Lindsay Craven | The Yadkin Ripple

Tommy Jester

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Some people might think Tommy Jester has a clone of himself walking around, but really he’s a twin.

The Boonville resident said that his life stays pretty interesting living life with a twin brother who works in the same profession and in the same community.

“It’s pretty interesting really, especially when you’re in the same profession,” Jester said. “Sometimes we’ve had to attend the same meeting and we wouldn’t have spoken to each other that morning, but we’d show up wearing almost the same suit or something very similar.”

Jester and his twin brother Ron were born in Yadkin County and attended Forbush High School. Jester said that he and his brother have always been very close and participated in all of the same activities in high school.

The duo even went on to Wingate Junior College together after high school, but they opted to spend their freshman year rooming with someone else because they had already spent so much time together.

“Our freshman year of college we decided we would room separately because we had always spent all our time together,” Jester said. “It really wasn’t the best situation with our respective roommates. so after that we chose to room together.”

After graduating with a degree in business with a focus on marketing, Jester went to work in banking. He took a job with Commercial and Savings Bank in 1975 before it merged with First Citizens six years later.

“I have worked in the same office my entire career,” Jester said.

While he may have set in the same desk for the past 38 years, he hasn’t been doing the same job. He started his time there as a teller. A short time later he moved into retail lending.

In 1988 the manager of the bank retired, and Jester stepped up to the role.

“In the 1990s we opened the store branch in Lowe’s Foods in Yadkinville, and it was one of the first times we had gone into supermarket banking. I supervised that office along with this one for a few years,” Jester said.

In 2007 he assumed the role of marketing executive, where he supervises branches in two counties calling on clients and generating loan activity.

“I will have been at First Citizens Bank 38 years in October,” Jester said. “There have been a lot of changes, but you learn to deal with it and you work with a lot of good people and a lot of good customers. It’s fun because you’re doing something different every day.”

When Jester isn’t minding the financial matters of Boonville, he dedicates his time to his family.

“I have two sons that live in Charlotte and Huntersville and when we are able to get together we usually end up playing golf or having some family activity,” Jester said.

Jester is married to Dana, his wife of 34 years. Their oldest son Nathan is engaged and works in Charlotte and their youngest son Drew is married and works in Concord.

Jester also keeps himself busy with non-profit work throughout the county. He helped found the Yadkin County Community Foundation in 1998 and has served as president every year since then.

He served on the Yadkin County United Fund board for 25 years and was a charter member of the Yadkinville Rotary Club.

“There are a lot of things that you wind up being involved in after hours that kind of consumes a lot of your time,” Jester said. “It’s all been enjoyable.”

These days Jester focuses much of his energy in his roles with the Greater Boonville Business Association and Boonville’s STEP program.

He’s also very active with his church, Richmond Hill Baptist. He has served on the deacon board and acts as the finance chairman and Sunday school director.

Jester said that unlike many Yadkin County residents who were raised here he never declared that he wouldn’t return. Although times were hard and jobs were scarce when he graduated college he’s glad he returned to the place where he spent his childhood.

“I’m glad I came back to Yadkin County because it’s a good place to live and a good place to bring up a family,” Jester said. “I think there’s a lot to be said about living in a small, rural area. You give up a lot of things but you gain a lot too.”

Reach Lindsay Craven at 679-2341 or at lcraven@civitasmedia.com.