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Farmer's Bank

The Source

I’ll admit that I’d not been inside the Farmers Bank since my mother grabbed my five-year-old hand and dragged me kicking and wailing to the elevator to see my dentist, Dr. Herr. Dr. Herr was located on the 21st floor of the building. Okay, the building didn’t ..and still doesn’t…have 21 floors, but I was short then. Buildings seemed taller. Then a year or so ago I had to find Barb Gatlin, one of my actresses, who I’d heard was lurking and working somewhere around the second floor of Farmer’s Bank. The parking spot designated for the bank president was open so I took it. I assumed Joy Becker would understand. Sort of like the scouts when they get to be Mayor for a Day, I anointed myself CEO for ten minutes. Okay, I wasn’t prepared for the lobby. Jacksonville just doesn’t have atriums like that any more. It was not a lobby, it was a by-golly vestibule! Old World, lovingly restored gorgeous-ocity. The cold, sterile marble of our various state and national buildings has nothing on the woody warmth of the Farmer’s showpiece foyer. I don’t have the architectural vocabulary to precisely describe the style, but it’s something you will never see replicated by today’s builders. The dark wood seems to wrap around you and spiral into the nether regions. Yes, the Jacksonville area has many attractive banking facilities. They swerve crazily from the businesslike and functional to the ultra-glassed showpieces of modern commercial design. They don’t pretend to have old world charm because …well…they’re not of the old world and that’s fine. The interest rates are all about the same and if interest rates high in your banking priorities then they all serve a similar and useful function. But the fact that Farmers has chosen to leave things as they were, yet improve them…that is the appeal: respect for tradition by maintaining and improving it. Anyone who’s familiar with the philanthropic endeavors of Farmer’s Bank knows that the firm’s lobby isn’t merely a showy front door to one of Jacksonville’s historic businesses…it’s a symbol of how the bank has looked toward our community: respecting tradition by improving it. Jacksonville is literally and blessedly awash in businesses that support the town’s arts, its youth programs, and other charitable foundations. No one at Farmers would even imply that they are the only institution in town with a heart for humanitarianism. Even in tough economic times, worthy programs are supported by most of our city’s businesses and it’s often the banks that lead the way in charitable giving. But, as with their lobby, Farmers is always there when it comes to enriching our present by respecting tradition. Any good journalist would at this point cite a short catalog of the causes and clubs and charities to which Farmers Bank makes regular contributions, but unless the list is hidden somewhere in Joy Becker’s desk, I can’t find it. Like the lobby, making a big thing out of it isn’t the point. If you walk in you’ll see it. NPR recently did an audio story on what’s called “The Halo Effect.” Pepsi Cola creates an ad campaign whereby if your charity gets the most votes in a certain time period, the cola giant will donate a quarter million dollars. Although this money doesn’t always go to the most needy, the effect is to create a halo of goodness around the brand. They call it doing well by doing good. I doubt that any business in Jacksonville and that includes Farmers, gives resources simply because it’s good P.R. There are cheaper ways to get your name in front of the public. In fact, a good many Jacksonville businesses, Farmers included, do much of their benevolent work in silence. Sort of like a bank lobby. Of course this issue of the Source features Farmers Bank and similarly praiseworthy things could be said about the great bulk of the Jacksonville business community. But just because we aren’t mentioning them all, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t on their hundredth birthday shine a special spotlight on this one. When the editor asked if I had anything to write about that bank on the west side of the square, I said, “Are you kidding? Just look at that lobby!”