Bank of the Sierra Announces Retirement of John Thomas; Roy Salazar named new Tulare Market President
March 28, 2019
PORTERVILLE, CA – Bank of the Sierra announced today that John Thomas will retire from his position as Tulare Market President. Roy Salazar, previously a Vice President and Senior Commercial Loan Officer with the Bank’s Fresno branch on Palm Avenue, will become Tulare’s new Market President on April 1.
Thomas has been with Bank of the Sierra for the last 22 years, and has lived in Tulare since 1987. He started with the Bank as a Vice President and Commercial Loan Officer, and then became an Area Manager before being named Tulare Market President. Prior to joining Bank of the Sierra, Thomas was a Vice President at both American National Bank and Visalia Community Bank. Thomas and his wife have been married for 40 years. He is currently President of both the Tulare Local Development Company and the Tulare Library Foundation, Director of the Tulare Industrial Site Development Foundation, and a Sequoia Symphony Orchestra board member. Thomas plans to remain active in community organizations during his retirement.
“I have enjoyed serving Tulare as a community banker and value the friendship of the many people that I have had the opportunity to know and work with,” Thomas said. “I will miss them all.”
Salazar was born and raised in the Central Valley. He has been in the banking industry for the last 13 years, and has also worked for Chase and Wells Fargo. Salazar and his wife have been married for the last 18 years, and the couple has a 7-year-old son.
“I will strive to provide our customers in the Tulare community with quality service and professional integrity,” stated Roy Salazar. “I look to serve the community through involvement and by acquiring new personal and business relationships.”
Both Thomas and Salazar graduated from Fresno State with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
“We’re incredibly thankful for John Thomas’ time as Market President of our Tulare branches,” said Kevin McPhaill, the Bank’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We know Roy is an excellent choice to fill John’s shoes.”
About Bank of the Sierra
Bank of the Sierra is in its 42nd year of operations and is the largest independent bank headquartered in the South San Joaquin Valley. Bank of the Sierra is a community-centric regional bank, which offers a full range of retail and commercial banking services with full-service branches located within the counties of Tulare, Kern, Kings, Fresno, Los Angeles, Ventura, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. The bank also maintains an online branch, and provides specialized lending services through an agricultural credit center and an SBA center. In 2018, Bank of the Sierra was recognized as one of the strongest and top-performing community banks in the country, with a 5-star rating from Bauer Financial and a Sm-All Star award from Sandler O’Neill.
