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This month we honor one of our recent retirees from our Advisory Board at First National Bank of Bastrop, Mr. Ray Long, who served over 42 years on the bank’s Board of Directors. Ray Long is a native of Bastrop, Texas, but spent some of his early childhood years on his grandparent’s farm in Paige, TX. In 1950, his parents bought the !GA grocery store in Bastrop, where Ray learned the value of a good day’s work at an early age. Long attended The University of Texas as part of the Navy ROTC program and graduated with a degree in Theoretical Mathematics. After graduation, Ray served in the Navy for 4 years and the Navy Reserve for an additional 32 years. In 1964, he married his high school sweetheart and together they had 3 children. 4 grandchildren and is expecting his first great grandchild later this year. As a child, Ray remembers going on what they called “Long Bunch Gatherings”, family vacations down to Port O’Conner or to the Highland Lakes with his extended family. After active duty in the Navy, Ray went into business with his parents at the supermarket. It was First National Bank of Bastrop that helped Ray and his family purchase and grow the businesses. Ray’s business ventures expanded as he and his wife built and operated Long’s Star Mart, a convenience grocery store and the Sears Catalog Store. Later he built 2 washaterias with his brother and then in 1984 they built and operated Bastrop’s Chrysler- Plymouth-Dodge-Jeep dealership for the next 20 years. At that point, Ray sold his interest in the grocery store and started a ranching operation.
Ray’s earliest interaction with First National began when he worked at his parent’s first store, before he was 10 years old, when he set up his first bank account and deposited his weekly earnings. He established at an early age a great level of financial responsibility. “As I got older, my father always said ‘If you get an opportunity to purchase bank stock, do it’”. Ray began buying stock in whatever amount he was able to. “It was a good investment, plus First National was always there in the community. I knew I was investing in a company that invested in our community” Long states.
“It was First National’s constant support of local organizations that really drew me to serving” Long says. From scout troops, to churches, to food drives, First National was always there. On top of the desire to help the people, as a bank, they were available and would react quickly to a customer’s needs. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a business, large or small, or just an everyday customer, the people at the bank served you, responded to you and cared.” One of Long’s proudest achievements is the K-SOP Employee Retirement Plan that he helped the bank put together. “It’s rewarding to know our people own so much of the bank. They are truly vested in its success and thus the success of our customers and communities.” Ray attributes much of First National Bank of Bastrop’s success to not only caring, but to the “careful and deliberate expansion” of services and locations. First National has 6 branches across Bastrop County. “Oh, the best of our history, the bank’s and our community’s, is still ahead of us” Long summarized. ‘’I’ve just been blessed to play a small role in our bank’s 136 years of service to our communities.”
“In the early 1980’s, I owed the bank so much money they offered me a position on the Board of Directors so they could keep an eye on me at the weekly meetings” Long jokes. “Actually, we had a long-standing relationship with them, our philosophies aligned, and it made great sense for both parties.”
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