Some family traditions include visiting the same restaurant for every reunion, renting a cabin on the lake every summer, or wearing matching pajamas on Christmas. For the Perkins family, a tradition of banking among generations was formed. James I. Perkins is the third president of Citizens 1st Bank. His uncle, B.B. Perkins, was the bank’s first president.
Perkins begins, “My family, we’re lawyers and bankers for the most part. My mother and father were lawyers and bankers, our children are lawyers and bankers.” He gleefully continues, “We’ve been doing that for quite a while in East Texas.”
Like a true native Texan, the Perkins family’s roots run deep in East Texas, with generations of family members growing up in the region. Perkins himself was born in Houston but his family quickly moved back to their home in Rusk, where the bank’s original office is located. The bank has other branches in Tyler, Nacogdoches and Jacksonville.
Following family footsteps
Since 1971, Perkins has served as the bank’s president, with his banking leadership reigning over the economically diverse East Texas region. After graduating law school from the University of Texas at Austin, he practiced law for a bit before becoming a director at the bank. At the time, the second president of the bank was ready to retire, so Perkins jumped at the opportunity to run the bank.
“I thought I could run the bank and still have some legal opportunities as they might come up, so that’s how it happened.”
When stepping into the role as president, following his uncle’s footsteps, Perkins said he looked at it like how they do in East Texas: “We don’t have time to cogitate over things.” He said there was plenty to do and he just needed to step into the role to do it.
Continuing to provide stability and leadership at the bank, he used his team as sources for success by paying attention to their ideas and what they had to say. “My job really is to get their participation and get their ideas about different things. That’s what I’ve done these past 52 years as president.”
Building a team
One thing Perkins is particularly proud of is the women he works with. The bank has seen several different women in key banking positions, with more than 20 women having worked in director or officer positions. “When you do the math it’s not too many, but when you compare it to other banks that are dominated by men, it’s a lot.”
He emphasizes the importance of personnel, as well as the importance of knowing the people in your community. “One of the great things about community banking is that you know the people in your communities and you work with them. Together, we can improve the communities, locate their needs, have a great sense of pride and build strong relationships with the people in the community and bank customers. It’s been terrific for us — we’ve done it for over 100 years.”
Community involvement
Supporters of education and East Texas communities, Perkins and his wife, Margaret, were recently recognized with the 2023 Texas Higher Education Distinguished Service Award. The Perkins’ were nominated for the award by East Texas schools: Tyler Junior College and Stephen F. Austin State University.
Their recognition comes from the establishment of their foundation, the James I. Perkins Family Foundation. The foundation was created to support students, higher education and East Texas communities. The Perkins family has kindly supported the Tyler Junior College Foundation, SFA’s College of Education, The University of Texas at Tyler, UT Austin’s Law School as well as East Texas Baptist University.
The Perkins family is involved in various other East Texas community programs: Nacogdoches Opportunity for Better Learning Experience (NOBLE) program; the Rogers Palmer Performing Arts Center for East Texas; the Literacy Council of Tyer; East Texas Communities Foundation; Northeast Texas Health Center; East Texas Black Nurses Association; and more.
Under Perkins leadership, the bank has been named one of the highest rated banks in the nation.