The Company’s 2015 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) was adopted by the Company and approved by its shareholders in April 2015. The maximum number of shares of common stock that may be issued pursuant to stock-based awards under the Plan equals 1,100,000 shares, all of which may be subject to incentive stock option treatment. Option awards are generally granted with an exercise price equal to the market price of the Company’s common stock at the date of grant; those option awards have vesting periods ranging from 5 to 10 years and have 10-year contractual terms. Restricted stock awards vest under the period of restriction specified within their respective award agreements as determined by the Company. Forfeitures are recognized as they occur, subject to a 90-day grace period for vested options.

The fair value of each option award is estimated on the date of grant using a closed form option valuation (Black-Scholes) model that uses the assumptions noted in the table below. Expected volatilities are based on historical volatilities of the Company’s common stock and similar peer group averages. The Company uses historical data to estimate option exercise and post-vesting termination behavior. The expected term of options granted is based on historical data and represents the period of time that options granted are expected to be outstanding, which takes in to account that the options are not transferable. The dividend yield is the total dividends per share paid during the period divided by the average of the Company's stock price on each date a grant was issued. The risk-free interest rate for the expected term of the option is based on U.S. Treasury yield in effect at the time of the grant.

The fair value of options granted was determined using the following weighted-average assumptions as of grant date, for the years ended December 31:


	2024			2023			2022
Risk-free interest rate		4.67	%		4.08	%		2.90	%
Expected term (in years)		6.37			6.50			6.50
Expected stock price volatility		23.72	%		23.53	%		21.70	%
Dividend yield		3.23	%		3.23	%		2.47	%

A summary of stock option activity in the Plan during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 follows:


2024	Number of Shares			Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Life in Years		Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Outstanding at beginning of year		465,680		$	28.12		5.46	$	2,782
Granted		59,000			28.86
Exercised		(99,010	)		22.79
Forfeited		(31,900	)		32.14
Balance, December 31, 2024		393,770		$	29.24		5.93	$	2,739

Exercisable at end of period		232,490		$	28.03		4.36	$	1,896


2023	Number of Shares			Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Life in Years		Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Outstanding at beginning of year		497,820		$	28.07		5.87	$	3,402
Granted		52,500			28.72
Exercised		(29,790	)		23.46
Forfeited		(54,850	)		30.80
Balance, December 31, 2023		465,680		$	28.12		5.46	$	2,782

Exercisable at end of period		283,110		$	26.03		3.87	$	2,202

A summary of nonvested stock option activity in the Plan during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 follows:


2024	Number of Shares			Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value
Nonvested at beginning of year		182,570		$	6.10
Granted		59,000			6.36
Vested		(49,390	)		9.38
Forfeited		(30,900	)		6.47
Balance, December 31, 2024		161,280		$	6.32


2023	Number of Shares			Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value
Nonvested at beginning of year		216,480		$	5.95
Granted		52,500			6.04
Vested		(65,690	)		5.63
Forfeited		(20,720	)		14.39
Balance, December 31, 2023		182,570		$	6.10

Information related to stock options in the Plan is as follows for the years ended:


	2024		2023		2022
Intrinsic value of options exercised	$	1,169	$	303	$	846
Cash received from options exercised		2,257		698		1,565
Weighted average fair value of options granted		6.36		6.04		6.98

A summary of restricted stock activity in the Plan during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 follows:


2024	Number of Shares			Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value
Nonvested at beginning of year		15,390		$	28.87
Granted		2,388			30.58
Vested		(9,061	)		28.49
Forfeited		(400	)		33.50
Balance, December 31, 2024		8,317		$	29.81


2023	Number of Shares			Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value
Nonvested at beginning of year		18,930		$	27.51
Granted		5,056			31.96
Vested		(7,520	)		27.52
Forfeited		(1,076	)		28.93
Balance, December 31, 2023		15,390		$	28.87

Restricted stock granted to employees typically vests over five years, but vesting periods may vary. Compensation expense for these grants will be recognized over the vesting period of the awards based on the fair value of the stock at the issue date.

As of December 31, 2024, there was $1,126 of total unrecognized compensation expense related to nonvested stock options granted under the Plan. The expense is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 3.07 years.

The Company granted options and restricted stock under the Plan during both 2024 and 2023. Expense of $542, $594 and $688 was recorded during the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively, which represents the fair value of shares, restricted stock and stock options vested during those periods.