Page 178 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2022

FINAL SAY
CHEVIS
SWETMAN
President and Chief Executive Officer, The Peoples Bank
For those who don’t know me, anyone who does will tell you I love to share stories – especially about economic history. I guess you could con- sider me a self-proclaimed economic historian. My family and I have been in the banking industry for more than 125 years. To me, economic history is one of the most important components of human history that should be studied, learned from, and used to forecast what will come next so we can prepare to face the future as successfully as we can.
Banking has always been in my blood. My grandfather’s brother, J.W. Swetman, was a founder of The Peoples Bank in 1896. My grandfather, Orcenith George (O.G.) Swetman, joined him as an assistant cashier
in 1903. Before my father joined the bank, he worked in the seafood industry and later as a seafood broker, so hard work was nothing new
to him. He instilled that work ethic into our core values as a family and as a bank. In fact, his connection with the early seafood industry is why we have a shrimp boat in our logo to this day. My grandfather later served as the President and Chief Executive Officer until 1963. My dad, Glenn L. Swetman, was elected President that year and served as President and Chairman of the board until I succeeded him in 1983.
Growing up in Biloxi, I followed in the Swetman family’s footsteps, working part-time at the bank every summer until I started my first full-time job there after college. A pivotal moment in our history that I believe set us apart was in 1969 shortly after Hurricane Camille when we expanded our single bank location into multiple branches across the Coast – opening new locations in D’Iberville and Ocean Springs to name a few. It was a risk we were willing to take to extend our services and meet current and potential customers where they were, something we still uphold to this day with 18 branches in operation.
The Peoples Bank and the Mississippi Gulf Coast – the place we call home – have always been resilient. Together, we’ve overcome both financial and natural storms time and time again, taking what is left after a storm and turning it into an opportunity for growth. From our inception, we’ve weathered recessions, hurricanes, oil spills, and now a global pandemic.
Throughout our history The Peoples Bank has experi- enced every high and low of each different economy our country has faced while helping our customers navigate the opportunities and challenges that came with them. We’ve walked alongside our customers through every ex- citing moment in their lives: getting their first debit card, purchasing their first home, opening their child(ren)’s first bank account, planning for retirement and so on. We can help prepare for every stage of life because we’ve been here every step of the way before and will be here for years to come.
With branches along the Mississippi Gulf Coast in Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, and Stone counties, there’s a reason why The Peoples Bank has been here for over 125 years: our beliefs that people come first and that for us, it’s always been more than banking.
178 | August 2022
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