On Monday, October 17, we enjoyed a beautiful Indian summer day and celebrated two exciting occasions – the groundbreaking of our new corporate center and our annual All Employee Meeting, both held in our future home at Whitehall’s Community Park. Joining Heartland Bank executives at the groundbreaking event were approximately 60 guests, including the following:
- Whitehall Mayor Kim Maggard and Economic Development Director Zach Woodruff
- Members of Whitehall’s City Council, School Board, Fire and Police Departments
- Curt Moody and his team from architecture firm Moody-Nolan
- Tony and Lou Ruscilli and their staff from Ruscilli Construction
- U.S. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty
- Representative Heather Bischoff
- Heartland Bank Board of Directors and Ambassadors
While staying true to our roots in Ohio’s farming community, we didn’t use a tractor or shovel to break ground in Whitehall. We recreated the original corporate center groundbreaking with two dapple gray Percherons pulling a John Deere walk behind hand-plow, and CEO Scott McComb, in overalls, was at the helm.
When the All Employee meeting kicked off around 5:30, McComb shared a letter with the 150+ associates in attendance. The letter was heartfelt and moving and we wanted to share it here.
Happy Fall Heartland Community Bankers!
Today, we break ground on our new corporate home. It has been a long time coming and I truly hope you’re as proud of our collective success as I am. As we venture into Whitehall, I wanted to take you back to when we built our first corporate center. It was 1995 and the bank had experienced tremendous growth over the first seven years as Heartland. Assets were $136 million with seven branch offices, we had 68 associates, and central Ohio was in the midst of a growth trend. Our modern day founder broke the ground with a horse and plow, along with the help of local leaders who were welcoming us with open arms to their community.
Presently, as we begin yet another chapter of the Heartland story, things are very different, but yet still the same. We have more than doubled most areas of our enterprise: 14 branch offices, 180 associates, $790 Million in assets. In respect to these measurements, we have changed significantly over these last 21 years. Through your hard work, dedication and the culture we have collectively built, we are also two times more efficient now as we were then.
Flying in the face of all that change, stands our shared values that have stood the test of time and have continued to validate our business model. By empowering caring employees with unquestionable integrity to be active in their community and do right by their clients, we stand as the last of our breed in central Ohio and one of the best performing in the nation. Our story and performance proves that honesty wins over deceit, service stands over self and team effort prevails over individual superstars.
Congratulations once again to all of you and welcome to the next chapter of Central Ohio’s Community Bank! Yep! That same old Heartland.
From Downtown to Dublin and Grove City to Gahanna, you’ll find Heartland Community bankers all over central Ohio. We invite you to visit your local branch office and experience the difference a community bank can make.