Ozona Bank wins community banking award

Ozona—The Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT)—the largest state community banking association in the nation—recently honored Ozona Bank with a Best of Community Banking (BOCB) Award. It received a Silver Eagle award for its “Community Involvement, Stewardship, and Giving Back to Our Communities” financial literacy entry.

Through partnerships with other organizations, small businesses and individuals, Ozona Bank is committed to strengthening the community it has called home for 118 years. Among the ways the bank gives back is by offering financial literacy programs in schools through the Banzai Financial Education program. The bank's officers and staff have been presenting financial literacy presentations to schools for many years, and since 2018, they have partnered with Banzai to offer educators more standardized materials online.

In a meeting, the Bank's marketing manager, Daina Slover, and the local public librarian, Jennifer Holmsley, discussed the library's wish list and its goals for area residents.

A decision was made to offer free GED and ESL courses in Ozona. It was this spark that ignited the partnership between the library, Ozona Bank and Howard College. The bank advertises the program in local newspapers and on social media, and provides notebooks, pens and bottled water to participants. Additionally, the branch manager attends the orientation and speaks about the bank and how proud Ozona is to support this initiative.

There has been a real community effort behind both programs. By working closely with community leaders, Ozona Bank identifies special needs in the community and seeks solutions in order to strengthen it.

2023 marks the 32nd year that IBAT has celebrated the outstanding accomplishments of Texas community banks with the BOCB Awards. Community banks, such as Ozona Bank, play a critical role in their local communities. The Best of Community Banking competition is designed to honor local banks for their commitment to helping their customers, neighbors, employees and community.

BOCB Awards recognize community banks throughout the state for their innovation, creativity and success in fulfilling a specific community or internal need. Each submission received a gold, silver or bronze eagle award in one of six categories: architectural design, bank culture, community service, financial literacy, marketing and innovation.

All BOCB gold, silver and bronze submissions can be viewed at www.ibat.org.