Extracted from The Caldwell Watchman (Columbia, LA)
Wednesday, January 16, 1991

Lee to retire from Caldwell Bank

By Tommie McCarty

“When I began at Caldwell Bank we did everything on an adding machine,” Caldwell Bank and Trust President and CEO Robert J. Lee commented about the changes in banking has seen in 39 years in an interview with the Watchman.

Mr. Lee will hand the reins of leadership over to Caldwell Bank's Vice-President Monty Adams on January 31, though he will remain as Senior Consultant and on the Board of Directors in the bank in which he has become much loved and revered by patrons, fellow workers and employees.

Mr. Lee said banking has been in a state of continual change since he began on January 14, 1952.

“When we started, we were in the same location as we are now, but in a 30 by 50 foot, two-story building. Three dentists worked on the second floor. There were six of us working at the bank then, three men and three women, with bank assets of $1.5 million. We've gone from $1.5 million back then to $41 million now,” Mr. Lee said.

The advent of computers has revolutionized banking as it has many businesses, but the type of customer served by the bank is much the same.

“We have always seen ourselves as a community bank. The success of the bank depends on the local economy, an economy based mostly on agriculture and timber,” he said.

“We have not yet reached a 'checkless' society, and I don't foresee that in the immediate future, but there will probably be a lot of innovations in banking in the coming years,” he added.

Though he will miss his “banking family”, he will enjoy having more time to devote to his knife and coin collections. “I've been here awhile, and I'm ready to do something else,” he said.

Mr. Lee was married to the former Janice Nichols on November 25, 1953. Their daughter, Pam, is a registered nurse at Panama City, Florida.

Mr. Lee will be honored with a reception at the bank on January 20, 1991 from 2-4 in the afternoon.

Mr. Bridger Eglin, recently appointed Louisiana Banking Commissioner, will be the honored guest and speaker for the occasion. Everyone is invited to attend.