Every morning, Dave Hill drives past his childhood home on the way into Eudora to work at the newly-opened Mid America Bank.
The bank recently opened and offers what Hill calls an “old school banking” experience mixed with the newest technology. Hill, who owns the bank, said it has long been his goal to have a location in the city where he grew up.
Hill said the bank prides itself on being family-owned and having a small-town feel. But it also wants to provide the newest and best services it can, including online banking.
“It’s service-driven with a lot of good technology,” Hill said.
Hill had long eyed Eudora for a branch because the bank already had over 100 customers in the city.
“We just thought we could better serve those customers and grow that customer base,” Hill said.
So far, he said the reaction has been positive from the community, with customers excited to have another local banking option.
Amber Smith works for the bank and said she has heard from the community how much they value the feel of a small-town bank.
“Most of them have been like, ‘It’s not like a big corporate bank. This is what we like,’” Smith said.
Assistant City Manager Zack Daniel said Mid America Bank fits the model of what the city wanted to fill the Nottingham Center.
“The city is very excited to have Mid America Bank as part of the Nottingham district and as part of the community at large,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of interaction with bank management and some of their staff, and it’s all been positive experiences.”
He said the bank has been open about its desire to be involved with the community, something city staff was glad to see.
“When a business comes in and starts saying the same kind of things that we’ve been saying about wanting to be involved in the community, we see a lot of opportunity there to work with them towards those ends,” Daniel said.
One feature of the new building is the solar panels lining the roof, which Hill said help keep the power bill down and also help power two electric vehicle chargers at the bank.
Hill said the bank had hired five local employees, which he said was his priority. Kelly Long will run the bank’s day-to-day operations.
Originally, a ribbon-cutting was planned for the bank this month, but Hill said they postponed the celebration until March due to the winter weather.
Most of the bank’s portfolio is in real estate, and Hill said the bank is the top real estate lender in Douglas County. The new Eudora branch helps them fill out their coverage of the county, with locations already in Lawrence and Baldwin.
“What I think people will appreciate about us is that we will be involved in the community,” Hill said. “We’ll be community involved. And we feel like our job is to educate and inform people.”
The bank is open at 1435 Church St. from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The bank’s phone number is (785) 542-7100.
Reach reporter Cuyler Dunn at [email protected]
