By Ty Cobb Jr.
For the Salisbury Post
Recently the Salisbury Post featured two articles on F&M Bank telling us the history of a local, privately owned bank that has served Rowan County (nd now Cabarrus County) for 100 years. The bank’s “founding father” regarding how to deal fair and square with customers was young J.E. Fisher. Fortunately, his legacy is alive and well to this day.
When my wife and I decided to move to Salisbury five years ago, we asked our bank (a privately owned bank like F&M) to identify a similar bank in Rowan County. They chose F&M Bank and wrote a letter of introduction for us to F&M. We financed our home with F&M and opened a checking account. Around our second month here, our answering machine had a personal call from F&M President Paul Fisher!
Besides treating customers as “king,” J.E. also made community service an integral part of the bank’s operation. While the Post’s articles did mention that, it was only briefly. If one takes the time to “smell the roses,” they would find it difficult to believe how F&M Bank contributes to almost every community project in our area, from support of the arts, to the new Granite Quarry Park, to the Salisbury Depot, to the county’s YMCAs, to Rowan Regional Medical Center, to many projects that cured urban blight in Salisbury. You name it, F&M Bank was there to serve our community, not just amass wealth.
All the Fishers are also very active in their church; Steve and his wife, Robin, always take their vacation week and use it to work full time in vacation Bible school. Steve and his father, Paul, are ordained elders.
I had the opportunity to speak quietly with Paul Fisher a few months after moving here. My first impression was, “My, what a distinguished looking, kind gentleman.” Our conversation validated my first impression to the nth degree. While proud of the success of F&M, he was even more proud of the community service legacy started by his father and was excited to bear that legacy and move it forward.
I spoke briefly with Steve Fisher after church one recent Sunday and congratulated him on being named as the soon-to-be new president of F&M. I asked about his father’s plans; still serving the bank and the community, of course! I told Steve that he had big shoes to fill. Without hesitation, he replied, “I don’t plan to fill them; I plan to walk beside them.”
Wow! F&M Bank and the Rowan community will truly continue in good hands.
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Ty Cobb Jr. lives in Rockwell.