Anthony R. Contrucci leads the family office for the Schrage family, owners of First Bancshares, Inc. and Centier Bank headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana. Contrucci is a married-in member of the fifth generation, which has published a family history book. He describes how a family book can help preserve the family’s legacy:
“Our kids know their grandfather, the fourth generation of our family to steward our business and enterprise. He wasn’t the founder, but they know how hard he has worked for over half a century, and they are intimately aware of his trials and tribulations — of the fact that he almost lost the bank, of his struggles. But a generation or two from now, they won’t have known him, unfortunately.
“I have tried, with the support of this amazing family, to codify this history in a family book — a narrative of the family’s journey over approximately 180 years. By design, it intentionally incorporates our failures along with our successes. We fervently felt that focusing on our successes would do a disservice to the legacy and future generations — that the true legacy that you leave to the next generation is a knowledge of their history, and the countless stories of grit and determination in the face of failure and adversity that humanize them and drive both emotional cohesion and gratitude. This is the greatest gift we can leave for the next generation. I want my kids and nieces and nephews to know how hard we worked to steward and preserve this legacy — that this did not come easily and there have been countless sacrifices and failures along the way; that they are stewards of this legacy and of whatever family wealth we have built, not merely consumers of it.
“Our family has been ‘all in’ for five generations, regardless of the trials and tribulations, and that’s one of the significant themes that I hope came across in the book: that we are committed to honoring our goal of staying ‘Not for Sale’ in perpetuity, regardless of the challenges that we know lie ahead. I truly believe that one of the only ways you can accomplish this is to connect people emotionally to this legacy. Because if it’s just a financial decision, there will always be a time to monetize.
“I use the broad term ‘people’ because it truly takes a village. Our book is, of course, for the current and future members of the Schrage family. However, of equal importance is the fact that we created it for our associates and for the countless clients and communities that we have the honor and privilege to serve.
“2024 marked Centier Bank’s 129th anniversary. In fact, we published our book several years ago to commemorate the bank’s 125th anniversary. At the time, I don’t think anyone recognized the impact this project would ultimately have. Although I could share countless stories of the book’s impact, one thing I thought I would focus on is the impact it has had on our family and corporate heritage overall. From one isolated project of publishing a book, we have since hired a full-time family and corporate historian, opened a family and corporate museum and produced a documentary.
“I am very proud of the work our family has done on the preservation of our history. I truly believe that our history is a foundational element in the work that we have done and will continue to do in order to drive emotional cohesion in current and future generations, honor our legacy, and remain ‘Not for Sale’ for generations to come.”
