United Bank & Trust Tackles Franklin Field Project
Posted
on Saturday, September 15, 2018
in
News and Announcements
United Bank & Trust has been a partner with Franklin Elementary School for the past decade on various projects and events. While most of the damage from the July 19th tornado was contained to the roof of the school, the press box at historic Franklin Field was in shambles in the wake of the storm. United Bank volunteered to clear the debris and asked MHS wrestling coach Mike Mann if his squad would like to team up in the project. It was estimated the pile could be cleared in a day, but personnel from UBT, their affiliates, and the MHS wrestlers had the project knocked out within a couple hours. Curt Hoff, President of United Bank was quick to give kudos to building and grounds director Chuck Springer for a truck to haul the debris and the use of two of his staff to help break up the material. Among the volunteers were Ryan Carroll, the spouse of a bank employee, who is set to begin teaching with the “Leading the Way” program at MHS and thought this would be a great way to begin to get re-immersed in the community after his student teaching stint at MHS. Another bank volunteer had previously been a neighbor to Superintendent of Schools Theron Schutte in Boone and was anxious to get reacquainted. Dr. Schutte stopped by to inspect the work, visit with the crew and reminisce about football at Franklin Field. Schutte was part of the last Bobcat team to play on the field in the early 1980s.
Hoff said that tornado damages to its branch located across from the courthouse were largely cosmetic and they were back in business the following Monday. “We dodged a bullet and have been looking for ways to help others recover and rebuild,” said Hoff. He said one of his employees commented on the Franklin rubble and suggested that it was natural to be advocates and helpers. “We truly are a community bank and community is one of our core values,” says Hoff. “I’m fond of saying that ‘community’ is the sum of its parts ¬– and that Marshalltown has some pretty good parts.” This was certainly demonstrated in a few short hours at Franklin Field.