SYCAMORE–Banking has been in Jerry Weininger’s blood for nearly 50 years.
Weininger, who grew up two blocks away from the First National Bank of Sycamore, is now President and CEO of the financial institution—capping off a career that began in 1974. Continuing a legacy that began with his grandfather.
“In 1974 I went to work at the bank, and I’ve been here ever since,” said Weininger. “I started as a teller just like a lot of people did back in the 70’s. I don’t know that I could do anything else. It’s the only thing I’ve ever done.”
Weininger, 68, took over as First National’s president on December 1, 2022, becoming only the seventh President/CEO in the bank’s 104-year history. He succeeded longtime friend and associate Dean Keller, who retired after a 36-year tenure.
But Weininger never “banked” on banking.
After graduating in 1973 from Mohawk High School, he attended the University of Toledo, where he studied business and mathematics. “I tell the story that I went to college for a year and ran out of money.”
Needing a full-time job, the 19-year-old didn’t look far. He applied at the same hometown bank where his grandfather, Paul Konkle, worked and was president from 1958 to 1970. But instead of the main office, he started at First National’s Tiffin location.
Weininger was promoted to loan teller and then was responsible for creating the bank’s credit card department.
He moved to Commercial National Bank in 1978 as a consumer and mortgage lender but also worked in office administration and as a branch manager.
In 1988, he assumed the position of Senior Vice President at Old Fort Bank, responsible for lending operations, branch operations, marketing, and human resources. During his 22 years, the bank grew from $28 million to $400 million in assets.
Weininger retired from Old Fort Bank in 2011 and a year later became President and CEO of Erie Community Federal Credit Union in Sandusky. There, he oversaw the construction of a new home office and successfully made the credit union profitable.
In 2018, Weininger returned to his roots – and to the First National Bank of Sycamore as Vice President of Business Development. He assisted Keller in growing the bank’s balance sheet, cultivating new customers, and participating in the strategic planning of the financial institution. Since then, he said, the bank’s net income has nearly doubled per share.
“A new office building was built in 2016, and then we kind of grew,” Weininger recalled. “I came back to help him with the growth, and my second job was to help him find a successor, and I guess I didn’t do a very good job.
But we have a succession plan in place now.”
Weininger said the banking world has changed considerably over the decades, from the early days when he wrote tickets by hand to the advent of computers, the internet, and the increase in online banking, mobile deposits, and cyber security threats.
His free time is spent on the golf course and at tracks around the state racing his Standardbred horses.
He and his wife, Lorraine, have two daughters and a grandson. Nicole is a mortgage loan underwriter in Clyde, Ohio, while Kelli is a teacher in Ashland.
“It’s gone by pretty fast, but I just love coming to work every day,” Weininger said. “The secret here is just having a wonderful management team to work with. A lot of people ask me when I’m going to retire. I don’t really have any timeline at this point.”