towne companies has enabled us to provide our communities we serve with a “community dividend” through our philanthropic gifts of more than $110 million while also rewarding our loyal shareholders with cash dividends in excess of $510 million.  

All of this has been made possible through the caring and exquisite service provided by our talented and amazing Towne team members and most certainly, by our thousands of loyal members who have favored us with their banking, insurance, and real estate-related needs.  

Whether you are one of our valued members, a shareholder, or a Towne team member, you can take great pride in the contribution you have made in Forbes naming TowneBank as one of America’s Best Banks, American Banker naming Towne among the 2023 Best Banks to Work For, and the growth of Towne Insurance to be the largest bank-owned insurance agency in America.  

We are grateful and thankful for your trust and belief in our Towne family.

Most sincerely,

G. Robert Aston Jr.
Executive Chairman