Photo by Al Blanton

JASPER, Ala. – Ed Davidson, Senior Vice President of Lending at Pinnacle Bank, has announced his plans to retire effective December 31, 2020. 

Originally from Jasper, Ed was first hired by Pinnacle Bank in 1976. “Even though I had a degree in finance, I didn’t have a clue what a bank was or what a bank did,” Davidson jokes.

At the time of his hiring, Pinnacle was called First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Jasper. “When I was hired, Bert Simmons served as the president, Vernon Shaw was vice-president of the loan department, and Al Simmons was Executive Vice-President,” Davidson says. “Al hired me, and I’m grateful for that.”

First Federal changed its name to Pinnacle Bank in 1996 and now operates as a business and consumer lender with additional offices in Sumiton, Haleyville, Vestavia Hills, Trussville, and Gardendale.

Ed has held various positions at the bank throughout the years, and in addition to serving as Senior Lender, he is Chairman of the Loan Committee. He says though he has seen the bank undergo many changes, most of them have been positive.

In a statement, Pinnacle Bank President and CEO Bob Nolen said Davidson is a “great friend and colleague to employees, customers, Board Members, and to me personally” and praised his contributions to the bank over the last five decades.

An integral part of community and civic organizations throughout his career, Davidson once served as past president of the Jasper Rotary Club and participated in Leadership Walker County. He faithfully attends Northside Baptist Church in Jasper, where he serves as a deacon. 

When discussing his time at the bank, Davidson praised Nolen’s ability to assemble a great team, and says the thing he will miss the most is the camaraderie with his fellow employees. “We go to lunch pretty much every day with one another. We share our personal concerns and accomplishments with one another, and I’m going to miss that,” he says.  

“Ed has been a valued member of our team and we are all the better for knowing him,” Nolen added. “He will be greatly missed.”

Now with considerably more time on his hands, Ed says he looks forward to hiking, playing golf, and traveling to see his children with his wife, Anne. He also hopes that he can come back to visit the lunch bunch from time to time.

“I will definitely come visit them on occasion,” Davidson says. “You build a lot of strong relationships over 44 years.”