By Henry Dubroff Monday, March 10th, 2025

If you wanted to meet the elder stateman of banking in North Santa Barbara County, you might find him serving up tri-tip at a charity barbecue. Or taking the microphone as the volunteer auctioneer at a nonprofit fundraiser.

Jim Glines was a force to be reckoned with, rising from a college graduate and management trainee at Wells Fargo to co-found and helm one of the last independent banks on the Central Coast. 

When he died in mid-February at age 82, he was still working every day and was reluctant to turn down a chance to serve food, shake a few hands and maybe connect with a new customer.

With partner Bill Hares and current bank President Janet Silveria, he had built Community Bank of Santa Maria into an institution with $400 million in assets, two branches and a dedicated workforce. 

His death was unexpected; after being hospitalized in recent months he seemed to be on the road to recovery.

“His reach was so vast. If a cause touched his heart, he was in it,” said Silveria in a phone interview on March 4. 

“Kids. 4H. Future Farmers of America. Anybody with a disability or challenge in life. The elderly.”

It may have been prescient or just a stroke of luck, but the Business Times learned of Glines’ passion for small business when we presented him with our Small Business Advocate award last year at our Spirit of Small Business luncheon. 

He talked about the need to know your customer, the value of a bank rooted on Main Street and the role of independent business on the Central Coast. 

“He had a head for business, and he was a superior banker. But he always led with his heart,” said Silveria. 

“If Jim had his way, he would still be doing business on a handshake.” 

Decades in banking had taught Glines that business on the Central Coast is about personal connection, character andunderstanding the connection between generating a profit and building a better community. 

He saw Santa Maria emerge as a more diversified economy, with a large agribusiness community, but also a growing housing base and successful companies in aerospace, health care and food processing. 

Years ago, Santa Maria surpassed Santa Barbara to become the largest city in the county and those charity events the bank hosted helped build the philanthropic capacity of the region.

After decades as a successful banker at area banks, he formed Community Bank in 2000 with Hares, who passed away in 2021.  

Operations began in 2001, which puts the bank at the quarter-century mark next year.

Silveria was a protégé of both men and a pioneering woman in the c-suite when she became president a number of years ago. 

After working with Glines since she was 21, the board didn’t hesitate to add chair and CEO to her president’s title.

She’ll hold all three jobs at least for the foreseeable future.

“It’s weird to have the two biggest influences in your profession gone; they will always be the voice in my head,” she said. 

With the bank on solid footing, she said she’ll emphasize keeping the culture she and Glines built over more than two decades. 

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” she quipped.

Glines is survived by his two sons and his wife Kathy. 

One of his sons and a granddaughter have followed his footsteps into charity auctioneering, which means the charity commitments he made will be kept.

Glines’ greatest gift to his community might be the lessons he taught about the role of community banking in the collaborative business culture that makes the Central Coast a unique place for entrepreneurship and innovation. 

“The important thing now is continuity,” Silveria said. 

“We’ll get over our grief and move forward.”

Henry Dubroff is the founder, owner and editor of the Pacific Coast Business Times. He can be reached at [email protected].