Centennial Bank Visa Gift Cards make shopping easy!

With Grads to buy for and Father’s Day just around the corner, a Centennial Bank Visa Gift Card makes a great gift.

Pick one up today at a Centennial Bank near you!

Contestants are in place and all hands are on deck as they battle for the 2012 Ford F-150. Follow the contest live via our webcam.

1. Brandon Curtis

2. Johnny Tipton

3. Chris  Brynell

4. Billy Brown

5. Stephanie Henson

6. Melissa Wyles

7. Ginger King

8. Mo Skelton

9. Matt Grissom

10. Charlie Wagner

11. Elizabeth Reynolds

12. Steve Howard

13. Amy Fletcher

14. Jason Beck

15. Keri Davidson

16. Renee McGhee

17. Ronny Upson

18. Brian Root

19. Luke Martin

20. Jumbo Cauthem

21. Kayla Scott

22. Lucas Law

23. Jason Hocott

24. Russell Dorsey

25. Steven Calhoun

Want to win a 2012 Ford F-150? Keep listening to The Point 94.1 FM to hear if your name is called. When name is announced, that specified person will have 9 minutes and 41 seconds to call The Point 94.1 at 501-433-0094 or 1-800-844-0094 to qualify for a chance to compete in Stuck on a Truck at Toad Suck Daze. A total of 60 names will be selected randomly from all drawing locations and announced on The Point 94.1 by April 20.

Vist Stuck on a Truck website for more information!

For more information about the auction as well as a detailed list and information for the specific properties, go to  http://www.johndixon.com/ .

Centennial Bank has additional bank owned properties for sale which are not included in the Auction.  Customers can view our entire portfolio of available bank owned properties at Bank Owned Real Estate – My100Bank.com    Bank employees are not eligible to participate in the Auction and/or purchase bank owned properties sold in an Auction.

We proudly offer drive-thru service at virtually every Centennial Bank location, from the Ozark Foothills to the Florida Keys. Of course, technically, some of our 24/7 ATM-only locations are walk-thru's, but still…

Silliness aside, drive-thru’s have become pretty engrained into the banking experience. Can you imagine using a bank that didn’t offer drive-thru services?

That got us to thinking. When were drive-thru’s first used? Well, after some exhaustive research (Wikipedia), the first drive-up window teller, and essentially the first-ever drive-thru, debuted right here in America in 1928 at City Center Bank in Kansas City.

Two years, later, Grand National Bank of St. Louis, not to be outdone by its western Missouri cousins, opened a drive-thru and added a slot for overnight deposits. That spawned drive-thru use throughout the '30s at carhops and beyond. (A drive-thru concept was used at a Texas barbecue stand as early as 1931, reports Wikipedia/descendant of guy who owned the joint.)

• Of course, banking drive-thru’s were for "deposits only" in the beginning. My, how our mobility has gone, well, mobile.)

So, next time you're in the Centennial drive-thru, be grateful for those American pioneers who found new uses for our cars back in the days of the '30 Nash and other beauties.

We watch the History Channel too, and we know all about the Knights Templar and how that clandestine outfit introduced modern banking as we know it. And don’t get us started on Freemasons and Ancient Aliens….(see our History of Banking post for more on that…)

We know that sometimes banks can seem clandestine themselves. A customer recently asked us "why we don’t post interest rates on our web site". Well, it's not to make things harder on our customers, we promise.

Let's face it. Banking is a customer service game as much as any, and our focus truly is on providing the best customer service in the industry. The reason we don’t post interest rates, for example, is simple — rates are subject to change and vary by geographic location.

When you have locations stretching from Arkansas to coastal Alabama and down to the Florida Keys, rates won't be the same. And they do tend to fluctuate. Rather than run the risk of providing a source of confusion, we simply ask our customers to call a toll-free number — wait, I have it right here…1-888-372-9788 — and find out specifics about rates in your area. Or ask us anything else (you know, best local courses to play on Friday afternoons…wait, scratch that) — we're here to serve.

That may sound corny, but it's sincere. Now, just don't ask us to explain the Freemasons….
 

Centennial, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Conway's Home BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ GS:  HOMB), purchased all 17 banking locations operated by Vision, a Florida state-chartered bank and a wholly owned subsidiary of the publicly traded Park National Corporation (“Park”). As part of the deal, originated on Nov. 16, 2011, Centennial purchased loans with an unpaid principal balance of $354 million and assumed deposit liabilities of $520 million from Vision.

At the time of the acquisition, Vision operated a total of 17 banking locations in Gulf Coast communities of Baldwin County, Ala., and the Florida Panhandle, including its main office located in Panama City, Fla. The Vision branch locations were sold as “clean” bank branches. As such, Centennial purchased only the performing loans and other related assets of Vision, while Park retained Vision’s non-accrual loans, including all loans past due 90 days or more. All deposits and the related other liabilities were assumed by Centennial.

Download the full press release here…