09/24/2026
The Story of the "Big" CBK Apple
A Vision. A Tradition. A Piece of Citizens Bank of Kentucky History.
The story of the "Big" CBK Apple actually began long before the Big Apple itself was created.
Citizens Bank of Kentucky has a special connection to the Kentucky Apple Festival that dates back more than 75 years. In 1950, the bank - then Second National Bank - displayed polished apples in its lobby along with the names of the local farmers who grew them. Judges from the University of Kentucky awarded prizes for the best apples, and customers began traveling to area farms to purchase their favorites.
As interest grew, the City of Paintsville began closing Court Street on the first Saturday of October so the community could view and purchase the prized local apples. Those early Farmers' Apple Markets became so successful that, in 1962, a group of community leaders organized what would become the Kentucky Apple Festival.
Among those instrumental in its beginning was Elmon Davis, a loan officer at the bank, which was then Citizens National Bank. Elmon was named the Apple Festival's first chairman and served in that role for 19 years, earning the beloved nickname "Mr. Apple."
That history is also reflected in the apple incorporated into the Citizens Bank of Kentucky logo - a symbol that represented our deep roots in the community and our longstanding connection to the Kentucky Apple Festival.
A Vision Comes to Life
In 2022, that history helped inspire a new vision: What if we could bring the CBK apple to life?
What began as a vision became an idea, and that idea became a reality.
For approximately three months, members of our amazing Citizens Bank of Kentucky team worked together, combining creativity, talent, planning and a lot of hard work to create something truly special - the "Big" CBK Apple.
In October 2022, the Big Apple made its debut in the Kentucky Apple Festival Apple Day Parade. It was a rainy Apple Day, and our newly created apple made its first trip down the parade route on a small trailer. The rain certainly did not dampen our excitement or our pride in seeing something that had existed only as an idea just a few months earlier finally come to life.
After the parade, the Big CBK Apple came home to Citizens Bank of Kentucky, where it was proudly displayed in the lobby of our Main Office. It became a familiar part of the bank and a daily reminder of our Apple Festival heritage, our community roots and the teamwork that made it possible.
There was something especially fitting about having the Big Apple there. In 1950, polished apples from local farmers had been displayed in the bank lobby. More than 70 years later, a much bigger apple once again held a place of honor there.
An Apple Day We Will Always Remember
Then came October 2024.
Citizens Bank of Kentucky received the tremendous honor of being named Grand Marshal of the Apple Day Parade, and we wanted to celebrate that honor in a way that represented who we were as a bank and as a team.
The Big CBK Apple returned to the parade, but this time on a much larger trailer decorated with crates of apples and bales of hay, with members of our CBK team riding alongside it. Even getting the float down the parade route was a team effort - one of our own team members used his Tesla truck to pull the trailer carrying the Big Apple and our staff.
And unlike our rainy debut in 2022, we were blessed with a beautiful Apple Day.
Approximately 60 members of the Citizens Bank of Kentucky team participated in the parade. Many walked behind the float, handing out Red Delicious apples and candy to the crowds lining the parade route.
It was truly an amazing sight - our Big Apple leading the way and a flood of CBK team members following behind, celebrating together with the community we had been so proud to serve.
That already-special day became even more memorable when our float received the First-Place Golden Delicious Award.
From its rainy debut on a small trailer in 2022 to leading our Grand Marshal celebration on a much bigger stage in 2024, the Big CBK Apple had become much more than a parade decoration. It had become a symbol of teamwork, community and CBK pride.
115 Years of Serving Our Communities
In 2025, Citizens Bank of Kentucky proudly celebrated its 115th anniversary - a milestone representing more than a century of serving our customers and communities.
Throughout those 115 years, community was never simply where we did business. Community was part of who we were.
The Big CBK Apple may have been created for Apple Day, but what it represented went much deeper. It represented employees working together to turn a vision into reality. It represented our connection to generations of local families and businesses. And it represented a relationship between Citizens Bank of Kentucky and the Kentucky Apple Festival whose roots reach back decades.
One Final Gift to Our Community
As Citizens Bank of Kentucky now approaches its closing following its pending purchase by Peoples Bank, we are honored to donate our beloved "Big" CBK Apple to the Kentucky Apple Festival Board.
We can think of no more fitting home for it.
Our hope is that the Big Apple will continue to make appearances, bring smiles and be part of Apple Day celebrations for many years to come. While the Citizens Bank of Kentucky name will no longer be part of our community in the same way, the Big Apple can remain as a small piece of the history we were privileged to share with Paintsville, Johnson County and the Kentucky Apple Festival.
For those of us who were fortunate enough to be part of its creation and its journey, it will always represent some very special memories - and the people who worked together to make them.
It began with an apple.
It grew through community.
And now, the "Big" CBK Apple comes home to the Kentucky Apple Festival.
