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Driven by its customers and employees, CCB Community Bank has been a staple in the local community for nearly 77 years and recently added an operations building in the former BB&T location.

CCB first opened for business July 1, 1947, and was located on the Andalusia city square in the old Andalusia National Bank Building, now the law offices of attorney John Peek. The first bank president was Charles Dixon, and the bank’s assets were $226,993.19. Following several ownership changes during the 1950s and 1960s, the bank moved to its current location in February 1968.

“We purchased the old First Federal and Savings Loan building in order to give us some room to grow. We had overgrown our location where we are. Our bookkeeping department is in the old building next to WAAO. We moved a lot of our bank operations to the new building. It was something we needed since we now have five banks in operation,” Southern National Corporation Chairman/CEO John Vick said.

The bank joined the Citibanc of Alabama holding company in 1974 with 12 offices in six counties in Alabama. The local bank’s name was changed to Citibanc of Alabama/Andalusia that same year. South Trust Corporation purchased Citibanc of Alabama holding company in December 1983. Tom Lane remained as president, and the bank’s name was changed to South Trust Bank of Covington County in June 1984.

“We do a lot of operations from a bookkeeping standpoint out of Andalusia. We had to renovate the new building to our own purposes. Our employees are happy it is a well-lit facility, and we kept our own operations within the local building on East Three Notch Street,” Vick said.

In April 1985, a group of local investors formed Southern National Corporation and purchased the bank from South Trust Corporation. The name of the bank was changed back to Covington County Bank with assets at $57 million on Dec. 31, 1985. Lane remained CEO of the bank until his retirement in March 2020 when Michael Andrews succeeded him as the next CEO of CCB Community Bank.

CCB Board Member John Taylor’s father, James M. Taylor, was the founding member of the group of local investors. His mother Abbie Chapman Henderson grew up in a home that was once located where the new operations building is now.

“She lived and grew up on the property from the time she was a child up until the fourth grade. I can remember when there was a house on that property, but they moved away. The historical aspect of the site ties back to the bank in a roundabout way,” Taylor said.

The original owner of the building was First Federal and Savings Loan before it sold to Colonial Bank. BB&T was the previous owner prior to CCB’s acquisition.

“The bank is growing and this is my 50th year as a director of the bank. I serve as the chairman of the holding company Southern National Corporation, which serves as the bank’s parent company. We have come a long way since the beginning with a lot of employees who have longevity. We tell them any bank can take your money and let you write a check; it’s how you treat your customers and how you handle that to the customer satisfaction. You will always get a operator instead of a recording when you call CCB,” Vick said.

While the operations building is not open to the public, there is a 24-hour drive-through ATM available for customers.

“The community probably will not see a difference other than the fact it is now an operations center. It gave us more room and offer better service. We spent about a year renovating it and getting it ready for our operations,” Vick said.

Covington County Bank opened its first branch in Opp in December 2002 and underwent another name change to CCB Community Bank on June 29, 2007. CCB’s third location opened in Crestview, Florida, in July 2007. A fourth location followed in Niceville, Florida, in 2013, and a fifth location in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, in 2022.

Bank assets have risen to some $661 million as of December 2023. The bank currently has 114 employees at its five locations.

Taylor added that there was excitement among board members when CCB acquired the property and facility.

“We were bulging at the seams to have an opportunity of doing something with the building. We felt it was not only good for the bank but also for our community and certainly good for our employees. This facility will give us opportunities for more expansion and additional branches,” Taylor said.

Among CCB’s firsts for Andalusia and Covington County are:

• Night deposits for merchants
• 24-hour depository for individuals
• Golden Pass Book Savings
• First to pay interest quarterly on savings accounts
• First drive-through banking facilities
• Electronic posting machines
• Account numbering system
• Personalized checks beginning in 1959
• First bank credit card
• First to recognize women as officers
• First imaged statements in 1992

CCB Community Bank is located at 225 East Three Notch Street in downtown Andalusia. For more information visit bankccb.com or call 334-222-2561.