Summer Happenings Part 2

FFBT Participates in Sand Sculpture Contest to Benefit CASA of Grant County

On Saturday, July 17th, the 2nd Annual Sand Sculpture Artfest 2010 took place at the Splash House in Marion to benefit CASA of Grant County. In case you haven't read the post from last summer, this event was created and run by Michael Belcher's children. Michael is a loan officer at the Marion location and is very proud of his children's many efforts to help those in need in the community. Like last year, Michael Belcher and Dawn Darga came together as a team and Lanita Ferre' and her family represented First Farmers. The teams had 8 hours to complete their sculptures and were competed for three different awards: the People's Choice Award which is determined by a dollar amount giving as 'votes', the Schramm Family Award which is determined by the Schramm Family, and the Golden Pail Award given by the CASA Board to the group who had the most fun.

Twenty teams participated and raised over $15,000-triple the amount raised last year! Dana and Alex Kenworthy won the Golden Pail Award, Via Federal Credit Union won the Schramm Family Award, and Westminster Presbyterian Church won the People's Choice Award.

FFBT Sponsors Kokomo Library's Reading Club Splash Bash

During the summer, the Kokomo Library hosted a Summer Reading Club to encourage kids of all ages to read when school is out. Children are encouraged to read books from designated lists that they check out from the library and each book read earns them points which go toward prizes such as book bags, books, and gift cards to local businesses. The club is free to all who are interested in participating.

The Splash Bash was held at Kokomo Beach on July 22nd and attendees could participate in swimming, volleyball, and many more activities. First Farmers' Howard County branches sponsored this event because they felt it was important to encourage children to read and improve their education. Jennifer Van Horn, Commercial Loan Officer at FFBT stated, "I enjoyed taking my kids to this event and finding books to read to them. I think it's great that we participate in events like this because it's affordable for any family who wants to do something fun when school isn't in session."

FFBT Participates in Galveston Summerfest

On July 24th, Galveston held Summerfest and First Farmers was available to hand out free gifts and answer questions about FFBT. The event is sponsored this year by Galveston Merchants Group and the Galveston Heritage Society. This event has been held since 1988 or 1989, but went on hiatus after 2002. For the past seven years, only a town-wide garage sale was held. The Merchants Group wanted to do something nice for the town and bring the community together. Free door prizes were given away, a tractor show was held, the Fire Department held an open house and lunch, and a town-wide garage sale took place. The Galveston branch of First Farmers had a great time at this event and looks forward to participating next year.

Kathy Jones a Member of the Moonlight Garden Club in Wabash

Kathy Jones, Branch Manager of the Wabash location, is also a member of the Moonlight Garden Club. Each month during the summer, the Garden Club elects a yard of the month and presents them with a sign that they can display for the month. They determine these yards based on a variety of items including cleanliness, color, etc. Here is a picture from July's Yard of the Month!

First Farmers Sponsors Duck Derby

The Samaritan Caregiver's Annual Duck Derby took place on July 29th, and First Farmers' Howard County branches came together to sponsor the Free Swim. All of the tickets were sold and Papa John's served over 400 pizzas at the event. One ticket entitled one adult and one child entry into Kokomo Beach and pizza and drinks for each person. There were games and businesses set up around the outside of Kokomo Beach and attendees could see the decorated ducks as they walked into the pool area. Each business paid $100 for a decorated duck to race in the Lazy River. At 7:00pm, the race took place with the owner of the winning duck receiving $500-this year's winner was Cathy Archer!

Many First Farmers employees attended the event and set up a tent where they gave away small gifts such as sanitizing spray, pencils, and keychains, and held a raffle to give away two beach towels every hour. Everyone who attended the event had a lot of fun and many stayed and swam at the event after they finished working at the FFBT tent. Linda Clark decorated the duck as a farmer for First Farmers Bank and had done this for Central Bank for previous years.

FFBT Sponsors and Participated in Jim "Moose" Carden Kid's Fishing Clinic

For many years, the nationally ranked Jim "Moose" Carden Kid's Fishing Clinic has been a huge success, and this year was no different. When it was time to sign up to attend the event, over half of those in line were left without a spot. With an event of this caliber, attendance at the event must be limited because on the day of the tournament, many boat captains are needed to take the kids fishing. For two weeks, a clinic is held for all participants and volunteers teach them how to cast and they take classes on the ethics of fishing, different types of lures and bait, etc. Guest speakers come as well to teach children about safety, responsibility, and other important topics. Perhaps the most popular is Scott Lucas, a trick caster who has been performing at the event for several years and who used to star in a TV show. He shows the kids tricks such as looping his line around a finger or getting his line into a hat from across the stage, but more importantly, he shows kids why it is important to practice casting and how certain tricks can help benefit them in the water. At the end of each night, door prizes are given away and each child walks away with quite the catch-all of the prizes are donated by businesses and individuals.

At the end of the clinic, all of the kids go out to the Kokomo Reservoir and are assigned a boat captain. For 3 hours, the kids' fish and at the end, the kids bring in their catch to get it weighed and measured. Each child receives a trophy, but there are special classes for those who have the biggest catch. They are separated by age group and a $20 bill is given to the child with the biggest fish. Once the fish are weighed, a huge, and free, lunch is held for the community.

Bart Alexander, Vice President and Commercial Lender at First Farmers, has volunteered at this event for approximately 15 years. He teaches classes, gets T-shirts made for all of the kids, and acts as a boat captain during the tournament. The event has become a family event for the Alexander's. Each of Bart's three daughters participated in the event at a young age and now volunteer as well. They are responsible for calling all boat captains to get enough for the tournament and go out on the boats during the tournament to help the kids catch their fish. A video from this event will be posted soon.

First Farmers Attends KCS's Organizational Day

On August 10th, First Farmers sponsored the Kokomo School Corporation's Organizational Day. During this day, breakfast is served for approximately 1500 staff members at Kokomo School Corporation and they attend meetings. After breakfast, First Farmers, along with a few other businesses, were available to answer questions about the bank that employees might have and gave away a free gift. First Farmers is proud to partner with Kokomo School Corporation and looks forward to these events in the future.