Several employees of First Citizens Community Bank recently received promotions in recognition of their contributions to the ongoing success of the organization.

Zerick Cook was promoted to Executive Vice President, Chief Credit Officer. Cook joined FCCB in 2019 and is responsible for the credit quality of the bank’s portfolio of business loans. He was an integral part of the FCCB team that recently coordinated and processed over 600 SBA PPP loans for the bank’s business customers. The bank provides business and agricultural loans, including equipment loans.

Cook, who has over 23 years of experience in banking, is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and received his MBA from Penn State University.

Sean McKinney is now the Senior Vice President, South Central Region Senior Lender. In his new role, McKinney will lead the Business and Agricultural lending teams in that region. He joined the FCCB team in 2017 when the bank entered Lancaster County, PA. His experience as a lender, and the relationships he has built with businesses and farmers in the south-central market will go a long way in supporting the Bank’s growth throughout the region. He brings 35 years of Agricultural Banking experience to the team, and is a graduate of the Cornell University Northeast School of Agricultural Lending.

Melissa Cowles was promoted to Vice President, Credit Administration Manager. Cowles started working at FCCB part-time during her sophomore year at Penn State University. In 2002, Cowles graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and the following year became the Assistant Office Manager in the Bank’s Mansfield Office. In 2007, she was promoted to Commercial Deposits Business Development Officer, earned the title of AVP in 2009, and was promoted again in 2011 to her current position of Credit Administration Manager.

In addition, three employees were promoted to the title of Assistant Vice President. Jamie Lutz, Cash Management Sales Associate, joined FCCB in 2018 and brought nearly 20 years of   experience in staff advancement to the Fivepointville Branch. Today, she focuses on supporting local businesses through cash management services. Zachary Smith, Contact Center Sales Manager, started managing the Contact Center in 2018, and was formerly the Bank’s Employee Training Assistant. He has a Master’s Degree in Strategic Leadership from St. Bonaventure University. Alex Meyers, Business Development Officer, joined the Bank earlier this year to support its focus on small business growth throughout Lebanon County. He earned his BA in Business Administration from Albright College.

“I’ve consistently said our employees are the reason for our success,” commented Randall E. Black, CEO and President. “Recognizing their efforts affirms their hard work, their accomplishments, and contributions. It gives us a few more good reasons to celebrate.”

First Citizens Community Bank is headquartered in Mansfield, PA. It operates 30 offices throughout Tioga, Bradford, Potter, Clinton, Centre, Union, Lebanon, Lancaster, Schuylkill and Berks counties in Pennsylvania; Allegany County in New York; and New Castle and Kent counties in Delaware.