Ozark Bank celebrates 100 years with $100K donation

The bank, which has locations in Ozark and Nixa, Sept. 21 committed to donating $100,000 to the Finley River Community Foundation and the Nixa Community Foundation.

The money will be equally split between the two foundations, said Sharon Whitehill Gray, who is the president and CEO of the Nixa Area Chamber of Commerce, and the volunteer executive director of the Nixa Community Foundation.

Bank officials will serve as donor-advisers for the money, which “will be used exclusively for public, educational and charitable uses,” Whitehill Gray said. “They will be giving $10,000 a year for five years to build it up to a total of $50,000 in each … foundation.”

Whitehill Gray said that in 2006, the Nixa Community Foundation will give out about $46,000 in grants – not including scholarships – to community organizations, schools and programs. “Ozark Bank has certainly stepped up to the plate and taken ownership in the community,” she said. “Every year, when we give out grants, there will be different things Ozark Bank will have a hand in from now on.”

100-year milestone

Celebrating 100 years of success by giving back to the community was a logical choice, according to Ozark Bank President Frank Hedgpeth.

“The community has supported the bank, and likewise, the bank wants to support the community in conjunction with the celebration of 100 years in service,” he said.

Hedgpeth’s great-grandfather, Dr. D.F. Hedgpeth, was one of 15 original investors in Ozark Bank, which has been operated by members of his family from the onset.

The bank opened for business on the Ozark square in 1906 with $10,000 in stock, a five-member board of directors and four employees.

Ozark Bank now has $200 million in assets, a six-member board, 75 employees and four locations, three in Ozark and one in Nixa, according to CEO/Operations Laura Haseltine, who also is Hedgpeth’s sister.

As for the future, Hedgpeth, who has been with the bank for 30 years, doesn’t expect the family ownership to change. He also anticipates Ozark Bank will stick close to its roots, at least in terms of any brick-and-mortar locations that may be added.