The Story of First State Bank

First State Bank of Purdy was chartered in June, 1944, as a successor of the First National Bank of Purdy. The original directors were Raymond Brite, Bert Catron, A. M. Gurley, Jr., John Miller and John Moore.

In 1974, Glen Garrett and Jack Fox purchased the bank, which had assets totaling $2,000,000.00 at that time. The bank grew tremendously, and, to accommodate our customers, a new facility was built in 1977, with the move from the old storefront building completed on December 26, 1977.

Citizens National Bank of Monett/Pierce City was merged into First State Bank of Purdy on December 22, 1987, giving us three facilities in three separate towns to serve our customers. In January, 1988, Glen Garrett was elected Chairman of the Board and CEO of the merged entity, with Ann Hall elected President.

In June of 1991, a new 9300 square foot facility with a state-of-the-art computer room was built in Monett. June, 1995 saw a new 4200 square foot facility opened in Cassville, MO, and May, 1998 heralded the opening of our first retail banking establishment, when we became the bank in the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Monett.

Currently, the total assets of the bank exceed $160,000,000.00. First State Bank has more than 50 employees at five locations. The directors are Glen Garrett, Brian Jordan, Randy Henderson, Bill Shiveley, Danny Vaughn, Kevin Jackson, Jeff Scott, and John Garrett.

First State Bank of Purdy takes pride in meeting the needs of the communities we serve, whether it be a small business loan, a home loan, a car loan, or electronic banking. We strive to be "Your Bank for Life!"