There are certain companies in our community that have a reputation for giving back and sponsoring local initiatives. These companies are stakeholders in the community and deserve to be recognized for their generosity and service to the community.

 

Chase bank is certainly one of those companies, which is why they were recently awarded the Montgomery County Economic Development “Bright Star Award” for Outstanding Corporate Citizenship.

 

Chase is Indiana’s largest financial institution and is the U.S consumer and commercial brand of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Annually, the JPMorgan Chase Foundation gives more than $100 million through grants and sponsorships to thousands of not-for-profit organizations around the world, including more than $2 million in Indiana.

 

Our Crawfordsville Chase employs 30 people at its two locations and sponsors or supports quite a number of community initiatives.  The Crawfordsville Leadership Academy is a tremendous resource and Chase has sponsored an employee in every class the Academy has conducted. The bank serves as a MUFFY Pace Setter and has seen 100% employee participation for a number of years. One will always see a Chase team in the Relay for life and in the March of Dimes-Walk America.

 

Some of the other local programs they support include Character Counts in Montgomery County, the Arts, Youth Service Bureau, The Boys and Girls Club and the Strawberry Festival.

 

Bank President Steve Loy is a stakeholder in the community and member of the MCED Board of Directors. Our directors volunteer their time, which in many ways, is even more valuable than the actual financial donations. Not to imply that they should stop giving, but people are the real key to successful communities, organizations can only do so much.

 

As is the case with all our directors, we could never afford to compensate them for their guidance and advice. They do it because they are community stakeholders and understand the value of robust planning and action.

 

Chase was the lead donor for our capital campaign to establish an Ivy Tech Community College site in Crawfordsville.This is one of those examples how Chase was able to help the community at a crucial time to develop a critical asset. The donation was also matched by Lilly from a grant that we were able to use through Ivy Tech. This will prove to be a major force in our development in the coming years.

 

In regard to the bank business, Mr. Loy says,” without a doubt the success of Chase is the employees who are dedicated to customer service and believe in a set of core values we refer to as “Common Courtesies”. The bank provides education and training to the team members to ensure that these courtesies are a part of their business culture.

 

Financial institutions are a key component of our business network and as with most businesses there have been ownership changes. Mr. Loy just celebrated his 20th year with the bank which was chartered in Crawfordsville as the First National Bank and Trust Co. in 1864. Mr. Loy views the merger with Chase as a way to gain the benefits of a global corporation while maintaining the hometown character.

 

That is good news for our community as we hope Chase will continue to be outstanding corporate citizen for at least another 143 years.