As inflation and economic strain continue to put a squeeze on everyone’s wallets, I would like to reiterate how grateful I am that you trust us with your financial lives.
That is not something we take lightly at The First National Bank in Sioux Falls.
Rather, it is why we are always working to improve your banking experience by offering new and enhanced resources, updating our facilities, providing the best customer service in the area, and giving back to the things that matter most to you and your family.
As is tradition, I’d like to take a few minutes to reflect on some of the ways we lived up to those commitments, and to our FIRST Values, throughout the past year. Here is First National Bank’s 2024 year in review:
We completed our Benson Road branch remodel.
At this time last year, we were providing updates on our Benson Road branch remodel.
With that project staying on schedule, we were able to reopen for business in March of 2024. If you haven’t stopped by in the months since, have a look at the updated space:
We made improvements to our Downtown drive-up.
Our next big construction project focused on improving the accessibility of our Downtown drive-up.
In addition to pouring new concrete, we converted our three drive-up lanes into two — allowing us to make both drive-up lanes and the Advantage ATM lane more spacious for your convenience.
We celebrated our history with a new blog series.
We build successful relationships; it’s what we do every single day, and what we have done for nearly 140 years.
To celebrate our history, we went into the archives and dug up some of our favorite stories from over the years. Then, we shared them with you on our blog.
The response from our customers and communities was astounding. Thank you to everyone who followed along!
For those who missed the first round or only tuned in to part of the series, you’re not too late. From a 23-year-old prodigy president to an encounter with country music icon Dolly Parton, it’s all available on our blog at the links below:
- The surprising history of The First National Bank in Sioux Falls
- The Reputation Chapter
- The Dolly Chapter
- The Business Chapter
- The Crisis Chapter
- The Advantage Chapter
- The Values Chapter
We were named a Disability Inclusion Partner.
We received the Disability Inclusion Partner award from the local organization Employment Disability Resources for employing Landon Wagner in our Operations department.
It has been a pleasure to work with Landon this year, and we look forward to continuing along his career journey with him in 2025. Learn more about Landon and the award at the link below:
We lifted up local business owners.
For the same reasons that inflation and the economy are straining your wallets, it hasn’t been an easy year for local and small business owners.
We hope that you will continue to show your support for these hard-working entrepreneurs (and the backbone of our economy) in the new year.
In fact, we highlighted a lot of talented and committed local business owners in 2024. Our hope is that by sharing their stories, you’ll be inspired to shop with and support them.
You can find our favorite features at the links below:
- The story of family-owned Thornton Flooring
- Get to know Marie and Marie Bridal
- Get to know Child’s Play Toys
- How We Money: Rebekah and Nick Scott
We emphasized our longstanding commitment to farmers and the agriculture industry.
To kick off the year, the Agribusiness Division of the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce named our very own Phil DeGroot as the 2024 Agribusiness Citizen of the Year.
They recognized Phil for his volunteerism, active involvement on his family’s farm in Iowa, and service to the annual Sioux Empire Livestock Show. You can read more about this prestigious honor at the links below:
Over the summer, we took a trip out to Lakeco Crop Services, located near Wentworth, SD, to share the story of owners Rob Thuringer and Dave Ellens.
The duo has overcome a lot of struggles in the agriculture industry — most notably the flooding of 2019. If you haven’t read their story yet, you can do so at the link below:
Finally, we added a new board member with deep roots in the ag industry. In November, Darren Hefty of Hefty Seed Company joined The First National Bank in Sioux Falls Board of Directors.
We expect that he will bring a valuable business and agriculture perspective to our board. Learn more about his expertise at the link below:
We wrapped up Season 6 of our award-winning financial education podcast.
Balancing your health and wealth, separating from the W2 race, maximizing your giving impact: we covered it all on Season 6 of our podcast, Common Cents on the Prairie™.
We also held our second annual live podcast recording with Michael Bender, founder of Bender Companies, and Jean Bender, a lawyer at Davenport Evans, earlier this year.
Season 7 kicks off in January as we celebrate the five-year anniversary of our podcast. To catch up on episodes before then, watch them on our YouTube channel, listen on your favorite streaming app, or find them at the link below:
We began looking to 2025.
With all that under wraps, it’s time for us to focus on what’s coming in 2025. These are the great things you have to look forward to here at First National Bank:
- We’ve already mentioned how most people’s wallets felt extra pressure this year. Although we can’t control inflation or ease your financial tension, we can try to make money feel a little less serious sometimes. In 2025, you can expect to see more fun and lighthearted content on our end, whether it be highlighting our amazing teammates, sharing inspiring and uplifting stories, or just trying to make you laugh once in a while. But don’t worry — we’ll continue to be your best resource for money tips, fraud prevention, and resources to enhance your financial lives as well.
- Our bank was founded in 1885, which means next year marks our 140th anniversary! We’re excited to celebrate with you all and look forward to sharing a few surprises throughout 2025.
- Instances of fraud and scams continue to ramp up, and we continue to enhance our fraud prevention efforts in stride. Throughout the year, we’ll be adding new resources in a variety of places like our website, social media, and even your monthly bank statements. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for those.
- Many of you use our website regularly to access your accounts, read our blog, and find new products and services to meet your financial needs. We’re excited to give our website a refresh next year so that you’ll have an even better experience each time you stop by. Stay tuned!
- Finally, we will continue to build upon the things we already do so well: releasing more great podcast episodes, sharing important stories from our local communities, and updating and enhancing our platforms, in-person banking experience, and other technologies to best serve your needs.
Don’t forget to follow us on social media using the links below or join our email community for updates throughout the year. And should you have further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
