New bank founded on family values

Gary Tice COURTESY PHOTO CEO Gary Tice asks that his partners and employees at his new bank, First National Bank of the Gulf Coast, practice the same hometown ethics he grew up with. His mother and father operated a coin laundry and cleaners during the 1950s and ’60s near his childhood stomping grounds, Sharpsville, Pa., a small town near the Ohio border. Even if clichéd ideas like being true to your word and The Golden Rule seem “ironic” to some worldly teenager or irredeemable cynic, his parents based their livelihoods on them. Mr. Tice learned these deceptively simple lessons and never stopped practicing them, even as his ambitions skyrocketed beyond his humble beginnings.

He moved to Naples in 1977 and took a leadership position at Citizens National Bank of Naples, later reopening a bank of his own by the same name. In 1989, he opened another new bank, First National Bank of Naples, with his now long-time friend and business partner, local state Sen. Garrett S. Richter. Over 16 years, they grew it to 77 locations and $5.4 billion in assets. Then they agreed in 2004 to sell those assets for $1.5 billion to Fifth Third Bank, one of the highest-paid transactions in the state.

“They made us an offer we couldn’t refuse,” Mr. Tice said.

Just last month, Mr. Tice, Mr. Richter and their partners opened First National Bank of the Gulf Coast, with two locations in Naples and one in Lehigh Acres. The poor economy added a challenge. Federal regulators, skeptical after a glut of bank closings, initially told Mr. Tice to raise more start-up capital than $32 million. Mr. Tice’s agreement to merge with a small Lehigh bank provided the needed capital. With that and his established record of success, the FDIC gave him the go ahead.

Like his last project, this one will thrive, Mr. Tice said, on the philosophy of service first and profit second. Almost all of his current partners and employees also held positions at his old bank.

“We thrive on customer service, not customer transactions,” he said. “Because without the customer we don’t have a bank. But it really starts at the top. If you don’t treat your people properly, if you don’t treat them with respect, they will not emulate that to the customer. You can’t dictate that. You have to express it, be part of it. You have to live your life that way.”

In other ways, Mr. Tice’s life is a far cry from that of his parents. They didn’t graduate high school and raised Mr. Tice and his sister in the Shenango Valley metropolitan area around Sharpsville. But the values by which both the son and his parents went about their respective lives have far more in common than mere dollar figures and diplomas indicate.

“Everything I did was really related to my father and mother and the background they gave me,” Mr. Tice said, “My dad, whenever he stuck out his hand, he lived by his word, by his bond. My mother was one of the most caring people you could find and treated people the way they wanted to be treated.”

Mr. Tice’s duty at the family laundry was to help wash loads of greasy or dirty rags they collected from local businesses, such as the ones left by auto-repair shops at the end of the day. That was back when he hadn’t yet decided to be a banker.

“In my early days, I thought I was going to be a disc jockey,” he said. “I loved music. In high school, I was a master of ceremonies, and did all of the record hops.”

From 1965 until 1972, he worked full time, took college courses and was in the Army Reserve on the weekends. He graduated from Youngstown State University with a major in industrial management, and minors in economics, speech and mathematics.

“I started working when I was really young,” he said. “So I worked full time and went to college and I was in the Army Reserves. Basically it was a work-ethic community that I lived in and that’s how I was brought up.”

While attending night classes, he worked days for General American Transportation Corp., keeping track of computer maintenance records. After college, a fellow Army Reservist and high school alum suggested Mr. Tice take a job in the computer department at a bank he worked at. Mr. Tice was quickly promoted to supervisor and stayed there about five years. He learned how to work every position at the bank. But he was already feeling the irresistible tug of the subtropics.

“The one thing I wanted to do is live in warm weather,” Mr. Tice said.

He had also married his wife, now of 39 years, Joyce. And soon they had two children, a son and a daughter. They moved to Naples in 1977 and Mr. Tice started out with a leadership position at a small bank.

He and his wife now have three grandsons who are part of the family bond that made his career possible.

“The real reasons I’m able to do everything I can do is because of the family support that I have,” he said. “My family supports me in everything I do. And that goes from my grandkids to my wife. I believe if you have family support you can do anything you want to do. They will always be able to encourage you to succeed.”

Mr. Tice may eventually grow the new bank beyond its three current locations.

“To be continued,” he said. 