Letter from our Chairman

Dear Friends,

There is an old saying: “Time flies when you are having fun!” 

 It seems like only yesterday when a small group of friends joined hands and hearts to dream of a future together building a great community asset for our hometown. 

I recently read a quote by the late Robert Greenleaf, the founder of the servant leadership movement, where he said, “Nothing much happens without a dream. For something really great to happen, it takes a really great dream.”

We decided to call our really great dream, TowneBank, where we would come together to serve others and enrich lives.  

The dream came to life when we opened for business on April 8, 1999, with nearly 4,000 local shareholders who made our dream possible by believing in us and investing nearly $50 million. Looking back, no one could have possibly imagined where Towne is today as we celebrate our 25^th anniversary this year. 

Some might say Towne is unique, others might say we are unorthodox. The truth is we are probably a little bit of both. To paraphrase the words of noted author Simon Sinek, our success has been driven by continuing to chase our dream instead of chasing our competition. Frank Sinatra sang of doing it “My Way,” while here at Towne, we choose to do it “Our Way.” 

It started with creating a strong sense of belonging for everyone who walks through our doors each day. We selected talented teammates who, by their very nature, are “givers not takers.” They are internally and warmly fulfilled by serving others and are passionate about their role in our Towne family. They take pride in their volunteer activities and the philanthropic contributions of the TowneBank Foundation. 

That, my friends, is pretty much the “Towne Way.” While you are not likely to find this business strategy outlined in the Harvard Business Review, here on “Main Street USA,” we are making our friends and neighbors feel special in the heartfelt way we do business. 

After all these years, the Towne family is still having fun and dreaming of new ways to make the communities we serve better and stronger. 

Thank you for your loyalty, support, and friendship and for believing in our dream throughout the past 25 years. 

Most Sincerely,

G. Robert Aston Jr.
Executive Chairman