WHEELING — Since its founding in 2009, Main Street Bank has seen a growth rate of more than 10 percent each year during the last four years. It has grown to a $408 million bank from a $225 million bank in 2009, said Rich Lucas, president and CEO.

The bank has four locations — on Main Street in Wheeling, Elm Grove in Wheeling, Moundsville and Wellsburg.

“We love lending money to the communities we serve and we pride ourselves on taking care of our deposit customers,” Lucas said.

Lucas said he and a core group of investors started Main Street to fill a need in the community.

“Myself and my group saw the local banking market being acquired and local offerings were shrinking,” Lucas said.

To get the bank off the ground, they had to acquire a charter, insurance and money to start — stock was sold to 400 investors.

Main Street Bank now has 70 employees at its four branches. In addition to Lucas, its leaders include: Bruce Wilson, chairman of the board; Cheri DeBlasis, senior vice president and board member; Becky Randolph, chief operating officer; Robert Furka, chief financial officer; George Kurpica, chief information officer; Patty Dunlap, president of Main Street’s Moundsville branch; and Charles Bell, president of Main Street’s Wellsburg branch.

About Main Street’s leaders:

∫ Lucas, a native of Wellsburg, is a resident of Wheeling and graduated from West Liberty in 1986 with a bachelor of science in accounting. He earned the certified public accounting credential in 1990. He is currently president and chief executive officer of Main Street Bank, positions he has held since 2001. Lucas also is a founding director and officer of Main Street Bank, the first new Bank started in Ohio County since 1964. He has been active in the local community and currently serves as a board member of West Liberty University Board of Governors. Lucas also serves on the boards the Centre Market Commission of the city of Wheeling, president of the Regional Economic Development Partnership board and board member at the Seeing Hand Association. He and his wife Barbara and have a son, Brice, 17, a senior at WPHS.

∫ Furka is a graduate of Steubenville Catholic Central High School and Franciscan University, where he graduated with an accounting degree. Furka brings 40 years of banking experience to the Main Street Bank team, starting his career with Burroughs Corporation (financial line of business), next to SR Snodgrass as a staff accountant, next to Belmont Savings Bank for 18 years as their treasurer, then to Main Street Bank, as their CFO. Furka has held office, or participated in many organizations, some of those being Bellaire Kiwanis, St. Clairsville Recreation department booster club, St. Clairsville Saints Club, Knights of Columbus Council 2262041, S&L Data Advisory Committee, St. Vincent de Paul Lector, Woodsdale Baseball Association and Wheeling Rotary. Furka resides in Wheeling with his wife, Linda, and daughter, Audra, and son, Christopher.

∫ DeBlasis, a resident of Wheeling, is a graduate of the West Virginia School of Banking and attended Wheeling Jesuit College. Since the opening of Main Street Bank, she has served as senior vice president of the bank. Prior to that, she worked in banking for 25-plus years in Wheeling. She serves on the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce Board as treasurer and also the executive committee, is an affiliate member of the Wheeling Board of Realtors, Board of Trustee for Oglebay Institute, and sits on Main Street Bank Board of Directors for Main Street Bank since 2003. In the past, DeBlasis served on the board for Habitat for Humanity and served as secretary of her church council.

∫ Dunlap is a lifelong resident of Marshall County. She is a graduate of Cameron High School and Wheeling Jesuit University where she obtained a bachelor of arts in human resource management. She started her banking experience in April 1977 with Mercantile Banking & Trust Company, One Valley Bank and then onto BB&T in Moundsville, through various banking mergers. She retired in May 2012 as a vice president of BB&T in retail lending. Dunlap started working with Main Street Bank in June 2012 as the president of the Moundsville office. They currently have a total of nine on staff in the Moundsville office. Her outside affiliations include: on the Board of Directors of Reynolds Memorial Hospital/WVU Medicine, being the secretary of the board and on the Finance Committee, Executive Committee, and chairwoman of the Quality and Patient Safety Committee.

∫ Bell, a resident of Wellsburg, is a graduate of Marietta College, Marietta. He started his banking career in 1975 with Wellsburg National Bank. He began working at Main Street Bank in 2005. He and his wife Barb have been married since 1973.

∫ Randolph is a lifetime resident of Wheeling. She attended West Liberty State College. She began her banking career as a teller/bookkeeper/customer service representative at Sunshine Bank of Wheeling in 1984, and later was platform manager at One Valley Bank and BB&T. She has been employed at Main Street Bank since 2001 as COO.

Locations:

Main Street’s locations include the Main Street Bank Building, 2001 Main St., Wheeling; 1010 Commerce St. in Wellsburg; the Elm Grove location can be found at 2088 National Road, Wheeling; and the Marshall County branch is at 112 N. Lafayette Ave., Moundsville.

Vision Statement

Main Street Bank is a locally owned community bank. Its goal is to be the most customer friendly, most reliable provider of financial products and services. The banks aims to provide in a timely, pro-active manner excellent, relationship-oriented financial services to the business community, professionals and those individuals who wish to develop a personal banking relationship.

Mission Statement

Main Street Bank is dedicated to quality, value, integrity and excellence in providing relationship-oriented financial services. They are committed to building a successful future for its clients, employees, shareholders and the communities they serve.