From the Desk of Gareth W. Hardin   October 6, 2008 I know many of you have concerns and questions regarding the financial problems now facing our nation.  How will this affect me and my family?  How will the situation affect my bank, my community?  These are important questions.  Although we don’t know all the answers, I would like to address some of your concerns. As one of the oldest businesses in the community, Farmers Bank and Trust Company of Marion and Salem, Kentucky is working and managing your money with safe and sound practices that will allow us to continue to be a strong and reliable institution.  This is a tradition that we have retained since before the Great Depression.  In fact in the height of the Depression, between October 11, 1930 and June 30, 1933, Farmers Bank and Trust Company merged with Marion Bank and purchased the assets of Citizens Bank of Carrsville without any depositor of those institutions losing a single penny.  It is that determination and resistance to financial trials that makes Farmers Bank and Trust Company the bank of choice during these times.  An excerpt from our 50th anniversary advertisement in The Crittenden Press in 1949 is as true today as it was almost 60 years ago…

"None of us, of course, know what the future holds.  We do know something about banks and banking, but we are not crystal gazers, neither are we prophets and we make no claims toward being able to discern what the future may hold.  We do know this:  We face the future unafraid and with the steadfast determination to be of better service to our friends and customers in the years ahead than we have in the days that are gone…”

This is our objective; to be better tomorrow than we are today.  We will strive to serve your financial needs, manage a secure financial institution, and continue to make you, the customer, aware and confident of our position.  We are stronger now than we have ever been and we will weather this storm with a solid foundation, a sound reputation, and an anticipation of a bright future.   We encourage you stop by our Main Office at 201 South Main Street in Marion and set down with any of our Management Team Members to discuss any concerns or questions you may have regarding your business with us.  Our doors are always open.  We look forward to many more years of solid and prosperous business at Farmers Bank and Trust Company. Sincerely, Gareth W. Hardin President/CEO and Chairman of the Board