Our Gentry Location Has a New Look

Grand Savings Bank in Gentry has a new look! And boy, have I learned a few things in this remodeling journey.

Before the Remodel

To begin with, I am a banker, and after “contracting” this remodel, I understand that I should never quit my day job. In retrospect, however, I have learned so many things along the way that have been great life lessons. Lessons in teamwork, persistence, perseverance, and most importantly that there are more shades of gray than one could possibly fathom.

This remodel project turned into a domino effect like most remodel projects often do. Initially, the plan was to just paint to spruce up the look of the branch. After the painting was completed, the walls looked great, but then we decided to add new doors and windows, which then resulted in a new color of stained trim. However, when we looked around there was a lot of wood in this little branch to sand and stain. This led to, Dre Tun, our wonderful branch manager, and myself staying late into the night to sand and stain our trim. I could never thank her enough for the hours she put in helping me in this crazy vision I had.

We thought we were done! But then…

The teller line looked a little blah with the fresh new paint and trim. So, a simple request of changing out our teller line was made. However, unknowingly to me, this was not such a simple request after all. Pinterest and Google became my constant companion as I searched endlessly for the perfect design. And then my wonderful husband who then took my crazy visions and was able to create a plan that could be built in the real world. (Turns out some of my visions aren’t so “real world” practical. Who knew?) And after countless hours the teller line was complete – with a blue-gray front that didn’t match in the slightest. So, after a few more countless hours and a black front, the teller line is complete.

After the Remodel

We’ve had numerous other unanticipated projects from start to finish but, we don’t have time for that list here. Regardless, we are almost done! A few small things left to go with our last venture being flooring which should be installed in the next few weeks. And while I can’t say that I will miss this remodel, I can say that when I look around and see the vast changes we’ve made and I am so proud of the employees who have volunteered to help me in any way they can, my family who sacrificed hours of their time to help me, and of Grand Savings Bank for allowing me to be the crazy person I am and having faith in my abilities. I also want to thank our dedicated customers for working around the ladders, dust, weird smells, and numerous other obstacles to make deposits and cash checks.

Once this remodel is complete, we are planning a Grand Re-Opening that we hope you can attend. Our Gentry location needed some TLC. We are committed to our community, and it was important to us that our customers could see that commitment each time they walked into our branch. Gentry has a new look and we hope you like it!

Meredith Renfroe has worked for Grand Savings Bank for 20 years and currently serves as the Vice President of Branch Operations for Western Benton County. She’s a graduate of Gentry High School and the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance. She has been married to her husband, Wes for 14 years and they have two children.  Meredith currently resides in Gentry and is proud to work for Grand Savings Bank.