After 18 years at Kilgore-based Citizens Bank and 50 years in the banking industry, CEO Sammy York will retire at the end of June.
A native of Corsicana, York graduated from Texas A&M University with a BS degree in agricultural economics in 1974. He is also a 1981 graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University.
York begin his banking career in 1972 as a drive-in teller with First Bank and Trust in Bryan while he was still a student at Texas A&M University. After graduating, he joined the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as an assistant national bank examiner, working in the Houston and Fort Worth sub-regions.
York launched his community bank career in 1976 as executive vice president of Hillsboro State Bank (now Wells Fargo Bank NA.) His first job as president and CEO came in 1985 when he joined Allied Bank Marshall. Ironically, during his time with Allied Bank Marshall, York attended weekly loan committee meetings in the building that housed what was at that time Allied Citizens Bank Kilgore and is now Citizens Bank. Nineteen years later, in 2004, he was named president and CEO of Citizens Bank and vice president of East Texas Financial Corp., the bank’s Holding company. In the intervening years, York served as president and CEO of banks in Boerne, Beeville and Bowie.
During his tenure with Citizens Bank, York has overseen growth from $208 million in total assets to just more than $500 million. Four new full-service bank locations were added in Humble, The Woodlands, Bryan/College Station and Gladewater, as well as a new loan production office in Plano.
“Whatever measure of success our bank has seen in my 18 years is due in large part to our outstanding employees and a supportive board of directors,” York says.
York has been actively involved in numerous community and industry organizations during his career. He is completing his second term on the board of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas. He previously served on the board of the Texas Bankers Association on two occasions, including serving on the executive committee and as chairman of the Community Bankers Council. York has been a Rotarian for 46 years, with perfect attendance for the past 17 years. He has served as president of Rotary Club chapters in Hillsboro, Bowie and Kilgore. York has also served on the boards and/or as president of numerous civic organizations, including Habitat For Humanity/Fuller Center For Housing, chambers of commerce, industrial/economic development foundations, Boy Scouts, United Fund/United Way and local Texas A&M University organizations. He has also served in leadership positions for the churches where his family has been members, including treasurer, finance committee chair, personnel committee member and chairman of the administrative board, among others.
“I wanted to choose a career where I could make a difference in the lives of other people,” York says. “Being a community banker has given me the opportunity to do just that and, hopefully, I have had some measure of success. While our main commodity may be monetary and financial transactions related, what a community bank really is all about is developing relationships with people based on mutual trust and respect. Being able to help our employees, our customers and our communities be successful and achieve their dreams is who we are and what we are all about.”
York and his wife of 39 years, Cherisa, have two sons, Colin and Barrett. York looks forward to spending more time with his family and friends, spoiling his three grandchildren, traveling, volunteering more and spending more time on his road bike—including a “bucket list” goal to participate in the Hotter-Than-Hell 100 in Wichita Falls.
Established in 1949, Citizens Bank operates 12 banking centers in Bryan/College Station, Carthage, Center, Gladewater, Humble, Kilgore, Kountze, Sour Lake, The Woodlands and Yorktown, as well as an LPO/DPO in Plano.
