GGrraanntt’’ss CCoorrrraallReaping What You

Sow: The multipliereffect of local spending

A couple of weeks ago, a friend I hadn’t seenin years stopped by OHB to say hello. He and hisfamily had moved to Chattanooga from theseparts about ten years ago and hadn’t been back fora visit. His first comment, after we’d traded greet-ings, was “My goodness, Stratford has reallygrown since I was here!”

I assured him that the increase in population,the growing businesses, the excellent schools,more good people, the many churches, and ourimproving economy had just made living andworking here even more of a pleasure.

“How in the world did this growth in Stratfordhappen?” he asked.

“Spending locally,” I said. “Just like OHB’sinvestment in its communities.” His puzzled looktold me I wasn’t convincing him. I continued.“For example, OHB has invested several milliondollars in Stratford in new bank buildings andequipment that tell our friends and neighbors thatOHB has confidence in its communities’ futures.”

“You didn’t mention new jobs your bank hascreated?”

“For sure, new jobs in a community bringsmore dollars to the town and improves the town’seconomy, stimulating solid growth,” I replied.

Every local business person understands theeconomic benefit of friends and neighbors doingbusiness locally, whether it’s buying groceries,spending at the farmers’ markets, eating at thelocal restaurants, buying gasoline near home.

Spending local is really investing in the futureof your communities and can be seen in thrivingtowns with new home building, renovating olderhomes, constructing apartments, opening newretail stores, etc.. Locally owned businesses arethe footings of the economy in every community,especially in small towns.

The economic multiplier effect of local busi-nesses has been shown in numerous studies . . .for every dollar spent at a locally owned business-es, two to four times more economic benefit forthe community (measured in personal incomes,jobs, and tax revenue) is generated than when adollar is spent at a remotely owned business.Local businesses are critical for entrepreneurship,charitable giving, revitalized downtowns, andeven participation in local government.

I continued to tell him again how OHB, begin-ning in 2005, has invested several million dollarsin its communities (Stratford, Byng, Roff) inbuildings, equipment, and good jobs. “Take thatamount of investment and apply the economicmultiplier effect and you will understand that thetown is reaping what has been sown,” I said.

It’s really as simple as our lessons from theBible, “For whatsoever a man soweth, that shallhe also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)

Grant WardPresident/CEO

RRRRRRRRRRHeard in the Bank

Thinking about Switching Banks? OHBcan be your community bank, providingfull service banking with a small-towntouch, emphasizing local management,local service, and local pride.

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Roff resident and vegetable-garden enthusiastVernon Brown has unknowingly been at the forefrontof the Locavore movement that has been popularizedin this country in recent years. Locavore is simply afancy, made-up name for folks interested in eatingfood that is locally produced and not transported longdistances to market. In 2007 the Oxford AmericanDictionary, the standard of excellence for dictionaries,chose “locavore” as its Word of the Year, recognizingit as the most important word for that year.

Here in Oklahoma we are way ahead of the cultur-al elite . . . we’ve been eating locally grown food forgenerations. Just like thousands of Oklahomans whoprobably don’t realize that they are now being calledLocavores, Vernon has been interested all his life inhome-grown food, eaten as close to where it is grown,given to friends and neighbors, or sold locally.

Farmers' markets play an important role inLocavores’ efforts to eat what is locally grown, andVernon has been a steady vegetable seller at theFarmers’ Market in Ada for the last 15 years, sinceretiring from the Oklahoma Resource Center (PaulsValley State School).

Ada Farmers’ Market is administered jointly bythe city and Pontotoc County Health Department(Wednesdays and Saturdays from 6 AM to 2 PM,located in the Ada parking lots at 12th and Townsend).There, along with 30-40 other farmer-vendors, Vernonsells his lovingly tended and carefully grown onions,turnips, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, radishes, cucum-bers, sweet potatoes, beets, peppers, black eyed peas,purple-hull peas, green beans, okra, mustard greens,polk salad, and zucchini.

Vernon lives alone in a simple and cozy brickhome with his half-city block sized garden just beyondhis doorsteps. Vernon spends five to six hours a dayin the garden for about ten months of each year. EachJanuary he uses a 1965 International tractor (hebought new almost 50 years ago), pulling a six foottiller, to plow the soil, getting his onions and potatoesin the ground by January 20.

Vernon has lived all his 73 years within five milesof Roff and within the town for the last 30 years wherehe has planted a garden every year, just as his parentsand grandparents had gardens and tended the soil forfood. Vernon taught his three adult children and fivegrandchildren the same gardening skills he learned asa child: preparation of the soil, techniques and timingof seed planting and harvesting, watering and fertiliz-ing as needed, identifying which bugs are harmful andwhich are beneficial to the plants, etc.

He uses Sevin® dust on any plants showing infes-tation with harmful garden insects. He also uses ageneric fertilizer of the 10/20/10 variety, signifyingthe percentages of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassi-

um fertilizer mix. His favorite vegetables to raise areonions and okra, while the most popular are tomatoes.His least favorite to grow are turnips although they area sellout at each market. Cucumbers are the most chal-lenging to grow and are exceedingly weather sensitive.

You too can be a Locavore! Just stop by the AdaFarmers’ Market on a Wednesday or Saturday morn-ing during the season and pick out your vegetables andfruits for your meals that week. Or stop at a roadsidestand (think Stratford peaches) and buy some producejust hours away from picking. Or grow your own in ahome garden.

“OHB isMore Than a Bank”A recent visitor to OHB commented that

“OHB is far more than a bank . . . you’ll do any-thing you can for your community and yourcustomers . . . you’re really an Ombudsman foryour friends and neighbors.”

An Ombudsman? We didn’t know whether tobe complimented or offended by being called anOmbudsman, until the visitor explained that anOmbudsman is someone who works to find solu-tions to difficult problems in everyday living.

Ombudsman comes from an old Scandinavianword essentially meaning "representative" orsomeone who is authorized to act for someoneelse, or a person who investigates, reports, andhelps settle complaints, a meaning thatOmbudsman has come to be recognized world-wide. In Sweden and New Zealand, Ombudsmenare appointed government officials who receiveand investigate complaints made by individualsagainst abuses from public officials

“OHB has become well known for its role involuntary community service, because we con-centrate on customer service,” says OHBPresident/CEO Grant Ward. “But we go waybeyond just providing outstanding customer serv-ice; we are always looking for ways to assist ourfriends and neighbors and anyone we can helpout, no matter who or where or whether they are acustomer of OHB.”

OHB staff has helped our neighbors in a vari-ety of ways: jump-starting cars with dead batteries,carrying meals to shut-ins, giving travel directionsand advice, providing a meeting venue for theCity Council, giving trees to friends in Roff’sAdopt-A-Tree program, finding contractors for allsorts of jobs and repairs, sponsoring the GospelMusic Celebration, actively supporting the PeachFestival, supporting East Central Universityprograms, and just being a helpful neighbor.”

“OHB often serves our friends and neighborsin ways completely unrelated to banking,” saysChairman of the Board Darryl Fisher. “For exam-ple, I’m often asked about some health concern ofa bank staff member or customer or their familymembers, and I’m pleased to be able to help finda specialist for a second opinion.

In the broadest sense, OHB supports its com-munities by regularly providing financial gifts topublic schools and universities, to various chari-ties and services, to community programs andservices, to senior-citizen programs, to FHA/FFAstudent programs, to various special needs ofchurch programs, etc. In addition to this usualsort of financial support that OHB generouslyprovides, OHB extends a helping hand in avariety of anonymous ways unique for a bank.

All of us at OHB are proud to have earned thereputation of Ombudsman for our friends andneighbors.

Volume 6, Issue 1 July 2013

Roff Resident and 15-year Ada Farmers’ Market vendor VernonBrown oversees his display of fresh vegetables from his garden ata recent morning market.

The Wrangler NewsletterPam’s Camera

Locavore Is Not a New Idea toRoff’s Vernon Brown

Home Cookin’Top Ten Tips for Grilling

You can achieve greatness on your backyard grill bypaying attention to a few simple tips. Your family andfriends will rave at your new-found mastery of the grillas word of your mouth-watering productions spreads.Your grilled meals will soon become events.

Tip #10 – Prepare the Grate: the grates should be glowing hotbefore placing the meat; brush away any ash from leftover gunkon the grill surface (don’t wash the grill and don’t use a wirebrush . . . the wire bristles can wind up in the food!). A cleanrag doused with vegetable oil and rubbed lightly on the gratesbefore heating is an effective way to avoid sticking. Tip #9 – Wood Gives Flavor: small logs or chips of mesquite,oak, or hickory tossed on a bed of white hot charcoal or on agas-fired grill will impart a mouth-watering aroma and taste.Tip #8 – Go Dry: Rinse the meat with running water. Usingpaper towels, pat the meat dry. Dry meat and fish are much lesslikely to stick to the grates during the grilling. A light coatingof vegetable oil also reduces sticking of foods on the grill.Tip #7 – Seasonings: No sweet sauces! The sugar in these willchar. Salt the meat just before cooking; add flavorings, such aspepper, fresh herbs in oil, at the end of the grilling. Dry spices,such as garlic, cumin, can be sprinkled during the grilling.Tip #6 – Other Grill Choices: Use your imagination and grillother foods on the same grill at the same time – breads, lemonhalves, fava beans, peaches, romaine lettuce, even watermelonslices can be tasty sides.Tip #5 – Be Patient: Don’t rush your grill. Wait until the char-coal and wood chips are orange and white glowing embers (upto 40 minutes). Wait until the smoke from your grill has turnedwhite.Tip #4 – Know Your Grill: You should adjust the flames so thatyou have a really hot zone on the grill surface to sear the meatand seal in the juices; then a third section as a rescue section inthe middle of the grill of medium heat if the flame flares. Tip #3 – Pay Attention: Direct flame is the sure way to a burnedpiece of meat. Roaring propane/natural gas can impart a chem-ical flavor. Listen for the sizzle, it’s a reassuring sign that thegrilling is going well, but aromas other than the pleasant smellof grilled meat are warnings of something seriously amiss.Tip #2 – Pick Good Cuts: Go for the more expensive cuts (justthink of how much money you are saving by grilling your own,rather than eating a restaurant steak). New York strips, rib eyes,shoulder cuts, all with more fat and marbling are good choices.Recognize that it’s the fat that brings the flavor to the grilled meat.Tip #1 – Use a Meat Thermometer: An instant-read meat ther-mometer is an absolute necessity to reaching the exact desiredlevel of doneness: rare 120° - 125°; medium rare is 130° - 135°;medium is 140° - 145°; medium well is 150° - 155°; well doneis 150° and above. Lamb, chicken, and pork need to be cookedto higher internal temperatures than beef. Insert the point of thetemperature probe into the center of the thickest part of the meatfor the most reliable readings.

These tips for successful grilling apply to single grilledservings as well as large quantities of food for hungryfriends and neighbors that can be accommodated by largegrill stations, such as OHB’s Ole Smokey.

Byng DemographicsDiscussed at

Directors’ Lunch

Prior to May’s Board of Directors meeting, the Directorsenjoyed a luncheon of rib-eye steaks and a half dozen sidedishes in the OHB Stratford Board Room with ByngMayor John Burchett, Byng School Superintendent ToddCrabtree, and long-time Byng resident Jack Wallace. OHBVP Chris Watkins and Associate Banker Alex Schaffer pre-sented a comprehensive report on the history of Byng,including census statistics, school districting, socioeco-nomic considerations, and traffic patterns. Noteworthyfacts discussed included:

- Current population of the town of Byng is1,175; geographic area is 6.5 square miles. - Current population of the Byng School Districtis 8,550; geographic area is 117 square miles.- Current O.D.O.T. traffic count: 1,358 vehiclespass OHB on Highway 99/377 each 24 hours. - Byng Middle and High Schools were recog-nized for above-average performance onEnd-of-Instruction Tests (EOI) for the 2011School Report Card.

OHB Teller Pam Harrison’sPhotos Again Picked for

Oklahoma Bankers’ Calendar

Pam is always on the lookout for artistic photo-graphs and carries her camera (Canon EOS with a stan-dard 18-50mm lens) with her wherever she goes duringher busy days. During a recent walk through theChickasaw National Recreational Area in Sulphur, acluster of yellow cactus blooms (also called EasternPrickly Pear or Devil's Tongue) caught her eye just asshe turned on the two-mile path at Veterans’ Lake. Thecacti were in full, fresh and bright bloom on the side ofBromide Hill. Bees and butterflies love these flowers.

The old barn and day lilies caught her eye as shewas driving home from a photo shoot for a recentlyengaged couple in Holdenville. This photo will appearas the May 2014 image.

Pam’s pictures have been selected for the OBA cal-endar for four years.

OHB Staff Serves atOklahoma Business WeekAt East Central University

OHB Sr. VP Dustin Riddle, Asst. VP Shirl Wilcher,Pres/CEO Grant Ward, and Eric Fisher, OHB GeneralCounsel, participated in East Central University’s (“ECU”)Oklahoma Business Week (“OBW”) (June 2-7), a one-of-a-kind experience for Oklahoma high-school students. The week-long camp, in its second season on the ECU campus, givesstudents the opportunity to engage in simulated businesses,gaining exposure to teamwork, leadership and other life skills.

“Dustin and I had a wonderful and insightful time, work-ing with these highly motivated and energetic kids,” says ShirlWilcher. “It’s refreshing to be surrounded by teenagers withsuch a bright future ahead of them.” Dustin and Shirl workedwith smaller groups of the near 100 students participating inthe camp, helping the students develop their virtual businessmodels and to practice their presentation skills.”

“Not only is it nice for Shirl and me to meet these brightand energetic students, but the time we spend at OBW gives usopportunities to network with other business and professionalspersons from this area as well as around the state who are alsoserving as OBW Mentors,” commented Dustin.

“If you are a high school student looking for a unique andchallenging week of personal development and college/careerplanning, OBW is a great way to have a week’s fun with newfriends, learn about college life, meet new friends, andexperience simulated business situations,” explains OHBPresident/CEO Grant Ward.

As a “kick-off” speaker for the week of OBW activities,Oklahoma City attorney Eric Fisher, OHB’s GeneralCounsel, presented an hour-long talk to over 100 studentcampers and faculty on Failures, Fumbles & Flops - TheBest (And Often Most Overlooked) Lessons for Life andBusiness. He illustrated his talk with highlights of the fail-ures by outstandingly successful business persons andathletes whose careers were supported and enhanced bynumerous failures, for example, Thomas Edison, MichaelJordan. Eric urged the students not to fear failure but toaccept failure as a learning experience on the road toachievement and success in their businesses and professions.

STRATFORDGrant Ward, President/CEODustin Riddle, Senior V.P.Paula Balentine, VP/OperationsBilly Norton, VP/Branch ManagerGina PhillipsAssistant Vice PresidentShirl WilcherAssistant Vice President/Human Resources Kim StreetmanAssistant Vice-PresidentLoan Administration SupervisorJason O’NealAssistant Vice President/OperationsGloria MooreLoan AdministrationJericho Allen, Real Estate Loan ProcessorJudy DixonNew Accounts RepresentativeAnn Bonner, Fred Stephens, Vicki Combs, and Chris Kelley, TellersJesica Rumsey, Receptionist

ROFFJ.D. BosticVice-President/Branch Manager

Breana BurkheadNew Accounts Representative

Shirley Barnett, Head Teller

Pam Harrison, Teller

Amy Bradley, Loan Processor

BYNGChris WatkinsVice President/Branch Manager

Madonna PenickNew Accounts Representative

Terry Littlefield, Head Teller

Angie Engel, Teller

Carla Campbell, Loan Processor

Alex Schaffer, Associate Banker

BOARD OF DIRECTORSR. Darryl FisherChairman of the Board

Grant Ward, President/CEO

Bo Cail, Director

Bill G. “Pete” Cantrell, Director

Wayne Cobb, Director

Don Connally, Director

Rick Griffin, Director

Ron Tidwell, Director

Advisory Directors:Dustin Riddle, Chris Watkins, PaulaBalentine, and Billy Norton

OHB-Stratford staff surrounds the bank’s new, event-sized smok-er grill that has already proved wildly popular for its delicioussmoked and grilled presentations. The smoker/barbeque hasbeen named ‘Ole Smokey’, in recognition of its having become thebank’s mascot, appearing by request at bank-sponsored events.

OHB General Counsel Eric Fisher speaks to a group of 100+Oklahoma Business Week campers during East CentralUniversity’s annual week-long summer session for high–school students aspiring to careers in business.

Shirl Wilcher (l.) and Dustin Riddle (c.) present a sim-ulated investment to Ada High School student FisherFulton (r.) as part of Oklahoma Business Week’sTrade Show held at East Central University in June.

John Burchett (l.), Byng Superintendent Todd Crabtree(c.), and Jack Wallace (r.) are welcomed to the OHBDirectors’ lunch by OHB VP Chris Watkins (2nd from r.)and OHB Associate Banker Alex Schaffer (2nd from l.).

OHB Teller Pam Har-rison’s photograph ofyellow cactus flowerswill appear on thecover of the OklahomaBanker’s Association’s2014 calendar.

Pam’s artistic photographof an old barn nearHoldenville has beenselected in the OklahomaBanker’s Association’scompetition to appear asthe photo for the month ofMay in its 2014 calendar.

Eric S. Fisher, Sr., Esq., General Counsel