President's Message
As we reach the end of an era, let us step away from the banking industry for a minute to consider certain events that shaped our nation. During the decade, we saw the price of oil at less than $25 a barrel, and we saw it at $150. Cell phones went from being the size of a brick, to the size of a deck of cards. Remember Y2K? A forgettable event now, but it seemed like a big deal in 1999. Our nation was ravaged by a terrible natural disaster in the form of Hurricane Katrina. The Red Sox finally broke the curse of the Bambino. The world was forever changed by the impact of terrorism. I will say only this: let us never forget. Curiously, events seemed to occur in twos. We experienced two wars, both of them lasting longer than World War II. Two presidential elections of notable mention occurred: One president was sworn in amidst a controversial electoral recount. In January 2009, the first African-American president was inaugurated. The decade was bar-belled by two recessions, one of them the worst since the Great Depression. Two of the Big Three Detroit Automakers filed for bankruptcy. Two stock market crashes, resulting in markets ending the decade about where they started. While it may take historians years to truly gauge the impact these and other events had in shaping our nation, what is already apparent is how this decade sustained a remarkable pace of rapid change. What hasn't changed, is Community Bank's commitment to our customers, communities and employees, as we work hard to ensure we're here for you in the next decade and many more. Regards, Tom Moran
President & CEO
Community Bank
