Stockman Bank celebrates opening Whitefish branch with nonprofit donations

Sporting a beautiful new red-brick building with numerous windows inviting in the natural light, the new Stockman Bank Whitefish branch just opened its doors.

The bank has a similar look to many of its other branches across the state. Inside is a customer service area, offices and the teller line. Upstairs features a large board room and outdoor patio along with additional office space and the basement has a training room and storage.

The branch is a full-service bank including loan services and a full teller line and convenient drive-up service, plus there is a representative from both Stockman Wealth Management and Stockman Insurance.

“We try to be one-stop shopping for a bunch of different needs,” said Whitefish branch manager Phil Nelson.

A little over a year ago, in April 2022, Stockman Bank broke ground on the new branch — Stockman’s 37th brick-and-mortar location to open in its over 70 years of doing business as a family-owned, privately-held banking organization. Stockman is only located in Montana and is committed to keeping it that way.

Construction commenced this spring and last week the bank held a Grand Opening that invited the community into the bank to celebrate. The celebration was a success with over 200 people in attendance.

“It took a lot of work to get there from a lot of different people,” Nelson said. “We weren’t quite sure what to expect with the turnout but I think it even surpassed what we were thinking and hoping for. It was great, just all the support from the community.”

At the Grand Opening, Stockman donated $50,000 to local Whitefish nonprofits. That donation included $15,000 to DREAM Adaptive Recreation, $10,000 to North Valley Music School, $10,000 to Housing Whitefish, $5,000 to Nate Chute Foundation, $5,000 to North Valley Food Bank and $5,000 to Project Whitefish Kids.

Nelson says that Stockman is a company that wants to be involved in the community and help make a difference in supporting nonprofit work. He said they tried to look at different nonprofit areas and disperse the donations between them, such as education, arts and culture, food insecurity and housing.

“Being a Montana bank, a family-owned community bank, obviously the communities we’re in are very important to us…” Nelson said. “That’s a big part of what we do is giving back to our communities, and volunteering and supporting those nonprofits that are doing that crucial work.”

Stockman says the bank plans to stay involved in the Whitefish community going forward.

“Investing in our community is important to Stockman Bank and our employees,” Joe Kola, Market President of Stockman Bank, explained in a release. “We felt what better way to introduce Stockman Bank to Whitefish than to support the work nonprofits do in the area.”

Stockman is headquartered in Miles City but has been slowly moving west in recent years. The Kalispell location opened a few years ago and opening a branch in Whitefish made sense to continue to expand their footprint in the Flathead Valley.

“(Stockman has) been doing business up here for a while but just didn’t have any brick-and-mortar locations,” Nelson said. “Started with the Kalispell spot and then had an opportunity with a great location in Whitefish.”

Nelson also jumped at the opportunity to move to Whitefish and become the new branch manager. He grew up in Billings and had worked at a Stockman location in Billings previously. He has 22 years of banking experience, everything from teller line to consumer and commercial loans to management. Although the move is an adjustment for his family, they are settling into the town nicely.

Nelson says that since the bank opened, it has been received well by the community. He says it is neat to hear from people who are excited about Stockman finally opening its doors in Whitefish.

The new branch is located at 6588 Highway 93 South. Lobby hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The drive-up hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Stockman Bank is Montana’s largest, privately held, family-owned, community bank, established in 1953 by Miles City rancher and businessman, Wm. Nefsy. Stockman is uniquely focused on Montana, with comprehensive banking products and services, state-of-the-art online and mobile banking, wealth management and insurance services. To learn more visit www.stockmanbank.com.