1st Source Bank Opens Newly-Built Bank Location in Valparaiso

1st Source Bank Opens Newly-Built Bank Location in Valparaiso

Warm. Friendly. Inviting. These are the words that first come to mind when you walk into the new Valparaiso 1st Source Bank, located on 2005 LaPorte Avenue, at the roundabout of LaPorte and Sturdy Road. Curved wood and beveled glass highlight the bank lobby -- a far cry from the cold, impersonal banks of yesterday, with their marble columns and high counters, separating tellers from customers.

Here at the new 1st Source, customers and tellers stand side-by-side for transactions; a much friendlier, more personal approach to banking.

The grand opening ceremony, held just a few days before Christmas, showed the new location to be a wonderful place to do business as bank officials, local officials, chamber members and bank customers rubbed elbows and sipped coffee and hot chocolate.  Everyone enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere of the new branch which was festively decorated for the holidays.

Matt Vessely, 1st Source Bank Regional President, took a few moments to give us a brief tour of the bank, and even shared some ideas about what makes 1st Source such a terrific part of the community.

"We're very excited to be here today, to see this new branch open here. We call it the 'Valpo Circle Banking Center,' and it brings a new concept to the banking market here in Valparaiso. We call it 'Side-By-Side' banking. It's a new concept: removing the teller line, modifying the office spaces to make for a more organic, personal experience for the customer," Vessely said. "The customer is literally side-by-side throughout their time here. It's more of a partnership between us and our customers."

"This concept is over 10 years in the making. We've been slowly phasing in this new idea across the board to all of our locations, to provide a consistent experience to the customer," Vessely said.

Several customers visited the grand opening, and they quickly warmed up to the comfortable atmosphere the new location provided.

"We've been in business since 1863, so it's safe to say that 1st Source has been around a while," Vessely said. "We have 81 locations, across Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan."

It's somewhat of a tradition for 1st Source to celebrate their grand openings with a charitable donation, and the night's event was no exception, as a check for $500 was presented to The Caring Place, just moments before the ribbon cutting ceremony.

"Achieve security. Build wealth. Ahieve your dreams. This is our mission statement here at 1st Source," said Vessely. "We're very happy to be here, to be part of the community and to continue to grow and serve the long-term interests of our customers."