The Clark County Economic Development & Tourism Bureau and the Owen-Withee Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, March 20 to officially welcome Abby Bank to its new Withee location.
AbbyBank opened up in the former First State Bank building at N14570 County Road O earlier this year, providing vital services to the rural community.
“It’s a perfect day to celebrate the reopening of something very necessary for this region,” said CCEDC Executive Director Sheila Nyberg.
CCEDC Board Member Nancy Amacher of Withee thanked AbbyBank for its investment in the community.
“Thank you very much for putting your trust in this area. We wish nothing but the best for you, your employees and customers alike. Thanks for being here,” she said.
“I wanted to welcome you to our area as well,” said Carey Hargot, president of the Owen-Withee Area Chamber of Commerce. “You guys really just jumped on board and joined the chamber right away and are already making donations to the community, which is just awesome to see. You really want to be a part of the community and to get out and help people.”
Abby Bank CEO Craig Stuedemann said the Withee location is the eighth for the growing bank, joining Abbotsford, Appletwon, Gresham, Medford, Shawano, Wausau and Weston. He said the bank was contacted by local businesses and residents, many in the Mennonite community, to take over the facility.
“This is Abby Bank’s first branch we’ve opened in over five years. I got a call last year from the family who owns the business next door. He said ‘We know aobut Abby Bank, and we heard that the bank that’s here right now is leaving, and we’d really like it if you would consider coming here.’ We researched it, and we found out that the next closest branch for these customers would be about 40 miles away. We know there’s a lot of Amish and Mennonite customers in this area, and that would be a hardship. When we started looking at this, we saw a lot of opportunity here. We already have a strong customer base in this area.”
“We appreciate that you’ve all welcomed this here. We’re already seeing great things happen in just the two months we’ve been open. I have a lot of people in this room to thank for that. Our staff really sprang into action. This is the quickest we’ve ever been able to open a branch,” said Stuedemann. “We’re excited about being here. You’ll see us be good community participants. We’re here to help.”
