Back in November, Morris Bank announced that its parent company — Morris State Bancshares — agreed to a merger with Pinnacle Financial Corporation, which owns Pinnacle Bank.

The combined company will include Morris' nine branches in Bulloch County, Dublin, Gray, Macon and Houston County and the 26 branches of Pinnacle, including locations in Elberton, Gainesville, Athens and Augusta.

And John Roach, who has been the market president for Morris Bank in Statesboro since 2021, wants to assure all his current and prospective customers that the bank they have come to trust and rely is only going to get stronger. 

“For our community, you're still going to see the same people in here every day, providing the same customer service you expect while enhancing our products and offerings to you,” Roach said. “We're still going to be focused on small businesses and helping those businesses grow and watching our community flourish.”

Roach said that community banking has been evolving in Georgia for decades, especially since the banking crisis in 2008.

“Back in the 1940s, there were 400 state-chartered community banks in the state of Georgia, and as of today we are down to about 132,” he said. “Community banking is changing with other banks merging together. For us, we share the same core values with Pinnacle. It made sense to bring that focus on the community together and bring that same service and focus of community banking together.

“Our banks are aligned in that our number one goal is taking care of our customers and our community – taking care of their banking needs, providing the best customer service and offering the products that our customers need and the community needs. And being truly invested in our communities.”

The Bulloch County and southeast Georgia areas in particular have seen tremendous growth with the opening of the Hyundai plant in Bryan County and the continuing expansion of the Port of Savannah as two primary catalysts. 

Roach believes the merger of Morris and Pinnacle, which gives, as of Sept. 30, 2025, the combined banks approximately $3.8 billion in assets, $3.3 billion in deposits and loans of $2.8 billion, positions the new bank to be an even stronger advocate in all its communities.

“We want to support members of our community and their businesses as they grow,” Roach said. “We expect that the growth will generate spinoffs of other small businesses. And small business, the farmers, the local contractors, those are the ones we want to continue to support – good strategic growth and ensuring it benefits everybody in the community.” 

The new Georgia bank will have its home office in Elberton, with staff from both companies continuing to operate from their current offices. A new name for the bank will be announced prior to the closing, according to a release on the merger.

“This is a merger of equals, so the decision was made not to take one or the other name, but to come up with a whole new bank name,” Roach said. 

He expects the bank’s name to be announced sometime in the next two to three months.

Morris, Pinnacle history

Dublin-based Morris came into the Statesboro/Bulloch market in June 2019 when it merged with Farmers & Merchants Bank.

"Our leadership teams have weathered all types of economic cycles, including the Great Financial Crisis in 2008, often conferring and collaborating along the way, which has strengthened both of our organizations," said Spence Mullis, president and CEO of Morris Bank in a statement announcing the merger. "I am truly excited to now bring our two teams together under one new name and brand solidifying our shared values and long-standing relationship. Together, we'll be a leading Georgia community bank the entire state can be proud to call its own." 

Pinnacle chairman and CEO Jackson McConnell said: "As we unite our two institutions, we strengthen our ability to serve people and businesses in communities across the state of Georgia. After years of knowing one another and working together on industry issues, we are thrilled to bring our teams together."

The new company will be based in Elberton, which is about 50 miles east of Athens. 

McConnell will chair the new company's governing board, while Pinnacle president David Voyles will be the new CEO. 

Morris' Mullis will serve as president and Morris' Leonard Blount will be the lead independent director, according to the release.