A Groundbreaking Ceremony was held Tuesday morning at Citizens National Bank in downtown Brownwood to celebrate planned renovations which start immediately. Over the next 7 months or so, the bank will renovate both the outside and inside of their main banking facility and also their drive-thru bank.
J.D. Johnson, President, said the groundbreaking was a unique opportunity to celebrate both the bank’s proud history and bright future.
“Thank you to all of our valued customers, beloved employees and our Board of Directors for making this day of celebration possible,” Johnson said.
“These are exciting times when you have the confidence of the Board of Directors to take on a project that will enhance the community of Brownwood. Citizens National Bank will be providing a modern financial institution that employees and customers will be proud of. Citizens National Bank is thankful for their customers and looks forward to providing a long and enriched customer financial relationship,” said Jesse Mendoza, Senior Vice-President, Chief Operations Officer.
On August 6, 1906, Citizens National Bank of Brownwood opened its doors in the building located at the corner of Baker St. and Center Ave. It opened with $100,000 in capital stock and Dr. J.A. Abney was the first President.
The first Board of Directors included J.A. Abney, D.S. Camp, R.M. Low, W.F. Guthrie, W.M. Hooper, I.J. Rice,J.B. Turner, A.L. Self, G.B. Davidson, F.S. Abney and B.R. Bolton.
Calvin Fryar, Board Chairman, noted during his comments that five present bank directors are 2nd generation directors. He said the locally owned bank will continue to be locally owned.
Groundbreaking ceremonies took place on February 27, 1979 at 1 Carnegie St. for the current 20,000 square foot, two-story building and seven lane drive-thru. The bank celebrated a grand opening May 6, 1980.
For this next renovation phase, architectural firm DEI of Cincinnati, Ohio is the designer. A new storage building will be built on the empty lot behind the drive-thru and the parking lot will be expanded. The commercial lane in the drive-thru will be expanded and new exterior lightning and all new equipment will be installed. The exterior of the drive-thru will be refreshed with new canopies.
The exterior of the main bank will be renovated. The marble-crete will be removed and replaced with stucco and Austin stone. The bank name and logo will be in green.
The interior renovation will consist of new window coverings, paint, carpet and furniture. Many historical features will be kept such as the marble and brass tables, brass clock with stained glass dial, safe from Coggin Brothers, CNB monogrammed “weeping bench” from the depression era, etc.
The renovation is expected to be complete in the Spring of 2022.
John Guest, Chief Executive Officer and Calvin Fryar, Chairman of the Board, share plans for the renovation with a large crowd gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday morning, September 28, 2021.
Current Board of Directors:
Chairman of the Board – Calvin Fryar
Chief Executive Officer – John P. Guest
President – J.D. Johnson
President Emeritus – Darwin Boscamp
Secretary – T. Keith Clark
Steve Fryar, Tim Nabers, Robert G. Porter, Carter Sharpe, A.L. Speck, D.V.M., Leesa Speck