Monday's Internet Edition, May 12, 2008.
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Staff Writer
- After 15 years of service to Bank of North Carolina, Kermit Cloniger is officially retiring.
Cloniger, 92, has enjoyed a long tenure of service and commitment to the bank and our community.
“There are people who come along maybe once in a lifetime who make a lasting impression on everyone they come in contact with over the years and Kermit is definitely one of those people,” Bank of North Carolina president and CEO Swope Montgomery said. “He regularly introduces people as ‘one of the finest people he has ever met.’
“I say Kermit is one of the finest people we have ever met.”
Over Cloniger’s business career, he has worn many hats and worn them all exceedingly well.
His two primary businesses were the Buick Oldsmobile dealership he owned in Thomasville and ran until the mid-1980s and the bank.
Cloniger also served Thomasville as a city councilman and finally mayor.
One of his passions was teaching Sunday school at First Presbyterian Church until just several years ago.
In a release he wrote for the Times, Montgomery called Cloniger “a family man who is always there for his children and grandchildren and now his great grandchildren.”
“He literally gives the shirt off his back to his kids; they all come in with his Bank of North Carolina shirts, sweaters, and jackets!” Montgomery joked. “Kermit has other children who have come to know his generosity through the T. Austin Finch Foundation.
“Kermit is and has been the only non-family member of the foundation board and is the reason so many local students have received scholarships from the foundation over the year.”
Also, Cloniger encouraged the Foundation to give generously to the Thomasville YMCA over the years as well as to the local public school system and the exceptional athletic facilities and auditoriums which make our community the envy of other towns our size and bigger.
“Kermit and I met when I was hired by the Board of Directors to sell our initial stock and get all the regulatory approval,” Montgomery said. “It was easy to see he clearly made a difference and had a tremendous following in the area.
“He was a Director of the bank over our early years while we were growing. Kermit agreed to help the bank after we opened as a business development person and always worked the CD list and called his hand-picked list of liquid companies and individuals. We could always depend on him to pull his weight and more.”
To celebrate his colleague’s retirement and “a life well lived,” Montgomery proclaimed Nov. 10 Kermit Cloniger Day at Bank of North Carolina.
“Kermit will always be family to each of us and he will be missed but I know he will enjoy the chance to spend time with children and friends while he still can,” Montgomery said. “Kermit, you are simply the best. We all love you and wish you the best.”
A public ceremony celebrating Cloniger’s retirement is to be held next week. The time will be announced.
In August 2005, Cloniger was awarded the Order of the Longleaf Pine Award — the most prestigious civilian award given by the State of North Carolina.
He was presented the award by former Thomasville mayor Hubert Leonard.
“You applaud like I’m leaving,” Cloniger joked to the crowd gathered, most of whom were family, friends and coworkers. “In all seriousness, I am staying in Thomasville, for Thomasville is where the people are.
“And it’s those people who made it possible for me to earn this award.”
Cloniger was born on Aug. 3, 1913 in Lincolnton. He served in World War II as a Navy air station executive, and attended school at George Washington University, Duke University, and High Point University.
He moved to Thomasville in 1946, and has served on many civic organizations. Cloniger has served on the T. Austin Finch Foundation board of trustees and the High Point College board of trustees.
He has been State Commercial Bank director, Thomas-ville Rotary Club president, president of the Thomasville Area Chamber of Commerce, Community Foundation president, a member of the Davidson County Board of Elections, a member of the North Carolina Committee on Recreation under then-Gov. Jim Holshouser, and president of the Davidson County Economic Development Commission.
Cloniger was mayor of Thomasville between 1957-59. He was instrumental in the creation of Lake Thom-A-Lex, the 1.8-billion gallon reservoir that serves as a source of water for the cities of Thomasville and Lexington. He is also co-founder of the Southgate Shopping Center, and was awarded the “Older Citizens Award of Excellence in Crime Prevention” at the age of 87.
Cloniger was instrumental in founding the Thomasville CrimeStoppers program, and was its first chairman. Thanks to his leadership, CrimeStoppers was able to raise an adequate funding base with which to pay rewards to citizens who provide CrimeStoppers tips.
In May 2001, Bank of North Carolina constructed a new operations center on its Julian Avenue campus and named the building after Cloniger.
Bank of North Carolina — an organization that enjoyed Cloniger’s assistance on its steering committee — celebrated 10 years in December 2001. Today, Cloniger serves as director of business development.
At the Order of the Longleaf Pine award ceremony in August, Cloniger had this to say about his co-workers:
“I just thank God that I’ve had the privilege of working with you and getting to know you all. It is the people who work here that make this bank what it is. If not for you, we would not be what we are.”
(Nov. 5)