Banks Spend Holiday Repairing Flood-Damaged Homes as Mayor Praises San Angelo’s Recovery Efforts

SAN ANGELO, TX — On Columbus Day, while most banks across Texas were closed, four San Angelo banks spent their day off rebuilding flood-damaged homes as part of the 10th annual “Day of Service.”

Before volunteers dispersed to their worksites Monday morning, Mayor Tom Thompson addressed about 100 bank employees gathered at the San Angelo Fairgrounds, where breakfast was served before the crews headed to their assigned homes.

“It’s special for me to come and do this, because we’re here to kind of do the tail end of the flood,” Thompson said. “Because of people in San Angelo, because of people like you, we are in a phase of recovery that other cities won’t be into for months.”

The mayor commended the city’s financial institutions for their collaboration in helping the community recover from the July 4 flood that damaged hundreds of homes, calling the banks “colleagues, not competitors.”

“The financial institutions in San Angelo were driving people to where they needed to go to get help,” Thompson said. “Your actions are speaking more than words. You’re giving a tithe of your time, if not more, to help others.”

The coordinated effort included First Financial Bank, Texas State Bank, The Bank and Trust, and Lone Oak Bank, which partnered with Galilee Community Development Corporation and United Way of the Concho Valley to complete home repairs and organize flood relief supplies.

At one home off West 17th Street, volunteers were sweeping up debris and preparing the interior for new sheetrock. The homeowner, who said he was originally from the Texas coast and accustomed to flooding, expressed gratitude for the work being done to restore his home.

First Financial Bank’s Chris Evatt said the project was part of the bank’s broader statewide initiative that began in San Angelo a decade ago and was expanded this year through the Texas Bankers Association.

“We’ve asked our employees to come and give community hours to help nonprofits,” Evatt said. “The neat thing about this year is that the Texas Bankers Association picked up the idea and rolled it out to all Texas community banks.”

Local volunteers spent the day working on roughly 10 flood-damaged homes, installing insulation and drywall to help make them livable before winter. Others worked at the United Way warehouse, organizing donations and assembling supplies for families still recovering from the disaster.

Thompson said the volunteers’ willingness to help others reflects what makes San Angelo a special community.

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