The man 'in the back of the room' retires

You might not know who Jon Sloan is. And that's the way he likes it.

If you haven't tried to take out a loan from First Texas Bank and "No Loan Sloan"—more on that later—you might not know who Jon Sloan is.

If you haven't been involved in the economic development and growth of Round Rock during the past three-plus decades, you might not know who Jon Sloan is.

And if you've never been involved with an election in Round Rock, you might not know who Jon Sloan is.

But ask any of Round Rock's most influential leaders and longtime residents who he is, and the answer is almost always the same.

"You mean the unofficial mayor of Round Rock?" Round Rock Councilman George White said. "I don't think there's any election of any sort or any major event in the last two decades that he didn't have his hand in."

In fact, about 20 years ago, the Round Rock Leader ranked the top 10 "movers and shakers" in Round Rock, and even then Sloan landed at No. 2 on that list.

"He has been a force in the community. He's always had Round Rock at heart. He has been one of the movers and shakers to get things done that needed to get done," said Joanne Land, a former Round Rock assistant city manager and friend of Sloan's since middle and high school.

It would be easy enough to make the case for Sloan's legacy in Round Rock just by rattling off a list of accomplishments: President of First Texas Bank since 1978, director of the metro board of the Williamson County YMCA, chairman of the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce, 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner from the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce. The list goes on.

But, to many who know him well, Sloan's legacy is much more than just a resume.

"One of the last few community bankers. He was all-in on the community," said Larry Tonn, a board member of First Texas Bank and a former mayor of Round Rock. "Your classic community banker."

And "No Loan Sloan," as he came to be called, was adept at running a community bank. His nickname came in part due to his conservative approach to loan lending, an approach that helped the bank survive the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when bank failures skyrocketed.

Yet despite his prominent place within the community and his success as a banker, Sloan said running for an elected leadership position just wasn't him.

"I think my role is to stand in the back of the room," Sloan said. "And trying to enlist, recruit, whatever, business leaders and political leaders to step forward and become a part of the solution instead of the problem."

White had another theory.

"[It would] probably be a step down," he said of Sloan running for mayor or City Council.

"There's a handful of folks, in my opinion that make Round Rock great and Jon is in that group," White said.

Effective June 8, after 37 years as a community banker, Sloan is retiring from his post with First Texas Bank. And though "No Loan Sloan" may have given out his last loan, he says he plans to stay active in Round Rock, possibly opening up an office of his own to keep a presence in the city he has helped shape for so long.

"I'm retiring from the bank, but not from the community," Sloan said.