High Plains Bank was founded in Flagler, CO in 1908. Ten years ago, it opened a branch in Longmont in the garage of its CEO John Creighton.
Creighton is a member of the family that has been part of the bank since 1919. He moved to Longmont in 2001 with his wife and later raised their children here.
In 2013, Creighton accepted the task of opening a branch of High Plains Bank in Longmont.
“We wanted to bring our family business to the place we call home,” he said via email.
He immediately turned to the Longmont community to find qualified people who would be able to build the bank into a community-oriented business.
Creighton soon found Chris McVay, chief development officer, Rose Hopman, community support services and Michelle Hovdesven, communications and customer experience. This small band of people set up shop in Creighton’s garage and began putting the pieces together to form the bank.
For each of these people, the venture was an opportunity to believe in something and to build a truly authentic community bank.
Over the years, the bank has supported several local businesses as they got started. This list includes — but is not limited to — Rosalee’s, 300 Suns, Abbott & Wallace, St. Vrain Cidery, Brewhop Trolley and Longmont Small Animal Hospital.
“Many of the businesses that we’ve worked with would have not been able to get financing elsewhere through our creativity and support of our board and ownership. We’ve been able to bring craft banking to Longmont instead of saying no, we say maybe,” McVay said.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a defining moment for High Plains Bank. During this time, payment relief funds were the only way some businesses survived but not all banks offered the funds. High Plains stepped in to help customers by offering the paycheck protection program.
“Small businesses are part of the heart and soul of our community. It was a privilege to play a role in helping through such a challenging time,” Creighton said.
“... I’m proud to say that we didn’t have a single customer that had to close their doors, involuntarily as a result of the pandemic,” McVay added.
In addition to helping local businesses grow, the bank has also committed its efforts to helping others in the community through Longmont’s many nonprofits.
“We always say, ‘We are a bank, but we are really a hub for the community,” Hovdesven said, adding, “That’s what we aspire to.”
Each of the employees is given time to volunteer in the community or serve on local boards. This commitment means more to the bank than simply being involved. Employees of the bank see it as an investment in their community as the bank also hires locally.
“We can’t just hire someone from Arkansas to come in and run this bank. It has to be someone who is engaged and is embedded in the community,” Hovdesven said.
In 2021, High Plains Bank opened a temporary location in northwest Longmont in anticipation of building a new office in the same area. Construction costs made the build prohibitive and the bank sought another property to accommodate its growing workforce.
In February, the bank announced that the temporary location was expected to close in April because it had acquired a larger space located at 385 Main St.
The new location will house the bank’s Loan department and Trust, Estate and Investment Services team, while the 600 Kimbark St. location remains open to daily interactions.
As High Plain Bank looks to its future, it remains committed to the Longmont community. According to Creighton, it will build a bilingual leadership team that will work with Latino-owned businesses.
“I look forward to helping support High Plains Bank's outreach to our Latino Community. We are finally in a position where we can be more intentional about reaching that goal,” Hopman said.
High Plains Bank will celebrate its tenth anniversary on March 9 at its Kimbark location. Customers and community members have been invited to share in the celebration.
