Spotlight on American Pride Bank

American Pride Bank

President/CEO: John Hall. Location: 4001 Russell Pkwy, Warner Robins. Opened: December 2007

Q: What made you choose this career?

A: “I grew up in a banking family. My father was a banker in Middle Georgia and I always wanted to follow in his footsteps. After growing up in Middle Georgia, I went to Atlanta, learned how to become a banker through a bank management training program and many years of on-the-job training, and have since moved back to Middle Georgia where my roots are. It is an honor to be banking ‘back home’.”

Q: Talk about the bank’s history.

A: “American Pride Bank was started back in December 2007 by a group of local businessmen. There was pretty much a phase out of local community banks in Middle Georgia, given the downturn in the economy; therefore, it was an opportune time to open a new community bank to serve the needs of Middle Georgia. We formed a local group of management and staff, who “are known” in the community. We also raised a lot of capital to ensure a financially strong bank, with capacity to grow and meet the needs of our market”

Q: What is the vision for your company?

A: “Our vision is that we felt like the big banks were overlooking some of the small-to-midsize businesses and consumers … I mean there was a void there to be filled. I think there has always been a need for community banking and there always will be. People want to come into a bank where the customers are known by name. It is important that our bank staff know our customers, and by knowing them well, we are able to better serve their needs.”

Q: What are some ways people can take advantage of your services?

A: “We have three branches, three ATMs, internet banking, bill pay and other electronic banking services. Technology is becoming very important in a lot of businesses, but especially banking. We’ve got a lot of technological advances on the forefront that we plan to roll out in the next few months, for example, mobile banking. We are enhancing our website, bringing it up to date, and we’re offering corporate cash management products and a lot of products and services that we have not offered in the past, but consumers need today.”

Q: What are some of the ways you impact the Houston County community?

A: “We believe strongly in giving back to our community, so we are very active in many civic and charitable organizations. We give back financially, and also through volunteerism. Our staff gets involved through serving on boards, in leadership positions, and as active participants in events. We feel that it is critical to be involved and give back. Our bank allows our staff time out of the office to participate in these organizational activities, which are so important to our community.”

Q: Talk about some particulars of your business: number of employees, office space, inventory, etc?

A: “We operate three banking offices: Russell Parkway in Warner Robins, Forsyth Road in Macon, and Log Cabin Drive in Macon. We have 26 employees, all of whom bring years of banking experience and knowledge, and a true desire to serve our customers. Because our bank is financially strong, with a lot of capital, it provides an opportunity to grow and meet the needs of our customers as they have needs for loans to grow their businesses.”

Q: What makes your product(s)/service the best?

A: “What I think … and this is really what we focus on … is differentiating ourselves based on quality of service that we deliver to our customers. I know that sounds like a cliché because most businesses say they want to deliver ‘the’ best service. But that truly is our foundation and what we talk about daily and instill into our culture. ‘Delivering superior customer service to every customer, at every contact.’ is our core philosophy. I feel like we do an excellent job in this area. The vast majority of times that I check our comment boxes, all of the comments are very positive, and again, that’s what we strive to do, and it’s always rewarding when you get good, positive feedback.

Also, we are a locally-owned and operated bank. That allows us to make decisions quickly for our customers because all of our decisions are made here in Middle Georgia by local decision makers, who really know and understand the market we serve.”

Q: What makes your employees the best?

A: : “That they care about our customers. Having the knowledge and experience and the caring … I mean the caring is so important … that our staff want to make sure our customers are taken care of and being served properly. So I think caring is first. Then secondly, having the knowledge and experience to be able to assess and meet those needs.”

Q: What makes your customers the best?

A: “We have a very diverse customer base, which is important. We bank all types of customers from builders, mom- and-pop stores, owner-occupied businesses, professionals, hotels, convenience stores, retail strip centers, real estate investors, and individuals. So I think what makes them so important is we have such a diverse base and it makes it interesting for us that we’re able to go out and serve so many types of individuals and businesses and help them meet their financial needs and grow their business and be profitable and prosperous. It is always great to be a part of our customers’ success.”

Q: What would you say heading into the future is your top priority (or priorities)?

A: “To evaluate the changes in banking and make sure that we are developing products and services to meet those needs, such as the technology I mentioned. We’re actually – it’s related and unrelated – changing our logo at the end of this month. It’s not because of a change in ownership or a change in management because no change there – we will have the same people and same faces. But we will have a newer, more modern, bolder logo, which we are very excited about. Our main priority today, and in the future, is meeting the financial needs of our customers, with products and services that make banking easy and effective, so that our customers are ultimately successful in everything that they do.”

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