On March 18, Rogers Pope Jr., vice chair and chief executive officer at Longview-based Texas Bank and Trust, announced that Jennifer Harris is the 2024 recipient of the bank’s “Community Spirit Award.” The award was presented to Harris during the bank’s annual employee dinner in Longview. Harris, who serves as senior vice president and business development officer, received the honor amid the buoyant applause of more than 425 of her colleagues. The recognition is among the more significant highlights of the banquet. In honor of the recognition, Texas Bank and Trust will also make a monetary contribution to the charitable organization of Harris’ choice.
Established in 2009, Texas Bank and Trust’s “Community Spirit Award” is presented annually to the individual who best embodies a “spirit of service and community involvement, representing the bank and giving back to the communities it serves with his or her time, talents and treasures.” Nominations for the recognition are submitted by officers and employees from across the organization.
“Community involvement [is] one of the core values on which this organization is built,” Pope noted at this year’s event. “And, even though we will only recognize one individual with this award, all of [our team members] are responsible for the superb reputation that TB&T has in this regard in all of the communities [we serve].”
Harris has dedicated countless hours to community work and the many organizations in which she has been involved, including Buckner Children and Family Services, Junior Achievement, Junior League of Longview and both LeTourneau University and the University of Texas’ Longview University Center.
“I truly love this community and the opportunity to serve both professionally and personally,” Harris told the audience. “I don’t serve for awards or prizes, though. It is my greatest reward to serve by helping and loving others.”
Established in 1958, Texas Bank and Trust operates 21 full-service branches throughout East Texas and the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.