SANDUSKY, Ohio — Civista Bancshares has added the leader of the region’s largest health system to its boardroom, appointing Firelands Health president and chief executive Jeremy Normington-Slay to the boards of directors of both Civista Bancshares and Civista Bank, effective Oct. 21, the Sandusky-based company announced in a release distributed by PR Newswire.
The appointment brings a healthcare executive’s perspective into the governance of a $4.3 billion financial holding company whose bank has served Ohio communities since 1884. It also links two of the Sandusky area’s anchor institutions — its community bank and its regional hospital system — at the board level, at a time when both industries are being reshaped by consolidation, technology spending and workforce pressure.
Normington-Slay leads Firelands Health, the Sandusky-headquartered system that includes Firelands Regional Medical Center in Sandusky, The Bellevue Hospital in Bellevue and Firelands Physician Group, according to Civista’s release. The system employs approximately 2,500 people and has more than 300 medical staff members serving communities throughout the region — a scale that makes Firelands one of the largest employers on Ohio’s north coast.
“Jeremy brings significant executive leadership experience, a strong understanding of the communities we serve and a valuable perspective from one of the region’s largest industries,” Dennis G. Shaffer, chairman of the board of Civista Bancshares, said in the company’s PR Newswire release. “His experience leading complex organizations, coupled with his commitment to community service, will complement the experience and capabilities of our Board. We are pleased to welcome him to Civista.”
Before coming to Firelands Health, Normington-Slay served with Ascension Healthcare in Wisconsin, including as regional president overseeing hospitals in that organization’s North Central Region, and earlier in his career he held executive leadership positions with several independent hospitals, according to the release. He earned his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Concordia University Wisconsin and his Master of Business Administration from Plymouth State University, and he is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
“I am honored to join Civista’s Board of Directors and contribute to an organization with such a strong history of serving its customers and communities,” Normington-Slay said in the company’s release. “Civista and Firelands Health share deep roots in this region, and I look forward to bringing my perspective and experience to the Board as Civista continues to grow and create value for its shareholders, customers and communities.”
The release also noted Normington-Slay’s community work beyond the hospital: he has served on boards supporting arts, economic development and community service organizations, and volunteers with programs that assist individuals and families in need.
Civista Bank, the company’s primary subsidiary, was founded in 1884 and today operates 44 locations across Ohio, southeastern Indiana and northern Kentucky, offering full-service banking, commercial lending, mortgage and wealth management services, according to the release. Through its Civista Leasing and Finance Division, the bank also provides commercial equipment leasing services to businesses nationwide. Civista Bancshares trades on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol CIVB.
The appointment lands in a busy season for Sandusky’s business community. NewsForce247 has reported that Sandusky-area businesses can seek JobsOhio grants of up to $50,000 for expansions, with local recipients already putting the money toward equipment and growth, and the city is in the final stretch of election season, as Erie County voters cast their last early ballots in Sandusky before Nov. 3.
For a community bank, a director who runs the region’s hospital system brings a ground-level read on the forces that shape local lending: hospital payrolls anchor household incomes across Erie and Huron counties, healthcare construction drives commercial borrowing, and the financial health of a regional medical center is closely tied to the health of the towns around it. Board appointments of this kind — an outside executive from a different, locally dominant industry — are a common way for regional banks to widen the experience around the table without adding another banker.
What happens next is the work itself: Normington-Slay’s appointment took effect Oct. 21, and he joins the boards as Civista closes out its 2026 fiscal year and plans for 2027, with the company directing readers to civb.com for more information about the bank and its leadership.
Photo: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA