A
s chairman of the board for City Bank, Curtis
Griffith (B.S. in agricultural economics, ’73; J.D., ‘77)
offices in a modern, glass building in west Lubbock.
G o o d s t e w ar d
of
Family Traditions
W r i t t e n b y: L au ra Gu ts chke photos by: a r tie l im m e r
[
2 ] Landmarks 2008
But, his heart is in the farm fields outside the city.
On his day off during last summer’s Fourth of
July holiday, he drove a 140-mile
loop of country roads to check crops.
“I don’t have hobbies – I have jobs I enjoy,”
said Griffith.
Those jobs include overseeing a $1.4 billion financial institution, owning and managing a large
cotton ginning operation and serving as chairman of a cotton module truck company. Until
recently, he farmed on family land near Morton,
which is now leased to several other farmers.
From his father Griffith learned the farming, ginning and banking businesses and has taken them
to new levels. But, he carries on his father’s tradition of good service and products. In 2007, the
Texas Cotton Ginners Association named Griffith
Cotton Ginner of the Year.
He shares his passion for hard work and good
service with his civic and philanthropic interests: the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance, Texas Tech University Foundation (which
he served as chair), Texas Tech Cotton Economics Advisory Committee and Lubbock Symphony
Orchestra.
Griffith has high praise for the faculty and
staff at the College of Agricultural Sciences and
Natural Resources because of their commitment
to students. That is why Griffith and his wife,
Cynthia Ann, better known as Sue, (B.S. in clothing, textiles and merchandising, ‘75) donated in
2003 a 45-acre, $3.2 million equestrian center to
the college.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up on a farm near Morton, an only
child. I was a late-in-life child too - my parents, J.
K. (Karl) and Erma Griffith, were 42 when I was
born. Mom was a school teacher, but quit teaching to become a wife and business partner when
they married.
I was the youngest of several cousins, and at
age 5 I wanted to go to school like them. I was too
young to start in Texas, so I attended school in
Causey, New Mexico, until fifth grade. I then transferred to Morton and finished high school there.
Texas Tech wasn’t your first choice.
I’m not an incredibly intelligent guy, but I was
good at filling in ovals on tests. And, I was a science geek. I was admitted to MIT, so my dad and
I toured Boston in June of 1969. We spent four
days there, and that was a culture shock for a kid
from Morton. I told my dad that I didn’t think
Boston was the place for me. That was the most
relieved man you ever saw.
I came back from Boston and attended Lubbock Christian College for one year. While there
I joined the debate team, which was helpful with
my public speaking through the years. I then
transferred to Texas Tech.
Who were some influential people at the CASNR?
There were a lot of good people at the college.
Dr. Jim Graves was my advisor. I still see him today at events in Lubbock. Dr. Hong Lee taught my
first statistics class. Dr. Sujit Roy was my econometrics teacher. Dr. Rex Kennedy taught ag appraisal. I learned the process for evaluating farm
and ranch land from him. He was a super teacher.
Did you work while in school?
I worked on the farm with my dad in the summers.
Why did you go to law school?
I went because dad told me to. He only had an
eighth grade education, but he was very good at
seeing prudent business moves. Gene Benham,
who was dad’s banking partner, said dad could
see the future better than anyone else he knew.
don’t
“Ihave
hobbies
– I have jobs
I enjoy,
”
Dad said I needed it (a law degree) – even if
I never practiced law, which I haven’t. He was
right. It was a great experience and has been
very valuable in my business career.
Sounds like your dad was a major influence in
your life.
In so many ways, I grew up not only as a son
but also as a junior business partner to both of
my parents. They included me in their work and
decision-making.
Dad was a successful farmer. He got into the
cotton gin business when he bought the gin
owned by Billy Dykes, Spike Dykes’ dad, in 1945.
Mom worked as the bookkeeper.
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3]
Griffith received
the 2007 Horace
Hayden National
Cotton Ginner
of the Year Award
on February 9,
2008 in Memphis,
TN – the award is
given annually
to an outstanding
cotton ginner by
the National
Cotton Ginners
Association.
[
4 ] Landmarks 2008
After they bought the gin, they waited two years
to gin their first bale. The 1945-46 drought took a
toll on dry-land farming. 1947 to ’49 were pretty
good years, but then the drought returned in the
1950s. The use of irrigation gradually made cotton
production and ginning more stable. Eventually,
we owned all or part of four cotton gins.
Dad got involved in the First State Bank of
Morton in 1962. In the late 1950s and ‘60s, dad
banked in Brownfield where he grew up. The
Morton bank was family run, but it didn’t have a
lot of products and services for the community.
D.E. “Gene” Benham, who had worked for the
Farmers Home Administration and was a farmer
too, and dad and some other farmers and businessmen bought the bank. Gene was president
for 22 years.
Their attitude was that the bank was here to
meet the financial needs of the community, and
that thinking has guided us ever since.
Dad was chairman of the board. He kept up
with what was going on at the bank, but he was
not involved hands-on. Dad liked being outdoors. He didn’t like to sit down behind a desk.
But, he did like to plan ahead to next year.
You joined the bank in 1979, becoming chairman
in 1984. How has the bank grown over the years?
When Mr. Benham retired in 1984, the bank
had about $30 million in assets.
Mike Liner became president and CEO in
1990, and we bought South Plains National
Bank in Levelland the next year. We purchased
City Bank in 1993, which doubled our assets to
$150 million.
Today we have $1.4 billion in assets. City
Bank now has locations in 20 Texas cities, from
Silverton to Beaumont and from El Paso to Tyler.
Our company also owns City Bank New Mexico,
with locations in Ruidoso and Carrizozo.
What does a bank chairman do?
If I occasionally add anything, it would be
contacts and bringing in business to the bank. I
may have a good idea once in a while.
What is important is the continuity of senior
management here. Our business is all about people. Mike Liner has been the driving force of our
growth for 17 years. He will be stepping down
soon, but Cory Newsom (B.S. COBA ’89) has already been tapped as the next CEO.
At age 40, Cory has 24 years of experience in
the banking business. He started as a teller at
age 16 at the Levelland bank.
How has the banking business changed over the years?
There have been big changes, in part because
of changes in laws that allow banks to add locations and other businesses, such as insurance.
We now have home mortgage lending offices, in
some cases in towns where we don’t even have a
bank location.
Technology has dramatically changed banking.
In my lifetime, we’ve moved from hand-posted
ledgers and checks without account numbers to
paperless record-keeping and Internet banking.
What has not changed are the personal relationships, particularly with business customers. When they walk into the bank, they want
to know that there is someone here who understands their business.
Our business is about quality service. If you
provide customers with good service, then they
will come back.
Our employees do a great job, and it shows.
This year the Texas Association of Business and
Texas Monthly magazine named us No. 16 on
their list of the top 60 businesses to work for in
the state.
How has the family cotton ginning changed?
In 1992 we consolidated our four gins into
Southwest Gin of Texas, located near Morton.
We’ve moved from being able to gin 12 bales
an hour to ginning 50 an hour. Also, the cotton
module system has shortened the time needed
to harvest but lengthened the ginning season by
allowing the harvested cotton to be stored in the
farmers’ fields.
You are president and general manager of the gin.
How do you divide your time between the gin and bank?
During the ginning period, which is usually
from October to January, I spend about 80 percent of my time at the gin. The rest of the year, I
spend about 80 percent of my time at the bank.
What is the Module Truck Systems business?
The company was a pioneer in developing
the trucking system that moves the compacted
modules of cotton from the field to the gin. Having the cotton delivered to the gin in that form
has allowed the increase in ginning speed I mentioned and allowed fewer, but larger, gins to process the crop. MTS manufactures, sells and services cotton module trucks all across the cotton
growing areas of the U.S.
Why did you and your wife build the equestrian center?
Our daughter, Rebecca (B.A. ’04), has been
riding in hunter-jumper events since she was 8.
We would see wonderful indoor equestrian facilities in other cities, and Lubbock just didn’t have
anything like that.
So, we bought a half section of land west of
Lubbock, and Sue designed the facility based on
the best of what she had seen at other places.
The Caprock Equestrian Center opened in 2000.
Sue ran the place, and our daughter helped
some. Our son, Jesse (B.A. in agricultural communications, ’04), met his wife, Sarah (B.S. in
ag and applied economics, ’01), through our involvement in horse activities.
Sue’s design was not for western events, but
ropers started showing up, and they just loved
the place. Soon she was hosting more roping and
barrel racing than any other activities.
Why did you donate the center to the college?
It was really becoming too much for Sue to
manage. She talked with Chris Guay, the rodeo
coach at Texas Tech, about the university taking over the facility. It was a chance to support
equestrian activities not only in Lubbock but also
the region by having the CASNR run the center.
And, they have done a very good job with it.
Tech is getting national recognition in college
rodeo, ranch horse competition, equine therapy
riding and other equestrian activities. It’s nice to
know that we played a small part in that.
Why are you so committed to Texas Tech and the
CASNR?
business is about quality
“ Our
service. If you provide customers
with good service,
then they
”
will come back.
”
Texas Tech is such an important part of the
economy here, and they have a great association
of former students.
The teachers and staff at the college genuinely
care about the students. They work very hard to
make sure that the students do well not only in
the college, but that they also have a great university experience. They do a great job of preparing
well-rounded, productive students for life.
Griffith family photo taken at the Texas Cotton Ginners Association meeting in Lubbock where Griffith was awarded “Ginner of the
Year”. Pictured above (L to R) son Jesse, his wife Sarah, father-inlaw Johnny Srygley, Griffith, wife Sue, son-in-law Josh White, and
daughter Rebecca. photo by Tommy Horton
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