First Community Bank and Trust has announced a scholarship competition that enables Illinois high-school seniors to enter a statewide essay-writing contest. It is all part of a program sponsored by Illinois community banks and the CBAI Foundation for Community Banking to increase public awareness of locally owned banks and their contributions to the community.

First Community Bank and Trust is a member of the Community Bankers Association of Illinois (CBAI) which formed the Foundation in 1996. A monetary award in the amount of $1,000 a year for up to four years of higher education will be awarded to the author of the best entry submitted to the CBAI Foundation by a participating Illinois high school senior. Up to 11 additional first-place $1,000 awards and 12 second place $500 awards are available in each of the regions of the state. An additional $500 will be awarded to the high school of the overall winner.

The bank is working with Beecher High School and Peotone High School to invite seniors to write one-paragraph on each of the three topics.

• The impact/importance of community banking to me or someone I know
• The impact/importance of community banking to a business or agricultural concern in my area
•  The impact/importance of community banking to my community in general

Length of the entry must be one-paragraph on each of the three topics, (not to exceed two pages in length and no more than three paragraphs); double-spaced, using Times New Roman font, and 10-12-point size.

Information on the contest is available at the bank and the school; entries must be submitted to the bank by Friday, February 28^th. The bank will then submit selected entries to the CBAI Foundation to be eligible for the statewide competition.

About First Community Bank and Trust

First Community Bank and Trust is a privately-owned bank. Established in 1916 First Community Bank and Trust has been serving Beecher, IL, Peotone, IL and the surrounding communities for over 100 years. Our commitment to providing the best banking products and services is matched only by our outstanding customer service. We offer traditional community banking services, including mortgage, consumer, and commercial lending, as well as state of the art electronic banking services.