SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Coastal Bank, a leading community bank headquartered in Savannah, recently hired commercial loan officer Patton W. Dugas as vice president and commercial relationship manager. In his new position, Patton is responsible for developing and managing commercial relationships in the greater Savannah market.

Before joining The Coastal Bank, Dugas served as a vice president at First National Bank in Savannah, where his duties involved real estate lending, commercial banking and special assets administration.

Dugas began his banking career with BB&T in Atlanta, specializing in residential real estate acquisition, development and construction lending. Over the years, he also worked as a loan officer for the U.S. Small Business Adminstration’s Disaster Assistance Program in Atlanta, where he awarded more than $2 million in Economic Injury Disaster Loans to small businesses impacted by the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

“Patton is an exciting addition to The Coastal Bank’s commercial banking team,” said Pam Parker, Commercial Banking Division manager at The Coastal Bank. “He brings a wealth of experience to his new position that will benefit our commercial clients.”

Raised in Macon, Ga., Dugas earned a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business in 1999. He currently serves on the Technical Advisory Committee to the Chatham County Resource Protection Commission and is a past board member for the Community Progress Council of Effingham.  He resides in Savannah.

ABOUT THE COASTAL BANK: Locally owned and operated, The Coastal Bank provides a full range of financial services, specializing in small business, consumer banking and real estate lending. Headquartered on Johnson Square in Savannah, this successful community bank has been serving the greaterSavannah area since 1954. The Coastal Bank has an operations center in Pooler and branches throughout coastal Georgia. For more information about The Coastal Bank, please call (912) 201-4934 or visit www.thecoastalbank.com online.

This is an email I received from a friend that I found very interesting.  Sometimes we could all use a little reminder about how the real world works.

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair – get used to it!

Rule 2: The world doesn’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent’s generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

If you can read this -Thank a teacher!
If you can read this in English - thank a soldier!!!

Media Contact:  Susan Hancock or Kara Hooper

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Coastal Bank is pleased to announce that Jeremy Summerell recently joined the bank as the new Branch Manager of the Stephenson Avenue office. In his new position, Summerell oversees all retail and business banking at the Stephenson Avenue office, including the continued growth of outside sales and deposit base.  

“The Coastal Bank has always made a conscious effort to team up with only the most qualified industry leaders,” said Tom Wiley, chairman, president and CEO of The Coastal Bank and Coastal Bankshares, Inc. “Jeremy’s banking expertise, youthful vigor and sharp business management skills are sure to enhance the success of our busy Stephenson Avenue office.”

Prior to joining The Coastal Bank, Summerell served as a personal banker for Wachovia Bank for five years, until the recent merger with Wells Fargo Bank. A natural leader, Summerell’s responsibilities included consistent positive customer interactions, developing both daily and long term investment solutions, as well as growing the deposit base in a challenging rate environment. Summerell was among the top WBNA retail bankers in small business deposits and loans for four consecutive years.

“I am looking forward to growing our office’s profitability and market share,” said Summerell. “I hope to lead by example by bringing an unfailing level of integrity to my job and an uncompromising commitment to Coastal Bank customers.”

A Savannah native, Summerell graduated from the College of Charleston with a B.S. in Political Science, specializing in U.S. Government and Foreign Policy. He currently resides in Savannah with his wife, Renee, and their son, Finn.

ABOUT THE COASTAL BANK:

Locally owned and operated, The Coastal Bank provides a full range of financial services, specializing in small business, consumer banking and real estate lending. Headquartered on Johnson Square in Savannah, this successful community bank has been serving the greater Savannah area since 1954. The Coastal Bank has an operations center in Pooler and branches throughout coastal Georgia. For more information about The Coastal Bank, please call (912) 201-4934 or visit www.thecoastalbank.com online.

Ahhh… to be creative is living the dream. Running a business? Not always so much fun for us creative-types.

Creative-types, myself included, are not into balancing checkbooks. Not so much.  Instead, we find someone who does.

The best thing I ever did was find Susan Hancock – our APR “money mama.” Call it divine intervention – or whatever – but Susan has kept our business financially solvent and I have removed that “worry” off of my list (my nails thank me everyday).

If there are things you don’t like about running a business – don’t sweat it. Just find people who are smarter than you to handle the tasks where you don’t  excel. Go with your strengths and hire good people!

Read this article from the New York Times about how creative-types are getting entrepreneurial training. Not rocket science but makes sense.

http://nyti.ms/cnAEmz

Media Contact:  Susan Hancock or Kara Hooper

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Coastal Bank, a leading community bank headquartered in Savannah, is pleased to announce that Tom Wiley, the bank’s chairman, president and CEO, has been re-elected the chair of Communities in Schools of Savannah for the third consecutive year. In addition, The Coastal Bank will donate funds to the youth organization in support of Wiley’s efforts.

“Every person in this community has a stake in our children’s future,” said Wiley. “I enjoy being part of a common effort to provide an important support system for area students to help reduce the drop-out rate in our schools.”

Communities in Schools (CIS) is a community-based organization that works with families, schools and local leaders to help students succeed in academics and life. The non-profit organization boasts an impressive track record with increased graduation rates and strong academic performance. With the combined help of The Coastal Bank and Wiley’s efforts, the CIS Savannah chapter helps ensure the delivery of effective resources and local programs to students.

“As a result of the entrepreneurial spirit and considerable volunteers, our team has developed a recipe for opportunity,” said Wiley. “We want to help students realize their dreams and recognize that a high school diploma is within reach.”

ABOUT THE COASTAL BANK:

Locally owned and operated, The Coastal Bank provides a full range of financial services, specializing in small business, consumer banking and real estate lending. Headquartered on Johnson Square in Savannah, this successful community bank has been serving the greater Savannah area since 1954. The Coastal Bank has an operations center in Pooler and branches throughout coastal Georgia. For more information about The Coastal Bank, please call (912) 201-4934 or visit www.thecoastalbank.com online.

ABOUT COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS:

In 27 states with 194 local affiliates, Communities in Schools provides services for more than 2.3 million students and their families each year. They currently are the largest drop-out prevention network in the country. Communities in Schools believes that children need a safe place to learn and grow as well a chance to give back to their peers and the community.  For more information about Communities is Schools, please call 703.519.8999 or visit communitiesinschools.org online.

Going Lean- A Cultural Shift That Adds Value to Your PR Efforts

By Mike Green- The Strategist- Winter 2010

Spending time and money wisely are important concepts to live by.  In Greece’s article, he expresses the importance of using cost-effective methods in PR.

Some of the ideas included:

Conduct monthly meetings to implement improvements in process, use of time, products, and services.

Investigate techniques that will enhance measurability and quality.

Reward the best ideas and celebrate success.

Set up a war room (online or offline) so that employees can see deadlines, upcoming events, and work status- visuals.

Keep all relevant files in a central portal, such as client and account information – this will save a lot of time for employees.

By becoming more efficient, we can save ourselves time and money – and that is a must!

If you are familiar with Apple, you are probably aware of their newest product, the iPad. Personally, I am a very big fan of Apple products.  As an iPhone addict, MacBook Pro dummy, and iPad lover from afar (I bought my mother the new iPad) – I am hooked.

I recently read an article about the iPad in Entrepreneur Magazine May 2010.

Here’s what a couple of critics had to say about the new Apple technology:

Edwina Owens Elliott, via Facebook –“Perhaps using it as a portfolio, to show potential clients images of your work.  Smaller and easier to manipulate than a laptop.”

Focalpointaz, via Twitter– “I own a media business and think the iPad is a sexy way for me to show clients content.  It needs Flash, though.”

My thoughts: Interested. Definitely interested! However, I’m waiting to see what my mom thinks first.

When I hear the word “gardening,” I think horizontal, ground level – not vertical.  However, what an interesting concept…

I came across this excerpt from from a blog by Alex Browne & Pilar Viladas- Talk- May 1, 2010 that I thought was interesting: “It’s hard to plant a garden when you don’t even have a yard, so we decided to go vertical.”

Today, it’s all about taking it to the next level… thinking inside the box, outside of the box, and beyond the box.