CB Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQGM: CBFV), the holding company of Community Bank (the “Bank”) and Exchange Underwriters, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank, announced today that Ralph J. Sommers, Jr. retired from the Board of Directors when his term expired at today’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting after having served Community Bank for 42 years. On behalf of the Board and the many employees of Community Bank, its customers and friends that Ralph has known over the last five decades, we offer this tribute to Ralph’s outstanding service to the Bank.
Ralph joined the Board of Directors of the First National Bank of Carmichaels in 1983. He became President & CEO in 1984 and Chairman of the Board in 1999 and held that position until 2019. He retired as Chairman in 2019 but continued to serve as a director. During the 42 years of his leadership, he served in crucial leadership positions at Community Bank and the Bank grew, changed, and prospered in many ways.
One of his first decisions was to prepare the Bank for the future, so, in 1987, the First National Bank of Carmichaels changed its name to Community Bank, with much fanfare. This decision was a harbinger of his determination to build the Bank beyond Greene County.
Ralph spearheaded the Bank’s expansion into Washington County. In 1987 opening an office in Washington, other offices followed in McMurray in 1994, Claysville in 1996 and in 2000 the Southpointe Office. Then, in February 2004, Community Bank expanded into the Allegheny County market of Brookline and Brentwood. In 2008, a new Washington Office was constructed. But much more was underway than adding branches. In 2006, Ralph led the Bank in its conversion from a national bank to a Pennsylvania state-chartered bank and in the formation of CB Financial Services, Inc. as the holding company for the Bank.
During his tenure as Chairman, in 2014, the Bank acquired First Federal Savings Bank and its subsidiary, Exchange Underwriters, an insurance agency. This added 5 offices and the Bank’s assets grew to $850 million. At this time, CB Financial Services, Inc. also registered with the SEC and started to trade on NASDAQ. We welcomed Progressive Bank to the family in 2018, bringing the Bank to $1.3 billion in assets, with 22 branch offices.
Mr. Montgomery, Community Bank’s President and CEO, stated “Community Bank is uniquely positioned for future success based on the leadership, strength, legacy and brand that Mr. Sommers built during his tenure.”
Mark Fox, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CB Financial and Community Bank, remarked “The Board of Directors of Community Bank and the entire bank family is grateful for Ralph’s cool head, common sense, and courage in tough times. Thank you, Ralph J. Sommers, Jr., and may you enjoy your well-earned retirement with your family.”
About CB Financial Services, Inc.
CB Financial Services, Inc. is the bank holding company for Community Bank, a Pennsylvania-chartered commercial bank. Community Bank operates fifteen offices in Greene, Allegheny, Washington, Fayette, and Westmoreland Counties in southwestern Pennsylvania, six offices in Brooke, Marshall, Ohio, Upshur and Wetzel Counties in West Virginia, and one office in Belmont County in Ohio. Community Bank offers a broad array of retail and commercial lending and deposit services and provides commercial and personal insurance brokerage services through Exchange Underwriters, Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary.
For more information about CB Financial Services, Inc. and Community Bank, visit our website at www.communitybank.tv.
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Contacts
John H. Montgomery
President and Chief Executive Officer
Phone: (724) 225-2400
Fax: (724) 225-4903
