FFB&T Newsroom

First Farmers Financial Corp Completes Acquisition of C.B. Bank Shares, Announces Corporate Earnings and Expansion of Corporate

Gene Miles, C.E.O. of First Farmers Financial Corp. and its principal subsidiary First Farmers Bank & Trust, announces that the acquisition of C.B. Bank Shares, Inc. (“CB”) and its principal subsidiary Central Bank, of Russiaville, Indiana was completed on Friday December 4, 2009. The offices of Central Bank in Russiaville and Kokomo have become branches of First Farmers Bank & Trust.

Commenting on the transaction, Mr. Miles stated: “We are very pleased that we have completed our transaction with Central Bank. We appreciate the efforts put forth by the officers, employees and board members at Central to facilitate the merger. We look forward to working with Central Bank’s officers and employees to continue serving the Russiaville and Kokomo communities.”

In addition, First Farmers Bank & Trust announces 3rd quarter financial results for the corporation and a planned expansion of the corporate offices in Converse. Earnings for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 were $6.0 million, or $3.40 per share, 6.3% ahead of 2008. A 7,700sq ft expansion is under construction to house expanded Information Technology and Bookkeeping departments. The area will include office space, a conference center, break room, restrooms, and technical areas for new mainframe systems and network server. Completion is expected by 2nd quarter of 2010.

Sheridan Branch of FFBT Helps Fund the Spicewood Garden Apartments

Noblesville—Thirty-one low-income senior families will be settling into their new, affordable apartments in Hamilton County before the cold Indiana winter begins. Hamilton County Area Neighborhood Development, Inc (HAND), a nonprofit community housing development organization based in Noblesville, has been working for years to get these apartments built for seniors throughout the county. Plum Tree Gardens in Noblesville, Indiana and Spicewood Garden Apartments in Sheridan, Indiana, are both independent living communities for seniors 55 and older. HAND held ribbon cuttings for both of the properties to mark their openings during the past month. Plum Tree and Spicewood are the first affordable rental housing options in the county provided by a community-based, mission-driven nonprofit organization.

Spicewood Garden Apartments is located west of State Road 38 and just north of 2nd Street in Sheridan and consists of 25 units and a community center. Both communities contain two-bedroom duplexes with covered front porches. Each apartment will have many details enabling residents to age in place, including accessibility features for those who cannot walk easily. Other amenities include washers and dryers, walk in closets, and two emergency call buttons in each apartment. Rents are affordable and are determined based upon resident income with a range from $305 and $550.

 

“At the openings, we were excited to show community members, funders, and partners around the apartments,” said Sage Hales, Director of HAND, “We are grateful for all of the community support that we received to serve the low-income senior population in both Noblesville and in Sheridan, and we wanted to show our supporters what everyone’s combined hard work created.”

Spicewood Gardens is funded through a combination of equity from the sale of low income housing tax credits to First Farmers Bank and Trust, Affordable Housing Program Funds through the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, HOME Partnership Program funds through the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, and Community Development Block Grant Funds through Hamilton County, and financing through P/R Mortgage and Merchants Bank of Indiana.

Both properties are also planning to obtain LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Silver Certification from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). In order to obtain LEED Silver Certification both the overall site and the individual homes contain environmentally friendly features. Some of these features include the use of native plants in the landscaping and energy efficient fixtures and materials. Plum Tree Gardens and Spicewood Garden Apartments will become two of the first LEED Silver affordable multi-family developments in the State of Indiana upon certification. “We believe that it is important for HAND to build energy efficient apartments - not only to benefit the environment, but to help keep residents’ utility costs low. Many of our residents are on fixed incomes and the lower utility costs are a huge benefit to them,” said Sage Hales, Director of HAND.

First Farmers Bank & Trust is proud to be able to help the communities of Sheridan and Hamilton County and support the efforts of HAND in these communities. According to Brian Bragg, "the apartments at Spicewood were exceptionally nice, and it's important to be able to offer affordable housing to seniors in our community."

 

Wabash Branch Donates Flag to Wabash County Historical Museum

During the Wabash County 4H Fair, the Wabash branch of FFBT, along with Bob Hettmansperger of Ag Adventures, Bob Land, Land for Sheriff, and Todd Adams, Todd Adams State Farm Agency, donated a flag to the Wabash County Historical Society. SPC Charles Hunt took the flag into battle with him, then donated the flag to the fair for proceeds to go to the building fund. He presented the flag to the museum, and Paul Bergman accepted the flag on behalf of the museum. The event took place at Northfield High school while they were honoring veterans. First Farmers Bank & Trust is proud to be able to help the Wabash community and be an integral part of the history of the area.