It was the middle of 2000 when Jim Glines and Bill Hares 7 two locals who, combined, have more than 70 years of experience in the banking industry 7 saw the need for a local community bank with headquarters in Santa Maria.

In less than a year, on March 1, 2001, the pair opened Community Bank of Santa Maria in what had been a video store at West Broadway and Enos Drive, with Glines as president and chief executive officer and Hares as chairman of the board of directors.

Six years later, the bank is celebrating what Glines calls &#8220orderly and controlledC growth, but others might call phenomenal.

Headquartered in its own custom-designed building at 1421 S. Broadway since March 2002, Community Bank of Santa Maria has opened another division 7 Lompoc Community Bank.

Started, like its parent bank, in a storefront in June 2005, Lompoc Community Bank has grown so fast it/s getting its own building, what Glines calls a &#8220state-of-the-artC facility, now under construction at 705 W. Central Ave. in front of Wal-Mart.

And in early April, the bank will open another full-service branch 7 again, a storefront operation 7 in the Oak Knolls Center in Orcutt.

Ironically, the Oak Knolls branch at 4869 S. Bradley Road will be located in the same storefront once occupied by a branch of Bank of Santa Maria.

Glines and Hares both worked for Bank of Santa Maria, which was founded in 1978 and had 13 branches from Lompoc to Paso Robles when it was bought out by Mid-State Bank in 1998.

Sudden success

Success came early to the fledgling Community Bank of Santa Maria.

&#8220We had ,20 million in deposits in the first year and a half,C Glines said recently, relaxing in the Santa Maria headquarters/ comfortable conference room. &#8220That far exceeded our expectations 7 and in a storefront operation.C

The growth has continued. On Jan. 9, 2006, the bank reached ,100 million in assets, and on Feb. 21, 2007, it hit ,100 million in deposits.

When the Oak Knolls branch opens, the bank will have 56 employees.

Glines attributes that success to a number of factors.

&#8220The community was hungry for a true hometown community bank, one that/s headquartered in the community,C Glines said. &#8220Community Bank of Santa Maria was founded on the tradition of local people making local decisions.

&#8220When you talk to someone here, you/re talking to the decision maker,C he explained. &#8220We don/t send our loans out somewhere else for approval.C

Glines said the bank is also based on a belief in &#8220a high level of service, a very personal level of service.C

He noted he doesn/t have a private office but sits at a desk clearly visible and easily accessible to patrons who enter the South Broadway headquarters.

Whenever the bank is open, free coffee is available to customers. On Fridays, the bank serves up popcorn from a big commercial-style popper.

&#8220It/s funny,C he said with a chuckle. &#8220During the week, business owners who need to do banking daily will send in an employee. But on Fridays, the owners come themselves because they want that popcorn.

&#8220Banking is inconvenient,C he added. &#8220People have to do it on their lunch hours, their breaks. We try to make it more convenient and pleasant.C

Glines said the bank has very high standards for its employees. The six loan officers in the South Broadway bank have more than 120 years of combined banking experience, he said.

Yet the local emphasis carries through all levels. Of the 10 members of the board of directors, five are graduates of Santa Maria High School, Glines said.

Employees are also encouraged to become involved in the community, ranging from volunteer work with the YMCA to serving on the local hospital board.

The bank itself has a large barbecue pit on wheels and offers a few select charities the opportunity to auction off a catered barbecue feast as a fundraiser.

Glines himself is almost invariably one of the barbecuers flipping racks of tri-tip and top block and grilling loaves of French bread.

&#8220We/re very community-minded and community-oriented,C Glines said. &#8220I feel businesses must have a community conscience.C

Looking ahead

While bank officials right now are focused on opening the Orcutt branch in early April and the new Lompoc Community Bank building on or about July 1, there are plans to expand &#8220in a controlled manner.C

Glines said the bank would like to establish additional branches as part of its goal to make banking convenient, but it doesn/t plan to expand up and down the coast.

&#8220In an orderly pattern, we/d like to establish a convenient presence in all sectors of Santa Maria,C he said, naming the Crossroads area and the northern part of the city without committing to any specific locations.

All of the locations, including the Lompoc division, the Orcutt branch and any future sites, will use the bank/s own design of teller counters, built to fit each facility, and other interior appointments so they will be familiar to customers in whatever branch they enter.

But one thing not in the bank/s plans is being sold to some other, larger banking or financial institution.

Glines said Community Bank was established specifically to never be sold but to always remain a locally headquartered bank. As part of that goal, there is a built-in plan for turnover among the board of directors to keep its members young.

He explained that bank directors often hold their seats until they are old, there are no young directors to keep their banks going and the directors decide to &#8220cash out.C

But Community Bank won/t let that happen.

&#8220My replacement has already been picked out,C Glines noted. &#8220She/s already being trained to take over my job.C

But, he noted, that won/t happen immediately, because banking is in Glines/ blood.

&#8220I plan to do this for a few more years,C he said.

March 11, 2007