First National Bank & Trust will soon be moving through a transition with the announcement that bank president Shep Marsh will step down and he and his wife, Jan, will move back to their home state.

The Marsh’s hail from Macon, Ga. and have been in Atmore for close to nine years with Marsh being the leader of FNB&T.

The decision to move back east comes with family ties, Shep Marsh said.

“We are from Georgia,” he said. “Most of our lives are wrapped up in a 90-mile stretch of I-75 between Macon and Atlanta. Jan and I both grew up in Macon and her mother is in Macon. Our son Rob is in Atlanta and while he doesn’t have children, we hope he will. I turned 65 in November and something about these milestone birthdays gets you thinking.”

Even with making Atmore their home for the past eight and a half years, the Marshes had plans to eventually settle back where they first started.

With Marsh wanting to continue his professional career, making the move now made sense, he said.

“We knew that it is where we wanted to end up,” Marsh said. “I want to work a lot longer. I don’t have any hobbies that I really do, but I enjoy working and it keeps you younger, longer. I feel like I have a lot to offer someone right now, but that will decline as I get older, so I think this is the time to make that move.”

What direction the bank goes in now is something Marsh cannot answer.

The decision of the bank’s future lies with its board and newly appointed chairman, Marsh said.

“There will be a transition,” he said. “I’m not the person to answer that question. I’m very lucky that I can sit down and speak with new chairman Rob (Faircloth) about what I want, so we can make the transition for us and the bank. I don’t have another job at this time, but I will look for something to do in Georgia.”

When the move happens and the transition begins, one thing that is known is how much Marsh and his wife will miss the city of Atmore, he said.

“It’s tough,” he said. “Atmore is no better or worse than the people, and the people are great. This is the fourth town that we have lived in, and Jan has cried when we left them all. She will cry when we leave Atmore. We both take our relationships seriously and we both have deep roots here.”