FFB&T Newsroom

Celebration of Lights in Wabash to be Held on Friday, November 20th

On Friday, November 20th at 6pm at the Wabash Courthouse, the City of Wabash will hold their annual Celebration of Lights. If you've never been to this event before, consider 2009 to be a first. During the celebration, Christmas carols are led by Cindy Flanigan and her daughters, Santa stops by with treats for the kids, Mayor Bob VanLandingham gives a little insight into the Celebration and the holiday season, and then the lights on the courthouse and candles are lit.

Join First Farmers employees at this event this year. For more information, contact the Wabash branch of FFBT at (260) 563-1196.

Ken Perkins' Wife and Daughter To Act in the Wabash Area Community Theater Production of 'Anything Goes'

Ken Perkins, FFBT Vice President and Senior Commercial Lender, has talented family members. His wife, Beth, and daughter, Emily, will perform in the Wabash Area Community Theater Production of Anything Goes on Oct 9-11 at the Ford Theater Stage of the Honeywell Center. Emily Perkins will be playing Reno Sweeney, former evangelist turned nightclub singer, one of the lead roles. She has performed in many other productions through high school and college. She encouraged her mom, Beth, to audition after a role became open--a member of Reno's group, Reno's Angels.

The show features a lot of Cole Porter's best songs and the show is a light comedy set aboard a cruise ship.

Come see Emily and Beth Perkins perform this weekend at the Ford Theater stage of the Honeywell Center! Showtimes are listed below:

Friday, October 9th: 7:30pm
Saturday, October 10th: 7:30pm
Sunday, October 11th: 2:00pm

Tickets are available at the Honeywell box office or by calling (260) 563-1102.

FFBT Participates in Amboy Fall Festival

The Amboy Fall Festival was held from Saturday September 19-20 and featured community activities for Amboy residents and visitors. The festival, now in its 4th year, featured a parade, dunking booth, corn hole tournament, car show, and a variety of other events designed to appeal to a wide variety of guests. As part of the event, the bank sponsored a presentation of a memorial park bench honoring former FFBT employee and board member, Steve Shrock. Locally based Caldwell Monument Inc was contracted to create a fitting memorial inscription as shown below to be placed near the park bench that was dedicated at last year’s ceremony. Also sponsored by First Farmers Bank & Trust was the car show, the corn hole tournament, and the Little Mr. and Miss Amboy Pageant. The winner of the People’s Choice Award for the car show was Buff Fuller. The winners of the Little Mr and Miss Amboy were as follows:

2-4 years: Aubrey Simmons and Drake Pond
5-7 years: Alaina Simmons and Deaton Pond
8-10 years: Victoria Davis and Braxton Camden (Pam Camden’s grandson!)

 

 

The winners of the corn hole tournament were Noah Herschberger, Jake Schmuber, Wayne Otto, and Ed Petty. First Farmers also held several events throughout the week and at the fair, and participated in other festival activities. In keeping with the Rock and Roll theme of the festival, the branch held a “Do the Twist” contest. Nancy Williamson was the winner and won a box of checks for her effort. They also gave away Merle Haggard tickets in a random drawing, and the winner of that drawing was Fred Ammerman Jr from Peru. Finally, the Amboy branch gave away free popcorn like they have done in past years and Melody Ringeisen volunteered to spend almost an hour in the community dunking booth! She made almost $24 during that time, and even contributed some of her own money to make sure she dunked Chris Norris a few times! Chris was in the booth representing Norris Insurance in Amboy, but he is also one of FFBT’s board members. Overall, the festival raised $1018 to be donated for playground equipment for the children. Attendance at the event surpassed expectations and the community looks forward to hosting the festival again next year.

FFBT's Ken Perkins Speaks at Midwest Pork Conference

First Farmers Bank and Trust, Sr. Commercial Lender, Ken Perkins recently spoke to industry representatives and producers at the Midwest Pork Conference at the Hendricks County Conference Complex in Danville, Indiana. The conference, hosted by Indiana Pork, hosted over 300 attendees and is the premiere regional event in the industry. Ken’s topics included necessary communication strategies to implement when examining the economic viability of agricultural lending relationships. Ken spoke on suggested practices that should be employed by pork producers in cooperation with the lenders and the long term practices that will help those producers better analyze the profitability and costs associated with their operation.

First Farmers Bank & Trust Reports Record Growth For First Half of 2009

First Farmers Financial Corporation, holding company for First Farmers Bank & Trust, recently released a financial statement of condition as of June 30, 2009 that included overall loan growth of $52.2 million, an 11.1% increase from the same period the previous year. Deposits also increased 13.2% to a record $546 million and the Bank’s growing capital base continues to substantially exceed requirements to meet the standard of “Well Capitalized," the highest regulatory rating.

For a copy of our most recent statements of condition, contact your local FFBT officer.  It will also be available very soon on our website at www.ffbt.com

Established in 1885, First Farmers Bank & Trust has been serving the banking needs in Central Indiana for 124 years. It currently operates through 18 conveniently located offices and can also be found on the internet at www.ffbt.com.

First Farmers Bank & Trust Rates Tops in Banking

  August 2009: First Farmers Bank & Trust, Converse, Indiana takes great pride in receiving a 5-Star Superior rating for financial strength and stability from BauerFinancial, Inc., Coral Gables, Florida. 5-Stars is the highest rating attainable from BauerFinancial (the Nation's Bank Rating Firm for over a quarter of a century) and is based on the overall financial picture of the institution. Earning a 5-Star rating indicates that First Farmers Bank & Trust is one of the strongest banks in the nation.

Given that, it is not surprising that Karen L. Dorway, president of BauerFinancial, has high praise for First Farmers Bank & Trust. "First Farmers Bank & Trust has avoided the lending and underwriting problems that have plagued much of the banking industry. It is clear that the staff of First Farmers Bank & Trust, under the direction of Mr. Gene Miles, CEO, remains diligent in adhering to sound banking principles and standards."

Established in 1885, First Farmers Bank & Trust has been serving the banking needs of its neighbors and friends for 124 years. It currently operates through 18 conveniently located offices and can also be found on the internet at www.ffbt.com.

First Farmers Bank & Trust: "People You Can Trust"

BauerFinancial, Inc., Coral Gables, Florida, the nation's leading independent bank and credit union rating and research firm, has been reporting on an analyzing the performance of US banks and credit unions since 1983. Consumers may obtain star-ratings by visiting www.bauerfinancial.com

FFBT's Greentown Branch Attends Eastern School Corporation's 2nd Annual Benefits Fair

 

On August 10, 2009 from 9:00-11:00, First Farmers Bank & Trust took part in Eastern School Corporation's 2nd Annual Employee Benefits Fair. FFBT, along with several other local businesses, were invited to attend the fair because of their continuous support of local events. Jodi Cecil, Assistant Branch Manager, and Joyce S. Flick, Customer Service Representative, from the FFBT Greentown branch were representatives for the Bank.

"We feel it is a great way to reach out to Eastern School Corporation employees. We joined approximately 15 other local businesses ranging from health care and insurance groups to the Historical Society Club," stated Jodi Cecil.

A variety of information was available to the employees, including a complete compliment of brochures about FFBT and the products and services they offer. "We had questions ranging from Mortgage Loans and Certificates of Deposit to Checking Accounts and Direct Deposit," stated Joyce Flick.

Eastern School Corporation plans to continue this fair in the future for the benefit of their employees. First Farmers Bank & Trust of Greentown is very proud to be a part of this event and help the members in their community.

It's Time Again for the Sheridan Harvest 5K Presented by First Farmers Bank & Trust

It's time again for the 3rd Annual Sheridan Harvest 5K Run/Walk presented by First Farmers Bank & Trust. The race is held in conjunction with the Sheridan Harvest Moon Festival.

The race is set for Saturday, October 3rd at Biddle Memorial Park. As in the past, we will also have a corporate challenge portion of the race. This is open to all businesses to compete with each other in a point system similar to that of a cross country meet. This is a great way to promote health and fitness within your company.

2007 Winner The Sheridan School System
2008 Winner First Farmers Bank & Trust

All of the proceeds from the race go to the upkeep of the Sheridan portion of the Monon Trail.

You can sign up for the race online at www.indianatiming.com or visit our website at www.ffbt.com to download the entry form.

For more information, contact Brian Bragg at 317-758-4481 or email [email protected].

Download 5K Entry Form

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: First Farmers Financial Corporation Announces Agreement to Acquire CB Bank Shares, Inc

Converse, Indiana, Aug 13, 2009 - First Farmers Financial Corporation, Converse, Indiana and CB Bank Shares, Inc, Russiaville, Indiana, announced today that they have signed a definitive merger agreement under which CB Bank Shares will merge into First Farmers. CB Bank Shares is the holding company for Central Bank, which will be merged into First Farmers Bank & Trust, First Farmers wholly-owned subsidiary bank. The transaction will combine two of the oldest banking institutions in Central Indiana.

Gene Miles, President and Chief Executive Officer of First Farmers Bank & Trust stated, “We are very pleased to announce this agreement. Our banking philosophy and commitment to community banking in Central Indiana fits perfectly with those of Central Bank. We feel that our combined staffs will be in an excellent position to provide comprehensive financial services to clients in the heart of our branch network. Like First Farmers, Don Smith and Central Bank are recognized as leaders in furthering the goals of community banking and have a history of supporting Howard County and Central Indiana.”

“Both Central Bank and First Farmers Bank & Trust have upheld the traditions and service expectations of community banking, and our clients will now be able to appreciate a wider variety of bank products without compromising the high degree of personalized service that they now receive,” stated Don Smith, President of Central Bank.

The acquisition will give First Farmers Bank & Trust 20 branches in Indiana, over $730 million in assets, and gross capital of over $75 million. It also makes the organization the largest privately held deposit holder in Howard County with $165 million at 5 branch locations. Currently, Central Bank operates two bank locations in Russiaville and Kokomo with assets of $55 Million. “We expect that the talent we have in place in Howard County, in particular, will continue to exemplify community banking with a premium placed on customer communication and personalized service. Our strong capital position gives us an excellent opportunity to give this staff the tools to grow our business. We’re excited about the future of our combined operations” added Miles.

Mike Renninger, Renninger & Associates, LLC has acted as financial advisor to First Farmers Financial Corp. and Thomas C. Blank, Shumaker Loop & Kendrick, is counsel to First Farmers Financial Corp. in connection with the transaction. Thomas M. Maxwell, Barnes and Thornburg LLP and Joseph Davis, Davis & MacDonald Law Firm, have represented CB Bank Shares, Inc.

Financial terms of the transaction were not announced. It is expected that the transaction will close late in the fourth quarter of 2009 or early in 2010.

For further information regarding this release please contact Gene Miles at 765-395-3316 or Don Smith at 765-453-9100.

FFBT Participates in the Annual Circus City Festival and Parade in Peru

The circus came to Peru, Indiana in 1884 as local businessman, Colonel Ben Wallace brought his show to town. Although his show traveled around a multi-state area, it always returned to Peru to winter. As the circus grew, it became known as the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus and was considered a competitor to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey shows. After the demise of the Hagenbeck-Wallace show, other circuses used the Peru site for shows and wintering, including the brief presence of the Ringling Brothers circus, until the 1930's. The love affair with the circus continued however, and in 1960, the Circus City Festival began, which includes performances by the amateur circus. The Circus City Festival occurs for 10 days in July each year.

 

The festival includes rides, games, food, entertainment, arts & crafts, and much more. The parade includes authentic wagons, a calliope, floats, bands, clowns, and other items of interest. FFBT has provided free cold water and green clown noses to the many spectators for the past 4 years. A tent is set up outside our main branch on the corner of Broadway and Main Street and employees volunteer their time to pass out the noses and water. This year, we had 7 employees working the tent: Trudy Judge, Ron Douglas, Kris Hiers, Suzanne Arnold, Maria Correll, Sierra Martinez, and Amanda Frey.

One of the primary highlights of the Circus City festival of course is the circus performance itself. At least 10 performances are held each year and include a variety of acts from juggling and unicycles to trapeeze and highwire acts. It's a three hour long three ring circus complete with clowns and a full circus band that plays nearly non-stop. The beautifully costumed performers consist of 250 local area residents, most of them between 7 and 21 years of age. The band, a mix of amateur and professional musicians is also comprised of many area residents although there are some who come from across the country to volunteer their time and talents. These performers have made a serious committment to the show. They begin practicing in March, perform a fairly grueling schedule during the July Circus City Festival Days, travel to surrounding states for additional performances, and even participate in an international competition in Monte Carlo each January.