Syd Loomis: The Banker of Oz

By STU CLAMPITT
news@readthereporter.com

Syd Loomis, whom you might call The Banker of Oz if you’ve ever seen his office, is not only Assistant Vice President and a branch manager for The Farmers Bank, he’s also an actor with community theater experience dating back to 1999.

“I’m getting ready to retire in September and my office at the bank is not your typical banker’s office. It’s so funny because people remember me because of the memorabilia that’s in my office,” Loomis said. “My first big role back in 1999 was the Tin Man. I had these pictures from The Wizard of Oz hanging in my office and customers over the years have given me so much Wizard of Oz stuff it’s just everywhere in my office, and that’s how people remember me.”

For one more weekend, you can see Loomis on stage at Basile Westfield Playhouse, 220 N. Union St., playing the role of Sir Rowland Delahaye in the Agatha Christie play Spider’s Web, directed by Jan Jamison. (You will, however, have to plan ahead because of construction projects on State Road 32 both east and west of Union Street. See a map at the end of this story.)

Loomis told The Reporter he credits Jamison with most of his acting career.

“This is my 26^th year on stage,” Loomis said. “I typically do about one show a year now, or sometimes two. I don’t know how many shows I’ve been in but the majority of them Jan has directed. She’s an excellent director and has an eye for detail like nobody else.”

Loomis said he saw Spider’s Web the last time Jamison directed it, in Lebanon, and he always enjoys a good Agatha Christie story, so it was not a hard choice to audition for this show. He did, however, have to learn a British accent for his role.

“We’re all doing British accents,” Loomis said. “I was already able to do more of a Cockney accent. Sally Carter is our dialect coach, and she really fine-tuned everybody’s accents. I have to give her all the credit because now it sounds very British. Very formal. But the little gal that’s playing Clarissa – Phoebe Aldridge is her name – she’s just outstanding with her accent. I mean, it sounds like she just hopped off the boat from England and came right over.”

In addition to his stage career and being what this newspaper will always call “The Banker of Oz,” Loomis is a man who has seen numerous banks being bought out by larger ones, and he has always had a preference for the smaller community banks.

“The first bank I worked for was American National Bank, which then got bought by Ameritrust, which got bought by Society which became Key,” Loomis said. “I left Key and went to Metro Bank. I was there for 10 years and it got bought by First Indiana. Then I left First Indiana and went to First National Bank and Trust, which was headquartered out of Kokomo. Three years later, it got bought by Harris Bank which is now BMO. I left Harris in 2010 and came to Farmers. I’ve been there what will be 15 years exactly on the day I retire. I just love the smaller banks. You get stuff done when you don’t have layers to go through. If I want to call the president of the bank, I just pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey Chris, how you doing?’”

Community banks and community theater both have marked Loomis’s life in Hamilton County. Clearly, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

You can see Loomis on stage through April 13 at Basile Westfield Playhouse, 220 N. Union St. Get tickets at BasileWestfieldPlayers.org or call (317) 402-3341, and don’t forget to plan ahead for road construction woes!

Graphic provided by Indiana Department of Transportation