Dolores State Bank marks 60 years of operation this year, and will be celebrating the anniversary all year long.
Founded in 1959, DSB is the largest independent bank in Montezuma County and has offices in Dolores, Cortez and Mancos. The first celebration of the year happened on Jan. 25 and was heralded by branch celebrations and drawings for a total $250 in prize money, as the business will do every month of the year.
“We’ve had a lot of success these past 60 years, but we’re also looking towards the future,” said Shawna Valdez, vice president of the bank.
The bank’s first 40 years of existence was centered in Dolores, as the name might suggest. After the town lost its one bank in mid-1958, four local businessmen – Dr. E.G. Merritt, Bill Nielson, Merton Taylor and Jack Kinkade – sought to fill the void it left behind.
DSB opened for business on Jan. 5, 1959. Four decades later, the bank expanded to Cortez, filling a spot in the county’s commercial center. It currently has two locations in Cortez: one on Main Street and one east on U.S. Highway 160 across from Cliffrose Garden Center.
And in 2015, the bank purchased the Mancos Valley Bank, securing its reach in Montezuma County. They now have just over 10,000 customers, Valdez said.
DSB will host “Festive Friday” celebrations at all locations on the last Friday of every month in 2019, as part of its “Sixty for 60” program, in which they will draw names in order to hand out 60 cash prizes throughout the year.
