Peach Buzz Summer 2025

What would our Hall County community look like without I-985? It’s quite possible Kubota, Wrigley’s and other benevolent corporations might not have located here, leaving a void worth millions in tax revenues – and a direct hit to our quality of life.

What about other community assets like the University of North Georgia, the impactful Chateau Elan hospitality brand in South Hall and even the quirky Mule Camp Market fall festival?

The connecting thread through these and numerous other local jewels is community banking. Unfortunately, it is a history fading in memory with time, growth and our burgeoning population of new residents.

As I reflect on the 20th anniversary of Peach State Bank, there is deep admiration for a handful of Gainesville bank leaders during the closing decades of the 20th century. Our success as a bank and a prosperous community stands on their strong shoulders. They were clearly the Founding Fathers of community banking in Northeast Georgia.

These legendary men were still with us in 2005, when Peach State opened its doors with a reception in their honor. I was deeply touched that each man accepted our invitation and attended – despite the fact that we were technically a new competitor in the banking market. I like to believe they understood Peach State would honor their same community-driven spirit of a bygone era in banking.

In 1980, there were five locally owned financial institutions dominating the Hall County market. Two were savings and loan associations (S&Ls): Great Southern Federal and Home Federal. The three banks were First National Bank, Citizens Bank, and Gainesville National Bank.

Back then, the three banks represented $130 million in total holdings. Compare that relatively low number with today’s $6 billion in deposits across the Hall County market – quite a change in 45 years.

The leaders of these institutions were a rare breed. They were fierce competitors but also partners in working together selflessly to grow Gainesville and Hall County. Among them, the two biggest titans were Ray McRae of First National and James Mathis Sr., the folksy marketing genius of Home Federal.

McRae was the Nick Saban of his day, mentoring literally hundreds of bankers, many of whom went on to start or lead other banks across the region. McRae is largely credited for recruiting Wrigley’s chewing-gum operations, definitely one of our sweeter smelling industries. He also lured the American-Irish entrepreneur Don Panoz, who brought Elan Pharmaceuticals and the spin-off Chateau Elan winery and golf courses to Braselton, forever changing the face of South Hall for the better.

McRae’s lieutenant and close friend Richard Shockley was also well-respected at First National and beloved for his support of small businesses and nonprofits.

Whether out front or behind the scenes, Mathis was involved with some of the biggest local ventures bringing opportunity and prosperity to this area, including the founding in 1964 of the original Gainesville Jr. College (now University of North Georgia). As president of the chamber, he led a task force of business leaders who successfully lobbied state regents to create greater access to postsecondary education across Northeast Georgia.

His vision included an I-85 spur through Hall County as well as creating the Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve from a land donation by the Johnson & Johnson company that spawned Elachee and the Chicopee golf course.

Mathis was also a brilliant marketer. Many longtime residents will remember Skippy the Squirrel, Home Federal’s furry mascot, and the local “Curb Market” that Mathis founded and grew into today’s annual Mule Camp Market festival.

Jim Mathis Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps to create his own legacy by bringing the 1996 Olympics to the local shores of Lake Lanier. In his “retirement” from Home Federal, Jim took over the reins at the North Georgia Community Foundation, raising millions of dollars for nonprofit causes.

While not as well-known today as McRae and the Mathis men, presidents Ed Wayne of Gainesville National Bank and Pierce Hancock of Citizens Bank were highly successful in leading their banks and local civic organizations for the betterment of our community. I was privileged to start my banking career under Hancock, who was the epitome of fairness and Southern gentility. Citizens Bank was chaired then by Heyward Hosch, Jr., a Korean War hero and one of a long bloodline of Hosch family members to lead the bank.

Sadly, these men and their venerable institutions are no longer with us, though their spirit and legacies remain intact. As the only remaining community bank still locally owned, Peach State Bank now carries their torch forward proudly into 2025 on the anniversary of our bank’s 20th year.