Rogersville bank replaces its main branch

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Citizens Bank of Rogersville soon will have a new branch at 9750 E. Center St. in Rogers-ville, easily accessible from Highway 60, according to CBR President Nancy Ruyle. The new facility won't be a third location for Citizens Bank of Rogersville; it will replace the existing main location at 100 E. Front St.|ret||ret||tab|

"We've outgrown this one, for sure. (It's) not structurally made to where we can go up ... so we need the additional space," Ruyle said. "The bonus side to that is that we found something that is on the highway, and we think it's going to be a lot more visible, so that's going to be a benefit also." |ret||ret||tab|

About 97 percent of the bank's customers are happy about the move, Ruyle said, but there are a few who wish the main branch would stay put.|ret||ret||tab|

"We have one lady who lives in town, and she walks to the bank. And, of course, it's going to be a hardship for her to get to the new location," Ruyle said. "We've already talked to her and told her that any time she needs to come to the bank, just to call us and we'll come get her."|ret||ret||tab|

The existing main location was built in 1964, and it was added on to and remodeled in 1982. The new, 14,000-square-foot building, which has a full basement and a partial second floor, will more than double the size of the bank's main branch. It also will provide other improvements. |ret||ret||tab|

"Our drive-in lanes are going to be wider. Some trucks have problems going through our drive-through lanes now. We are going to have, hopefully, some coffee bars for people to come in and have a cup of coffee with us, and Internet access, possibly, for customers that don't have computers at home, or if they want to come in and use the Internet," Ruyle said. |ret||ret||tab|

She added that the bank will probably charge a small fee for customers who want to use the Internet. The bank offers all kinds of loans, an investment center, insurance and general banking service, and Ruyle said that eventually, she'd like to add Internet or telephone banking. |ret||ret||tab|

Ruyle said even though the bank is moving its headquarters to a newer, bigger location, it won't change the way it interacts with clients and the community. In fact, she said, the whole reason for the move is so that Citizens Bank of Rogersville can better serve its customers.|ret||ret||tab|

"We're not changing our attitude or our philosophy. We're just changing our location," she added. |ret||ret||tab|

Ruyle said Citizens Bank of Rog-ersville, established in 1908, is locally owned. It does quite a bit of business within the Logan-Rogersville school district, which stretches to the bank's second location on Highway 60, not far from the Highland Springs Country Club and about nine miles from the main branch's new location. However, she said, thanks to word-of-mouth and customer referrals, Citizens Bank of Rogersville also works with clients from other towns and cities, including Springfield. |ret||ret||tab|

Ruyle hopes to move into the new main branch in May 2002. She said the building on Front Street likely will be sold after the move. MSI of Springfield is the general contractor, and Slone Architects is the architect. According to the permit filed with Greene County, the approximate cost of the project is $750,000.|ret||ret||tab|

Ruyle said she hopes the new bank will serve as a spark to ignite more development in the Rogersville area, although she noted that there is already a lot of construction going on there.|ret||ret||tab|

"We really feel like Rogersville is going to be the next growth area, because Nixa and Ozark both have had their spurts. With our easy access that we have ... we feel like we're going to be a highly desirable area to come to. We have a great school system ... (and) we still have that small-town feeling, too, that people like to live in, but then they have easy access to their jobs," she said.[[In-content Ad]]