F&M Bank Donates $323,000 to Area Nonprofits in 2017
In 1908, the local farmers and businessmen who met to discuss the formation of F&M Bank held a vision for a monetary venture to serve their community. Much has changed since our humble beginnings, but one thing that remains constant is our heart for the community. This year, a total of $323,000 was donated to area nonprofits to help support their mission of providing worthwhile services to local residents in need of assistance.
In 1908, the local farmers and businessmen who met to discuss the formation of F&M Bank held a vision for a monetary venture to serve their community. Former President and CEO Dan Todd reinforced this vision in 1967 by making a commitment to stockholders to serve the community, and that was the standard F&M would live by. In 1968, the Board of Directors authorzied sending $2,000 to area nonprofits.
F&M Bank took pride in giving back to the community, and in the coming years the bank experienced great success. According to Nancy Bondurant Jones in her book Banking on the Future, A 100 Year History of Farmers & Merchants Bank, “the bank’s continuing growth had to be credited to its continuing community service.” Each year around Christmastime, F&M Bank made financial contributions to local charities and volunteer fire and rescue organizations. Carlton Melton, former head executive at Rockingham Memorial Hospital offered the following story.
“During our late 1980s fundraising campaign to build the cancer center, I solicited funds from all the banking institutions in the area. When I got to Farmers & Merchants to meet with Dan Todd, I figured since they were less affluent, I’d ask for only $10,000. When I did, Todd asked me what I’d asked the other banks. I confessed I’d asked them for $20,000. He said, ‘Well, we’ll do that if we can do it over three years’. Then, in December, he phones to say, ‘We’ve had a good year, can we pay it all now?’ That little bank in Timberville wouldn’t be outdone by anyone.”
Much has changed since our humble beginnings, but one thing that remains constant is our heart for the community. The spirit of giving that existed in the 1980s is still very much alive at F&M Bank. This year, a total of $323,000 was donated to area nonprofits to help support their mission of providing worthwhile services to local residents in need of assistance. As we continue to grow and experience success, we will never forget our commitment to the communities we serve.
Pictured: Kevin See, Broadway Fire Department with Mary Campbell, Broadway Assistant Branch Manager. On behalf of the bank, Mary presented a donation to the Broadway Fire Department at their annual dinner in December.
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