|
|
|
| |
| Additional information |
| |
| First State Bank |
| |
| |
Mission statement:
It is the mission of First State Bank to provide the highest level of customer service, satisfaction, and personalized financial solutions through knowledgeable team members, efficient teamwork, and technological advancements while striving for innovative and creative ways to improve procedures and implement products. |
|
 |
|
Overview:
First State Bank is Socorro's home owned bank full of community spirit. We're big enough to support you with one of the state's broadest array of financial tools, yet small enough to know you personally.
Since we began we've embraced a friendly way of doing business that matches our Southwestern roots.
Stop by and say hello, or take advantage of the convenience of our internet branch. Either way you'll find short lines, lots of help and financial solutions, personalized for you. |
|
|
|
History:
An old photo of the early days of the bank shows a lever-controlled adding machine, giant-sized ledger sheets for posting, and a cardboard box stuck under a shelf. A fluorescent light hung from a low ceiling illuminating the main room, and the telephone was basic black. The bank listed assets of $50,000. The employees, a small lot back then, were friendly and efficient - which is a tradition the bank is proud to have maintained. Though technology and growth have altered the face of the bank, First State Bank is still a hometown bank with a rich history of community service.
The opening of the bank five decades ago filled a tremendous void in the Socorro community. In 1920, Socorro County had five banks from San Marcial to San Antonio to Magdalena; each eventually closed its doors with the last being at the time of the San Marcial floods of 1929. As the years went by, a number of efforts were made to open some kind of banking institution, but it was mostly talk. Few wanted to get stung again.
One bank closure had returned only a maximum of 35 cents to the dollar. Post-World War II had America on the move, and a small community like Socorro was no exception. Among town fathers who recognized the importance of a community bank were Elvin S. Smelser, President of the Socorro Chamber of Commerce in 1946, and Dr. H. T. Lehmann, a man who had obtained a masters degree in economics in addition to his medical degree.
Both men pledged their support to the cause. It was in part through the effort of Smelser and Lehmann that a man named Ray Tierney came to Socorro with a bank in mind. Tierney had been a federal bank examiner in Nebraska and had supervised loans on livestock for a production credit association for well over a decade before coming to Socorro in 1947. He also had $25,000 to invest and was anxious to build a banking business for his sons, Richard and Phillip. To satisfy requirements for a bank charter, Socorro attorney, J. C. Enloe, prepared an economic report of the area, and the next step was to seek additional capital through subscriptions.
The first officers of the bank were Ray Tierney, President; Dr. Lehmann, Vice President; Phillip J. Tierney, Cashier; and Richard L. Tierney, Assistant Cashier. Michel Harriet, Holm O. Bursum Jr., and Ira Tierney (the President's wife) made up the complete Board of Directors.
The story of First State Bank could have ended soon after it started. Within a few weeks of the opening of the bank in July 1947, Ray Tierney was quite ill. It became increasingly difficult for him to do business and by November, it was virtually impossible. According to newspaper accounts, Lehmann knew that Tierney had cancer of the spine and only had a few months to live.
It was reported that Tierney knew his sons were too young and inexperienced to take over the bank. He had issued somewhat of an ultimatum to Lehmann – either buy him out and become the new bank President, or he would be forced to liquidate his holdings and the bank would close. As a physician, Lehmann was already overworked, but he felt strongly that the bank should keep its doors open. To keep the bank open he turned to Holm Bursum Jr. Bursum Jr. and Lehmann bought out Tierney's share. Phillip Tierney stayed on for a while, and Richard Tierney left with his father.
Later Bursum Jr. was asked to take on the role as bank President, leaving his ranch to take care of itself.
Harriet then succeeded Bursum Jr. as Board Chairman, and Clyde Stauder Sr. and John Torres were added to the board. R. Newton Goff of Albuquerque National Bank (now Bank of America) came to the bank on a temporary basis as Cashier until January 1948 when William R. (Bob) Aufill joined First State Bank. Aufill was married to Lehmann's sister-in-law and had worked in banking in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Among key dates for the bank are December 1949, when the bank's assets reached the million dollar mark; 1956 when the bank moved to its present location, further west on Manzanares Street; October 23, 1961, when a branch bank was organized in Catron County; April 1966 when Holm O. Bursum III joined the bank following Aufill's death; October 15, 1993, when the bank underwent a massive conversion to an in-house system; July 1, 1997, when the bank celebrated its 50th anniversary; August 2, 1999, when Holm O. Bursum IV joined the bank; mid-September, 2000, when the bank’s internal computing network (intranet) went live as the first of an avalanche of technological updates, including Internet access for all team members, online services and check imaging technology; and September 7, 2007 when the bank converted and upgraded its entire operating system in order to keep pace with and surpass leading financial technologies.
In an age of conglomerate mergers and international high finance, First State Bank has regarded the independent banker as more than a good neighbor. First State Bank is more closely associated with our communities, in part because we know we are a direct part of those communities. We live in their communities and we know our neighbors. We understand local needs and problems and are in a position to do something about them, instead of just looking at the bottom line. As a locally-owned, independent bank, we have access to services offered by our big city neighbors, such as ATMs, debit cards, and online banking services.
Socorro is ideally situated to reap benefits from New Mexico's tourist trade. The presence of the Very Large Array, the world's largest radio telescope, and New Mexico Tech are tremendous tourist attractions as well as contributors to Socorro's economic base – and of course, there is also Socorro’s history. A big part of Socorro's population has been here for generations and that gives the town a strong character. As a result the people are friendly, they help each other and come to one another's aid.
First State Bank is fulfilling a mission of providing a sound financial institution in support of growth and stability for Socorro and the surrounding area. The bank plays a role in the larger picture as a participant in the free enterprise capitalist system – the basis of America's economic potential and has done so for over sixty years. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
