The Emporia Area Chamber and Visitors Bureau is pleased to announce that Lyon County State Bank has been named the 2013 Business of the Year.
Immediate Past Chamber Chairman Jose Feliciano, Jr., Chamber Chairman Ron Thomas, and Chamber Public Relations Coordinator Jessica Crumb met at Lyon County State Bank this morning, Tuesday, January 7, 2014, at 8 a.m. to surprise them with the announcement.
The Lyon County State Bank was chartered on June 27, 1913, and opened at
508 Commercial, Emporia, Kansas, with Senator William M. Price as President. In 1956 the bank moved to 701 Commercial. The present Motor Bank was built at 9th and Merchant in 1971 and the present Main Bank building was completed in 1975. The Suburban branch at 12th and Industrial opened in 1979. On October 7, 1987, The Lyon County State Bank shares of stock were purchased by Ottawa Bancshares, Inc. which is owned by the John Sutherland family. Lyon County State Bank acquired the East branch (formerly known as Admire Bank), on December 28, 2001, and First Community Bank on August 1, 2012, making them one of the largest financial institutions in Emporia. The Lyon County State Bank Board of Directors consists primarily of local leaders, making local loan decisions, maintaining a strong institution and investing in the local community. LCSB celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013 with some special events, including being a major sponsor of the DK Lite, hosting an open house event for their customers, expanding their annual Customer Appreciation Sale to include two local businesses and building an entry for the Emporia Christmas Parade.
Lyon County State Bank’s core philosophy and business slogan is “Building Friends, Families and Futures”. They strive to provide leadership to meet the needs of our community through activities and organizations. Those same leadership qualities are used within the organization to promote growth and advancement. All employees are expected to provide WOW customer service in a professional manner. LCSB is a conservative, financially solid institution, making local loan and financial decisions to preserve protection for their depositors. They aim to be that comfortable and friendly environment that makes their staff approachable and responsive to the needs of their customers.
Lyon County State Bank takes pride in sharing their success by helping and serving the needs of the community. In 2013 they were a major sponsor of the Dirty Kanza. The bank has been a key donor and partner in the revitalization of the Emporia Granada Theatre and the Emporia Arts Council projects. Emporia State University involvement has included financial support for various events, spending staff time providing grilling food at athletic events and dorm move-in days, and providing on-going scholarships to ESU students. Numerous bank employees share their time and talents with local charitable organizations, economic development organizations, Chamber organizations, churches, Fire Departments, and are fair share givers to the United Way of the Flint Hills. They do all of these things because they believe this is what makes a great Emporia.
LCSB believes in servant leadership from the heart by practicing our core values of building friends, families and futures.
Each year the Chamber puts out the call for all Chamber members to fill out and submit the Business of the Year Nomination Form. Upon those businesses submitted to the Chamber office, the nominated businesses are sent a Request for Information Fact Sheet asking for information such as: a brief history of the nominee’s business and how it has evolved, a brief explanation of the nominee’s business philosophy and reasons for success and a listing of community, civic, professional, business, religious, social, athletic and any other organization in which they have been or are a current member.
Once the above information has been obtained, the past three year’s recipients of the Business of the Year award review the Request for Information Fact Sheets and decide upon the winner. We would like to congratulate all of the businesses who were nominated for the 2013 Business of the Year award.
The formal announcement of the 2013 Business of the Year recipient, Lyon County State Bank, will be at the Emporia Area Chamber’s 117th Annual Meeting on Friday, January 24, 2014. The same evening, awards will be given to the Volunteer of the Year, Committee of the Year and for Lifetime Achievement.