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The swift capital-raising for Bank of Belleville, which opened for business in early November, bodes well for the future success of our bank. The bank's stock offering was completed in just 30 days and the local capital-raising exceeded our goal by $1 million. We have nearly 300 investors and are the first new bank in Belleville in 15 years.

The eight employees opening the bank each average 20 years of banking experience. They are all investors in the bank, so we have a financial stake in the success of our enterprise.

Several small business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals in the Belleville area have expressed eagerness and excitement about our business plan, which focuses primarily on serving them and their associates. Clearly, they feel an entrepreneurial bond to us. After all, we are launching a new business just like they have done.

We feel the Belleville community wants a locally-controlled bank that focuses on relationship banking. Since our opening, the buzz in Belleville is about the Bank of Belleville. We want to live up to our community's high expectations for our bank and earn respect by serving the needs of businesses and consumers.

We want our bank and staff to be actively involved in our community. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we sponsored the popular horse-drawn trolley for holiday shoppers in downtown Belleville. Also, at Christmas time we "adopted" a family through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Belleville.

This is a good start, but only that, a start. We look forward to expanding our relationships throughout the Belleville area as we become the bank of choice for our community.