A 1979 graduate of Howe High School, then Anna Thornhill was seeking what would be her career and worked some part-time jobs at a local hospital and then with the City of Howe as the municipal court clerk. While a city employee in 1980, Howe State Bank was robbed and she worked with the police department and FBI through City Hall with the banking information. In 1981, she learned that a teller position was open at Howe State Bank and she landed the job in April of that year.
“I just took the job until I decided what I wanted to do.” Said Anderson. “I had started down the nursing career path because that’s what my mom said I needed to do. But it didn’t take long for me to figure out what I wanted to do. I wanted to stay here.”
Anderson went from being a teller to the loan department to the operations side with new accounts. Heading up the ladder, Anderson became the loan secretary for Bob Williams for 15 years until becoming a loan officer herself. In 2006, she became vice president and branch manager of Independent Bank of Howe.
There has been a plethora of changes in the banking industry in the last 35 years and Anderson now is proud to say that she was in banking before computers.
“I remember when we got the first little bitty screen that kept some balances and account numbers.” Said Anderson. “Then we got the huge monitors that looked like TVs and they still were for balancing internally. We still did everything by hand. We filed every check by hand every day. There were trays of checks that everyone in town wrote and we had to file them all.”
In 1991, before the internet age, the local Howe bank had 19 employees. Automation has eliminated 13 of those positions as there are six full-time employees at the Howe branch which includes Anderson.
Anderson remembers the days of paydays at large employers such as T.I. and Johnson & Johnson.
“We had what we used to call T.I. payday and you didn’t go to lunch or get out of your teller window because there was a line down to the Dairy Queen (now the location of the future Palio’s Pizza Café). With automatic deposit, people don’t come to the bank as much. Technology has taken a lot of jobs out of banking.”
Spending every day in the same building for 35 years, one would think it would be mundane, but Anderson says she doesn’t know any different and isn’t interested in finding out.
“In a small community like this, it’s more than just customers. It becomes family.” Said Anderson. “I’ve seen people come, people go – babies born, people pass away. It’s family. When people ask me why I’ve stayed so long, it’s because nobody is going to take care of them like I do. No one will take care of the elderly customers like I do. That’s why I’ve stayed. And because the bank has been so good to me.”
When Anderson began thinking about her career, she wanted to work in a place where she could be a mom also. Praising Independent Bank, Anderson says that she’s been able to put her family first.
“I was always able to take a late lunch and go to the play or take a late lunch and go to the pep rally. I could leave a little early to go drive to Valley View for a football game. They’ve always wanted us to put our family first.” Said Anderson.
Howe State Bank officially opened in 1964 at the current location. When Anderson was hired, it was independently owned by Joe and Foy Wallace and investors. It changed hands in the 1990s and got a new name of First Bank Howe. It was later purchased by Independent Bank in 1994. During the first purchase, Anderson says it was scary.
“It wasn’t local people that bought us. They were from the Dallas area and it was scary.” Said Anderson. “But Jim Shannon came on board as the president and he made the transition really easy because he was great to work for.”
Howe State Bank being independently owned for so many years was a comfort zone for employees. When the new investors purchased the bank, they brought new ideas and changed the name to First Bank Howe and brought with it a ‘broken wing eagle’ logo that people snickered at.
David Brooks from the McKinney area purchased the bank and brought a more local feel for Anderson’s taste. “When Independent Bank bought us, it wasn’t quite as shocking because we’d already been through an acquisition.” Said Anderson. “You couldn’t ask for better people to work for than the Brooks family. I’ve been here since there was one independently owned location to 41 locations. It’s a huge difference.”
“If you look at our mission statement, it’s all about community.” Said Anderson.
[Independent Bank pledges to deliver unparalleled personal service and quality financial products to our customers, which will result in our Bank’s growth, active support of our communities, rewarding careers for our employees and a superior return to our shareholders. Our goal is to become the bank of choice in each community that we serve.]
From preventative health care and even a chaplain service, Independent Bank provides extra services for employees and supports local schools and communities through various projects.
Anderson says that she’s been influenced by and worked for some wonderful people including Joe and Foy Wallace as well as her current President, Scott Bandemir, who was Howe’s first President under the Independent Bank Group. But she says that Bob Williams served as the most influential mentor in the banking business during her early years.
“Bob taught me far more than banking. Bob taught me what it was to be good to people. Not to look at them on a customer basis, but look at them as a person.” Said Anderson. “Even good people get into a bind and don’t need to be looked at as being a problem. Everybody needs a little help at times. I’ve always worked under excellent people. Not just managers of banks, but good people.”
“When I was growing up, I bought my first pair of basketball shoes in Downtown Howe, Texas from Mr. Chisum.” Said Anderson. “You didn’t go to Sherman back then. The downtown had everything you needed with three grocery stores. When the downtown area died, it was gone forever. Now it’s back and I think it’s as strong as it was then or close to it. I see a lot of new homes coming up and with new homes comes children which will increase the enrollment in school which increases the size of the school we need. I see it coming, but we’ve been waiting for so long.”
Daughter of Leon and Joan Thornhill and a sister to Cindy, Butch and Dickie, Anna Thornhill became Anna Anderson in 1994 when she married Don Anderson of Bells. Together, they own Anderson Auctioneers and have four daughters, Erin Ingram, Leslie Williams, Lori Sanders and Rita Fulmer. Having served the community of Howe for 35 years in banking, she’s also found time to serve as a chamber of commerce board member as well as serve on multiple committees in Howe throughout the years.
Coming from working parents and a heavy influence of good people, Anna Anderson has been able to hit a milestone in a career that allowed her to keep her family first in a community she loves.
“Some people might think that I have not gone very far in life, being that I am within a mile from where I grew up, went to high school, went to church and raised my girls but I would have to disagree, because I have gone on many, many life journeys through my customers and my bank family and I would not change a thing.”
