TUPELO, Miss., June 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Employees of
BancorpSouth Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BancorpSouth, Inc.
(NYSE: BXS), a $13.2 billion asset
financial holding company, provided assistance in numerous ways to
Tennessee residents who were
victims of last month's devastating floods.
Martha Thompson, BancorpSouth
Regional Marketing Coordinator who works in Jackson, TN, said that bank employees pull
together in tough times, treating each other and their customers as
family.
"A crisis brings out the best in us," Thompson explained.
When 15" of rain fell on her hometown of Humboldt, TN (just outside Jackson), at a rate of one inch per hour, she
knew trouble lay ahead. "By 9 a.m.
Saturday, May 1, there were already seven inches of rain.
We closed our three Jackson
drive-through branches which would have been open until noon.
That's the only down-time we had," Thompson explained.
On Monday, May 3 morning, Thompson
went to work, first making certain all bank branches were up and
running, checked on employees, then customers.
"We managed each problem on a case-by-case basis," Thompson
explained.
Several Jackson and
Covington bank employees had
suffered damage in their homes, ranging from an automobile being
damaged to a foot of water in one's house.
Less than one hundred miles to the west, Millington, TN had its BancorpSouth bankers
fast at work, too. They set up a collection point at their branch,
using an employee's large trailer and a huge banner (donated by a
sign maker) that designated the trailer as a collection point for
flood victims.
"We worked with the local Baptist
Church and asked what was most needed. So we provided
them, at their request, cleaning supplies, toiletries and clothes.
Our employees and customers all provided items, with an
over-flowing of generosity being shown," said Rene Jones of Millington, BancorpSouth Community Bank
President.
Later, the naval base outside Millington became the central site for flood
victims and BancorpSouth employees and customer donations were
directed there.
The Millington effort lasted
about three weeks.
"We are very excited about how we were able to help. Our
employees and customers really got behind it; we talked it up to
customers. It was very dear to our hearts because the heaviest
damage was very close to our branch location. It is the most
meaningful project we've ever done," Jones said.
In the state capitol city of Nashville, specifically its Franklin suburb, a
number of BancorpSouth employees, ironically, were helping build a
Habitat for Humanity house on Saturday, May
1, the day the floods came. Most of their work that
day on the house was indoors, so when it was time to leave, most of
the bankers experienced great difficulty getting to their homes,
with a normal 15-minute drive taking as long as two hours.
The Nashville Division branches partnered with Second Harvest of
Middle Tennessee and became a drop-off point for non-perishable
food. The bankers there also worked with "Hands On Nashville"
and a local Catholic church that was very involved in flood relief
efforts.
"The flooding in Middle Tennessee has brought out the best in
all of us – from our communities and our BancorpSouth family.
Our staff has and will continue to work in these affected
areas to make life better for our neighbors," said Ken Farmer, BancorpSouth Nashville Division
President.
The floods, as traumatic as they were, provided heartwarming
experiences for BancorpSouth bankers.
"The floods spoke to the type bank BancorpSouth is. We are
a caring bank that believes in its employees, its customers and its
communities. You just don't see that everywhere," Thompson
said.
Floods are not the only natural disasters BancorpSouth has
faced. Thompson has witnessed four tornadoes in the
Jackson area in the last ten
years. In each of them, BancorpSouth was there to lend a
helping hand.
Thompson summarized it perfectly, "BancorpSouth is a very caring
bank."
BancorpSouth, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered
in Tupelo, Mississippi, with
approximately $13.2 billion in
assets. BancorpSouth Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
BancorpSouth, Inc., operates approximately 314 commercial banking,
mortgage, insurance, trust and broker/dealer locations in
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas. BancorpSouth Bank also operates
an insurance location in Illinois.
BancorpSouth's common stock is traded on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol BXS.
SOURCE BancorpSouth, Inc.