The world is constantly filled with news at all levels; international, national, state and local. We have become a society addicted to and dependent on instantaneous information. Like all “progress”, there are positives and negatives that accompany this progression. We see live scenes of wars halfway across the world. Mobile phone, texting, tweeting, video streaming or using a Skype service all have the capacity to fill each day.

As we go about our busy lives, both personally and professionally, we should not lose sight of the power of a personal contact and connection. To this day, I still reinforce the importance of a firm handshake and good eye contact when talking with my sons. It is a life lesson that everyone should learn.

What does all this have to do with Centrix Bank? At Centrix, we take our commitment to our employees, customers, shareholders and the communities we serve very seriously. We are proud to work very hard to customize our offerings and to do so on a highly personalized basis. All of our phones are still answered by a person and not via an automated attendant. We make an effort to reach out in person to visit with the CEO of each community in which we have a presence, annually. We prefer face-to-face contact with our customers, getting to know who they are and what they do that makes them unique and successful.

This high-touch and genuine approach to community banking has been integral to our ability to continue to profitably grow our company and to do so by developing and building relationships. Certainly, we embrace technology in the execution of our business model, but we value and understand the importance of good old-fashioned, human-to-human personal contact.

I value your time reading this and thank you for visiting our Web site. As always, I can be reached at 603-606-4700 or by email at jreilly@centrixbank.com and welcome your thoughts.