It was as if Butch Gary had banking in his blood.
The Yazoo native retired from BankPlus last month after serving as president of the local bank for the past 21 years. But his connection to the banking world went well beyond those years.
Butch has spent close to 50 years in the banking industry, starting with his time at Delta National Bank where he served as branch manager. He followed in the steps of his father, Davis Gary, who was also with Delta National.
Going above and beyond for their banks was a family tradition for Davis and Butch Gary. In fact, Davis Gary was responsible for moving all of the bank’s money to its new building in 1966.
Davis Gary said Delta National Bank was moving out of its former building where it had operated since 1904 to a newer building on Broadway and Main, where the former post office once stood.
“The problem came up of moving the money that the bank had in the vault from one building to the other,” Davis said.
Davis was the proud owner of an older International green pickup truck, also known as a Trapper. He paid $125 for the vehicle.
“I was the only one in the bank who had any sort of truck,” Davis said. “They decided they were going to use my truck to move the money. Instead of hiring an armored car to do it, we were going to do it ourselves. We saved some money by not hiring somebody to do it.”
Davis said he backed his old Trapper up to the steps of the old bank building, and they loaded all the vault money into his truck.
“I backed up to this new shiny building with this old Trapper pickup with all the money in it to go into the vault,” Davis said, with a smile.
Butch joined BankPlus in 1998, where he spent the next 23 years.
“The biggest reward of those years is the relationships I have established,” Butch said. “It has been rewarding to experience the ability to have a positive impact on several generations of Yazoo citizens.”
Butch said he has experienced his share of challenges, mostly dealing with change and balancing it out with customer service.
“But problems were overcome by hiring good people who knew how to identify needs and find a way to meet them,” Butch said. “All had to be willing to continuously adapt to a new approach to banking.”
But despite the challenges and changes over the years, there has been one solid foundation that has remained steady at BankPlus.
“Always strive to listen to the customer and find a way to meet his needs,” Butch added.
With retirement, Butch said he intends to spend more time with his family and friends. He said he will finally be able to tackle his wife Neetsie’s list of projects.
He is fond of his time in the banking industry and the career he created over the years. And he hopes his time will be remembered by others realizing the importance of a community bank…their bank.
“Banks are just like newspapers,” Butch said. “Without a strong bank leading the way with community involvement, community growth would suffer.”
