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For Lewis Long III, banking with Surety Bank is a relationship that has lasted more than five decades.
As one of Surety Bank's longest-standing customers, Lewis has watched the bank grow alongside the community since his connection to Surety began more than 50 years ago. He originally opened a savings account after hearing from neighbors that the bank consistently offered strong value and genuinely cared about its customers.
Over the years, Lewis has seen a lot of change. He remembers making deposits with a passbook while employees manually updated balances using a hand-cranked adding machine. What hasn't changed, however, is the way Surety Bank treats the people who walk through its doors.
For Lewis, that commitment extends beyond his own banking experience. When his sons were born, he opened accounts for each of them at Surety Bank, continuing a family tradition that has now spanned generations. One of his sons even participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony when Surety Bank dedicated its current building in the early 1990s.
Throughout his life of military service, public service, and community involvement, Lewis has always returned to the same bank.
What has kept him loyal all these years?
The answer is simple: people.
"You couldn't ask for better service or better people," Lewis says. "I don't know how they remember everybody's name that walks in the door, but they do. They're just super folks. The people have always been a gift to us and to the community."
Lewis believes that the values Surety Bank was founded on continue to define the bank today. One story from the bank's early history has always stayed with him. During the Great Depression, he recalls hearing that Surety worked with customers rather than rushing to foreclose on them because they cared more about helping people than taking their property. That philosophy, he says, is still reflected in the way the bank serves its customers today.
It's one of the reasons Lewis has become an advocate for the bank wherever he goes.
Whether he's encouraging friends to open a money market account, sharing the bank's history, or even suggesting a new Surety branch for his hometown of Lake Helen, Lewis proudly recommends the bank he's trusted for more than half a century.
"I wouldn't champion the bank if I didn't believe in these folks and believe in this bank," he says. "Everybody is important. They see past whatever's bothering someone that day and still treat people with kindness and respect."
As Surety Bank celebrates 100 years of serving Central Florida, customers like Lewis remind us that while banking has evolved, some things should never change. Genuine relationships, exceptional service, and a commitment to the community remain at the heart of everything we do.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
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