The Valley State Bank was chartered on July 5, 1905, when the Beaty family, who had extensive holdings in Kansas and neighboring Colorado, realized that a financial institution was needed in the area.
John W. Beaty, of Richfield, R. E. Bray of Syracuse, and Dennis Foley were some of the original stockholders. In the beginning Mr. Foley was the sole employee; he was in essence, the janitor and the cashier. His beginning salary was $75.00 a month.
When Mr. E. M. Scott joined the bank in 1919, he started a long bank tradition. He served as cashier for 20 years until he was elected President in 1940. Succeeding E. M. as president, was his son, Kenneth E. Scott, in 1952; he was succeeded by his son Keith in 1970. Keith's brother, Kenneth A., also served the bank for 13 years as cashier. The Scott family was associated with the bank for many years from the dirty thirties and on, until recently.
Jim Randall, the current President, took over upon the retirement of Tim Kohart in 2021. Tim Kohart succeeded Keith Scott when a local group of investors purchased the bank from the Scott family, at which time Keith Scott retired.
The bank first opened at the corner of Main Street and Ave. B. In 1966 it moved one block west to its present location of 110 West Avenue B. This is our only move in over 100 years. The Valley State Bank opened its first branch February 1, 2013 located at 1701 E Mary Street in Garden City, Kansas.
With customers from Oklahoma, Colorado, and, of course Kansas, we cover a broader area than Hamilton County. We started primarily with agricultural loans and are still heavily interested in that area as well as home, personal, commercial, and real estate.
