On a blustery Wednesday afternoon Affton Chamber of Commerce members, local leaders and bank employees gathered to celebrate a ribbon cutting at the new Great Southern Bank branch on Rock Hill Road, a location that is already gaining new—and old—fans.

"This is my neighborhood," branch manager Carrie Carrigan said. "It's come full circle."

Carrigan is a long time veteran of the Affton banking scene, beginning her career in 1982 at Grasso Plaza and even opened the original tenants of the bank building at 6800 Rock Hill Rd.

Since the location reopened as Great Southern in December, Carrigan said she has met a lot of customers that she remembers from her days at those previous locations.

"There are customers here that knew me before I was married, before I had kids," Carrigan told Patch Wednesday, posing with her family.

Great Southern is also planning a neighborhood cookout this Saturday and is collecting canned goods to donate to the Affton Christian Food Pantry.

"We are tickled to death to be a part of this community," Kris Conley, a Great Southern representative told the crowd before the ribbon cutting.