Ceremony marks name change from First Home Bank to Stockmens Bank


Ozark County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday to celebrate the name change of First Home Bank to Stockmens Bank. From left (front): Jerri Sue Crawford, Shannon Peterson, Ozark County Chamber of Commerce president Doug Hawkins, Stockmens bank employees Audrey Sisco, Danielle Hogue, Kaitlin Conrad and Arlene Merriman, city of Gainesville office assistant Jessica Price, city clerk Lisa Goodnight and Ozark County Chamber of Commerce member Debra Smith. Back: Environmental public health specialist Craig Fox with the Ozark County Health Department, Tom Sutherland of Stockmens Bank, Stockmens Bank Missouri president Jeffrey Palmer, retired judge John Moody, Stockmens Bank Gainesville branch manager Mason Eslinger and (a second) John Moody.

Customers, Ozark County Chamber of Commerce members and city leaders on Monday joined Gainesville branch manager Mason Eslinger and staff for a customer appreciation lunch and ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate First Home Bank’s name change to Stockmens Bank.

The name change has been in the works since since Aug. 1, 2017, when First Bancshares, Inc., the parent corporation of First Home Bank, announced that it had closed on the acquisition of Stockmens Bank of Colorado Springs, Colorado. First Home Bank, based in Mountain Grove, opened its Gainesville location as First Home Savings Bank in 1992. In 2014, the bank’s name was changed to First Home Bank.

Eslinger, who took the helm of the Gainesville branch in January, said he’s excited about the change, the range of products the bank offers and his role as manager of the local bank. 

“We’re so happy to have Mason as manager in his hometown,” said Stockmens Bank Missouri president Jeffrey Palmer. “We wanted someone who was a familiar face to the community – someone who had roots here and is involved in the community. We couldn’t have picked a better person.”

The celebration included a pulled pork lunch, promotional product giveaways and hourly drawings. Winners of the drawings were Bill Phelan, oil change; Brian Hambelton, knives; Brett Gage, Ozark County Times subscription; Whitney Sisco, Edge Vinyl gift certificate; Brenda Sisco, manicure; and Robert Merriam, Just Jackie’s gift certificate.

Ozark County Times

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