John W. Allen built on his relationships in the St. George community to realize his dream of opening a community bank.

But those same relationships — and Allen's approach to nurturing new ones in a true community bank fashion — have also helped Allen's business, SunFirst Bank, grow into a respected four-branch facility that is the fastest-growing start-up bank in Utah's history.

Allen, an Ogden native raised in Tropic, Garfield County, dreamed of running a real community bank in this age of mergers, acquisitions and mega-banks. In 2001, SunFirst opened a temporary facility, but it was from the start a full-service bank driven, in part, by Allen's solid reputation among St. George's business community.

Today, SunFirst is housed in a three-story building on an historic corner of St. George Boulevard and has three branches in other communities, with plans for growth as it is warranted by customer demand.

That customer focus goes beyond everyday transactions. The bank's board room, with views overlooking the city, is available to community groups for meetings. And at the drive-through window, customers receive soda, ice water, cookies or fruit.

In addition to customer loyalty, Allen wanted to build a company culture in which each employee felt valued. Allen organized the bank by hiring a higher-than-normal number of seasoned managers, and he has continually rewarded employees for demonstrated customer service.