Good morning,
Our video today is part of a three-part series from my visit to Troy, Alabama.
Troy Bank & Trust was founded in 1906 by a group of Troy businessmen. Among them was a man named Charles Henderson, a scion of Alabama history and reputed at one point to be the state’s richest man.
Henderson recapitalized Troy Bank in the Great Depression in exchange for a controlling interest — 51.12% of its stock, to be precise. Upon his death in 1937, that interest was placed into perpetual trust under the terms of Henderson’s will, which also prohibited it from ever being sold or, according to subsequent court interpretation, even diluted.
Henderson’s will also dictated how the money from the trust would be spent. It accumulated for the first twenty years to care for Henderson’s widow. It then accumulated for a second twenty years to build schools throughout Pike County. Finally, after accumulating for twenty more years, it would be spent to eradicate polio. Because polio had already been eradicated by the time that clause ripened, the money was used instead to build a childhood healthcare clinic that today offers services, irrespective of ability to pay, to children across Pike and eight neighboring counties.
The name of the trust is: Trust Number 3 Under Will Charles Henderson. If you look on the FDIC’s BankFind Suite, you’ll see it’s the ninth-largest bank holding company headquartered in Alabama, with $1.5 billion in assets. Today, the income from the trust (i.e., bank) subsidizes the Charles Henderson Child Health Center and could some day, folks believe, finance the construction of a hospital.
The net result is that Troy Bank & Trust is one of the most unusual stories in banking. A bank that can’t be sold. A bank whose purpose is to subsidize the provision of healthcare to thousands of children across nine Alabama counties.
Today’s piece, created in collaboration with Troy Bank & Trust, delves into three of the extraordinary stories I came across in my visit to their city.
The first is the story of Mayor Jason Reeves and the City of Troy. Mayor Reeves will soon become the longest-serving public official in the City of Troy at the age of only 53 — he was elected to city council the year after graduating from Troy University. You will find Mayor Reeves to be an elegant spokesman on issues germane to his city as well as on deeper issues, like those of race.
The second is the story of Jeff Kervin, the CEO of Troy Bank & Trust. Jeff takes us through the unusual history of Troy Bank, as well as that of Charles Henderson, whom we’ll expand on in a subsequent video.
Finally, the third is Dr. Jack Hawkins, Chancellor of Troy University. What Dr. Hawkins has built at Troy University can only be believed and appreciated in person. He is a testament to how much a person with purpose can accomplish in one life.
Next week’s video will be the second in the Troy Trilogy: James T. Ramage and The First National Bank of Brundidge.
See you then, friends.
John
