The Cecil family is celebrating a centennial milestone, marking the 100th year of their leadership and family legacy at Paris-based The Liberty National Bank.

In 1925, Jim Cecil, a prominent banker from Valliant, Oklahoma, moved to Paris, Texas, at the urging of his physician, Dr. L.P. McCuistion. McCuistion’s brother, Ed McCuistion, was the president of the newly formed The Liberty National Bank of Paris and needed help leading the bank after its predecessor, City National, failed due to a collapse in the cotton market.

However, difficult economic times prevailed in the Paris area and The Liberty National Bank of Paris failed with the onslaught of the Great Depression. With a simple change from “of” to “in,” the bank was re-capitalized in 1931 as The Liberty National Bank in Paris. The newly organized bank was led by Ed McCuistion as president until his retirement in 1941, when he was succeeded by Jim Cecil. Cecil served in that role until his death in 1953.

Jim Cecil’s son, Gilbert Cecil, succeeded him as bank president and led the bank as president until 1975.

In 1975, Gilbert’s son, Philip Cecil, took over the reins as president, becoming the third generation of Cecils to lead the bank. Philip had worked at the bank during the summer months between high school and after serving in the U.S. Navy for two years, he continued his banking career at First National Bank in Dallas in 1960. In 1963, Philip moved back to Paris and joined the bank as vice president. He served as president and chairman of the board until 2002, when his son Carl was named bank president. Philip was the longest-standing president of The Liberty National Bank, with a banking career spanning more than 57 years.

Carl began his banking career in downtown Dallas at MBank, successor to the old Mercantile Bank of Dallas. In 1990, he joined Liberty National Bank as a loan officer and vice president. In 2002, he was named the fourth-generation Cecil bank president. After the death of his father in 2020, Carl took on the role as chairman of the board and continues in that role today.

In 2023, Bill Coleman was appointed bank president, the first non-family member to serve that role since 1941. “The Cecil family and their legacy of banking in the Paris area is one of commitment to community service, their customers and integrity,” Coleman notes. “It is difficult to fully identify the Cecil family’s role in fostering economic growth in our community over the past 100 years. Their dedication to the local banking industry has impacted the financial success of many residents and small businesses. With the recent addition of Dillon to our banking team, I look forward to seeing many more contributions to the local banking industry from the Cecil family.”

In 2023, Dillon Cecil, a fifth-generation banker, joined Liberty National Bank as an executive vice president and chief financial officer. After graduating with a BBA degree from the Red McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas and attending the Texas Tech School of Banking, IBAT Bank Lending Institute (Independent Bankers Association of Texas) and the SW Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University, Dillon started his banking career at TIB NA in 2014 as a credit analyst/lending officer. He was later promoted to senior vice president.

“I am proud to be a very small part of the 100 years of the Cecil family at Liberty National Bank,” Dillon Cecil says. “It is a blessing to have our family serve this community for a century. We would not have made it this far without our loyal customers. I look forward to working with Bill and Chase Coleman and the rest of the Liberty team to continue the legacy of service at the bank.”

Throughout the Cecil’s 100-year banking history, the family and the bank have been avid community supporters. To celebrate the centennial anniversary of Liberty National Bank, the bank made contributions to support the downtown lighting project, Light Up Paris Texas, which was launched in 2022 to illuminate Paris’ downtown plaza.

“I am truly thankful that we have been able to continue our banking tradition with the hiring of my son, Dillon,” says Carl Cecil. “This would not have been possible without our loyal multi-generational customer base, cooperative shareholders, competent board of directors and, of course, the outstanding officers and employees that have worked with all of the Cecils over the years. We have always surrounded ourselves with great people and it has been a strength that has kept us in business.”

Pictured above: The current executive management team at Liberty National Bank: Carl Cecil, Bill Coleman, Chase Coleman, Angie Bryan and Dillon Cecil