News From You Community Bank of Raymore Delivers Holiday Cheer to Deployed Service Members Community Bank of Raymore, including branches in Peculiar and Harrisonville, and its sister bank, Community Bank of Pleasant Hill, recently concluded their 7th annual Operation: Gratitude initiative. The program aims to strengthen community bonds by expressing gratitude, sharing holiday cheer and providing active-duty service members with the comforts of home as they spend the holidays away from their families. Initiatives like these are rarely possible without the support of the community. Community Bank is immensely grateful to every school group, organization, business, customer and friend who wrote thank-you notes, helped with shipping costs or donated personal hygiene products, snacks and holiday fun! This year, the bank once again had the pleasure of partnering with Mrs. Huff’s class from Ray-Pec High School to transform plain shipping boxes into festively decorated holiday packages. Local schools and youth groups contributed by providing handwritten letters and ornaments to send to the troops. Thanks to the combined efforts of local daycares, schools and the community, over 1,200 notes of appreciation and 300 ornaments were included in the finished packages. Fundraising partnerships with local restaurants helped cover the considerable shipping costs, including events at Culver’s in Harrisonville, HTeaO, Johnny’s Tavern, Texas Roadhouse, Pleasant Hill Nutrition, Mojito’s and Sonic locations in Raymore, Harrisonville, Pleasant Hill and Peculiar. Bank employees helped assemble the packages, adding special touches like handmade keepsake boxes, personalized ornaments, and other tokens from home. They also hosted a bake sale that raised over $1,000 in a single day! Customers also pitched in — one bank customer generously donated 200 hand-sewn stockings filled with goodies. In the end, the Operation: Gratitude team assembled 316 festive packages full of beef jerky, macaroni and cheese, snack bars, coffee, hydration drink packets, Christmas trinkets, and messages of gratitude and appreciation. Those packages were packed into 47 large boxes and shipped to members of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and National Guard stationed in Abu Dhabi, Germany, Korea, Iraq, Rota and Spain. “We started this program to honor and show appreciation for the people who choose to defend our nation, no matter the sacrifice. We understand that they’re away from home and we want to send a piece of that to them,” said Tina Graef, Community Bank vice president and co-chair of the Operation: Gratitude committee. “This is my fifth year participating in this event, and every year, community involvement has increased. This year, we collected more than 1,200 letters and cards from local schools, churches, and even our Community Bank of Raymore clients. It’s the most we’ve collected in the five years I’ve served on the committee, and it brings me so much joy,” said Darcie Gray, operations associate and Operation: Gratitude committee member. Collections for the next Operation: Gratitude initiative will take place from Nov. 1-15, 2026. To partner with Community Bank or learn how you can get involved with Operation: Gratitude, contact Shauna Stephenson or Tina Graef at (816) 322-2100. 22 | The Show-Me Banker Magazine
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