103-Year-Old Bank Builds for the Next Century
Customer Growth Leads First Kansas Bank to Construct New Building
(This article was printed in the March 2007 issue of Outlook Business Journal)

Leading Force - Senior management at First Kansas Bank, left to right is, front row: Robert Rugan, Vice President; Paul Snapp, President & CEO; Lana Dietz, Senior Vice President ; Brad Tajchman, Executive Vice President; Dan Bonine, Vice Chairman; and Janet Hitschmann, Assistant Vice President Cashier. Snapp took the reins of First Kansas Bank from Bonine Feb. 1. Other changes with the bank occurred recently, too, with the addition of Rugan and other announced promotions. "I'm excited because we have a great team that's dedicated to taking good care of our customers," said Snapp.

First Kansas Bank Vice Chairman Dan Bonine identifies with the message behind Malcolm Gladwell's book, "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference." Gladwell's book documents sudden changes, a paradigm shift of sorts, from one condition to another, whether it's the popularity of Sesame Street in the late 1960s, lower crime rate in New York City in the 1990s, or the resurgence of the classic Hush Puppies brand shoes a decade ago.

Future Look - The First Kansas Bank Sign shows what the construction project behind it will eventually become at 4001 10th Street, Great Bend. At the point when the bank prepares to move into the new building, the old building will be razed and that space will be utilized to provide plentiful parking to its customers. In the photo, a truck is pulled up to the bank's only drive-through that it's operated with since construction began. "There are some inconveniences for our customers while we are going through this process, but they have been willing and able to make the inconveniences work," said First Kansas Bank Vice Chairman Dan Bonine. "Our customers and our staff are energized by the progress happening. It's an exciting time for us."

Century-old First Kansas Bank is in the midst of its own tipping point. Construction is occurring on a new building at 4001 10th Street, Great Bend, mere feet away from the bank's existing structure. The new bank with more than 5,000 square feet of space, will more than double the size of the current branch, which has only been in existence for a decade. In Hoisington, the bank has served the community for nearly 104 years and First Kansas purchased another century-old bank in Claflin nearly 20 years ago to better serve its customers. Bonine estimated First Kansas Bank has grown approximately 30 percent to about 2,200 customers since moving to Great Bend.

"In the time we've been here (in Great Bend), we've been blessed with solid growth," said Bonine, who considers the three bank sites as serving one economic community. "That's the reason we need more space. We think it's a wonderful location, it's a great community, and it's the right place for us to be. We want to deliver a positive experience to our customers every single time and we have to have an adequate facility to do that as we grow into the future. Our new bank will assure us that opportunity."

Omniscient View - The artist rendering of First Kansas Bank shows how the bank will appear from McKinley Street and from the parking lot. The architect for the project is Don Marrs of DMA Architects, PA, Salina. C.V. Cale, Inc., Great Bend, serves as the contractor. "We said from the beginning that we want to design the building so that 100 years from now, it will be a solid, sound structure," said Bonine.

Serving as president and chief executive officer of the bank when it expanded into Great Bend, Bonine stepped down from that position last month, but is overseeing the construction project and providing transition support to new President and CEO Paul Snapp. Having been manager of the Claflin branch for five years and an employee of First Kansas for six years, Snapp takes over a staff of 21 employees that work at the three locations of First Kansas Bank.

"I have big shoes to fill because Dan has done an awesome job of being president and CEO of our bank," said Snapp. "I'm honored and pleased that Dan remains an active part of our bank. I'm excited because we have a great team that's dedicated to taking good care of our customers in this time when our business is growing and we are building for more space. There's also excitement within the community because everyone can see the positive change happening at the corner of 10th and McKinley."

Room to Grow - Framing and sheetrock work are nearing completion inside the new bank. The space easily houses six offices, a conference room, employee lounge, a workroom, a computer room, a spacious lobby and an abundance of storage area. Bank officials are projecting a late summer opening for the new bank.

Such dramatic change would not have happened at that location if not for the generosity of Pizza Hut, the bank's business neighbor to the west. First Kansas was landlocked because of ingress/egress easements to its south and west, but Pizza Hut's owner provided a release of the easement, allowing First Kansas Bank to build at its same location.

"(The Pizza Hut owner) told us we have always been great neighbors," said Bonine. "She said, 'Have your attorney send me what we need to sign for the easement release.' I sent it and two days later, it was done. Thank goodness for Pizza Hut. It's amazing sometimes how little things make such a huge impact."

Since that time about a year ago, the project has methodically moved along with planning and framing finished, and the external portion of the building is mostly completed. Now, masonry work is about to begin. Inside, the spacious new building includes six offices, a conference room, employee lounge, a workroom, a computer room, a spacious lobby and an abundance of storage area. The last part of the project calls for razing the current structure so the front of the new bank can be completed, paving the old area to accommodate customers with a large parking lot, and landscaping the lawn that includes placing a large First Kansas Bank sign on the corner. Staging the new bank with furniture will provide the final detail. Bonine said he anticipates the new bank will open by late summer, but a definite date has not been set.

Planning Process - Blueprints of the new building sit on a table amidst the construction going on around them. The new bank will have 5,000 square feet of space on the main level, plus storage and a computer room upstairs over the drive-through area. The new building provides more than double the 2,500 square feet of space that First Kansas Bank is currently operating with today.

Regardless of the length of the project, though, Bonine said First Kansas will continue providing the same long-term service that has grown the business by 30 percent in the past decade.

"The people in our community have responded to this bank," said Bonine, who lists his home and work telephone numbers on his business cards. "They tell us they know they won't get an 800 number. Whether they call or come in, we're someone they know and trust."

In a time when online banking is the rave for many and technology in the banking industry is growing by leaps and bounds, community banks must strive to keep up, said Bonine. First Kansas provides those facets of new-age banking, but Bonine said it's most important that the bank never forgets its century-old roots.

"We don't believe in changing our values and the way we take care of people," explained Bonine. "We must recognize that there is a rapid change going on with technology, but the values are what we have to hang on to and make sure those don't slip, whatever the process of change."

"We're in this business for the long haul and the long haul has always meant that we work for our customers to do what's best for them. We're still growing, so something we're doing is working. We feel that as the community goes, so goes our bank. If we can do some heavy lifting to help this community along, then whatever falls our way, we need to pick up and make it happen."