Vol. 17 | Winter 2024
Peach State Reaches Out to Hispanic Community with ‘Bread and Coffee’
Our staff had a great time hosting our Bread and Coffee event.
Peach State Bank recently had fun breaking bread and sipping coffee with our local Hispanic neighbors at our downtown Gainesville headquarters. The get-together celebrated National Hispanic Heritage Month, a 30-day event from mid-September to mid-October that fosters connections and greater understanding. Led by Commercial Lender Yemeli Marin, we enjoyed sampling special breads of Hispanic culture with about 30 members of the Hispanic community in our William M. House Community Room.
“It is my goal to have more of the Hispanic community banking with us,” said Yemeli, who recently was promoted to commercial lender. “It is important for the Hispanic community to recognize us as their community bank as well,” she added.
The Bread and Coffee event was a chance for attendees to gain insights into our bank’s comprehensive services and explore potential business collaborations. “As the only locally owned bank in Hall County, we want to be the bank for everyone in our community,” President & CEO Ron Quinn said. “With our strong Hispanic business community, we can certainly help each other grow.”
The idea for Bread and Coffee originated during one of Yemeli’s sales calls to a Hispanic business. A well-known business owner and community advocate suggested the concept to Yemeli, promising to bring a couple of prospects to the event if the bank would host it. We eagerly embraced the idea. “I hope to engage more of our Hispanic businesses in doing business with us and having a different banking experience that can only take place at a community bank,” Yemeli said.
The partnership between small businesses and community banks like Peach State Bank plays a vital role in the success and growth of our community. By providing locally based loans and financial services, community banks help these enterprises thrive and expand. This, in turn, leads to job creation and a stronger local economy.
We love working with local businesses. Our relationship-banking philosophy, centered around personalized service and one-on-one interactions, sets us apart from larger financial institutions that are based elsewhere.
We have long been dedicated to fostering diversity and inclusivity within the Hall County community. The bank aims to strengthen relationships with everyone in our community with more events like Bread and Coffee.
LOCAL WINDOW ON THE ECONOMY
Braselton’s Luck of the Irish
Ex-Pat’s Chance Meeting Influenced Origin of Growing Healthcare Market
President & CEO
Peach State Bank
Two life-altering decisions – one made on a golf course and another based on a hospital’s pivot from its original growth plans – led to the Town of Braselton’s startling success as an emerging regional epicenter for healthcare.
Somewhere in Braselton, they should erect a statue of the late Ray McRae, the president of Gainesville’s former First National Bank and a legendary community booster. It was McRae who struck up a friendship with Donald E. Panoz, an American pharmacist and entrepreneur living in Ireland whom he recruited to South Hall in the early 1980s to build a drug manufacturing facility.
Their chance encounter took place in 1981 at the Augusta National Masters Tournament as part of an industry recruitment tour led by the state of Georgia. The story goes that Panoz was looking elsewhere before McRae set up a checking account at his bank in Panoz’s name and deposited $100 to get his attention. After connecting at the Masters, Panoz visited McRae in Hall County to walk the woods near what is Chateau Elan today. At one point, Panoz, a wine lover, stopped to scoop up a handful of dirt and exclaimed, “By gosh, this is grape country!”
With Braselton sitting on the outskirts of Atlanta, growth was bound to happen there eventually. However, Panoz’s vision set the community on a path of high-quality growth. Drawing on his international background, he founded the Chateau Elan winery, a luxury hotel and spa, a motor sports racecourse, and a breathtaking trio of first-class golf courses.
His developments were the chess pieces that laid a strategic foundation for Braselton as a regional tourism draw and a popular home for retirees and Atlanta commuters. Then, in the early 2000s, Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) would make a decision igniting an entirely new and unforeseen direction for Braselton.
A Hospital’s Change in Direction
Long based in Gainesville, NGHS had acquired the for-profit Lanier Park Hospital in 2001 just a few miles from its flagship Northeast Georgia Medical Center. Looking to further expand its footprint, the regional health system next set its sights on a new location to serve a rapidly growing population in the southern outreaches of its Hall County market. Working with real estate advisor Frank Norton Jr. of The Norton Agency, NGHS privately purchased a 50-acre site off Friendship Road (now known as the Lanier Parkway) near Peachtree Industrial Boulevard/Hwy. 13.
“At that time, Braselton was not on the radar,” Norton said. A few years later, however, market forces began shifting as Atlanta medical providers were expanding their services closer to the Hall-Gwinnett border near Buford. The trend gave pause to NGHS and its plans to serve the same corridor.
Donald E. Panoz
Ray McRae
As a result, NGHS shifted its focus to the other side of Interstate 985 and over to Braselton, a healthcare “desert” despite its reputation as a growing retirement center.
“We looked at population growth estimates, proximity to I-85 and other major highways, economic development, real estate trends and other factors,” said Melissa Tymchuk, NGHS chief strategy executive. “All signs pointed toward Braselton.”
The 2007-08 financial crisis slowed down early planning efforts, but NGHS continued to focus on Braselton as the first in a network of hospitals that would eventually include Barrow County, Lumpkin County and Habersham County. On April 1, 2015, Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton opened its doors as Georgia’s first net-new hospital in over 20 years.
Since then, Braselton has never looked the same – in a good way. Panoz, the ex-pat from Ireland, set the tone. Years later, the site selection of the Braselton hospital accelerated growth, greater diversity, and the emergence of a major center for healthcare. It has since drawn hundreds of doctors and medical professionals, ancillary practices, and support services from Hall and surrounding counties.
Meanwhile, NGMC Braselton continues to expand its campus from 100 to 284 beds with two more patient floors by the end of 2026, additional operating rooms, triple the size of the emergency department, a cancer treatment facility, and an outpatient surgery center.
And were it not for a handshake and the proverbial luck of the Irish, none of it might have happened this way. Braselton, a city on the rise, could well have been just another bedroom community swallowed up in the path of Atlanta growth.
(Ron Quinn, president and CEO of Peach State Bank & Trust, serves as the Georgia delegate for the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) and is former chairman of the Community Bankers Association of Georgia).
Service News
Bon Voyage!
Did You Know We Offer Currency Exchange Services for Travel Abroad?
Headed out of the country? Remember that Peach State Bank provides a currency exchange service.
For the low fee of $15, we offer the convenience of exchanging U.S. currency for foreign notes prior to your international trip. As a result, you can avoid the stress and hassle of searching for currency exchange centers at your destination as well as dealing with the unknown of fluctuating exchange rates.
You can reserve your desired foreign currency with us well in advance of your trip. This allows you to plan your finances more effectively and eliminate the risk of unavailable currency before departure.
Simply call or visit our Peach State headquarters in Gainesville when you’re ready. We offer a wide range of currencies – including Euros, British pounds, Canadian dollars, and Japanese yen – with competitive and transparent exchange rates.
Simplify your international travel plans by taking advantage of our currency exchange service.
‘Topping Out’ in Braselton
We’re making steady progress on the construction of our new permanent branch home in Braselton. With a completion date in early 2025, we recently hit a milestone with a “Topping Out” ceremony celebrating completion of the structural phase. We invite you to drive by and take a look. You can’t miss the busy construction work on Friendship Road near the Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton and across from the Village at Deaton Creek. Our temporary modular is open for business now — we hope you will stop by soon.
customer spotlight | North Georgia Land Trust
Retiring Commercial Realtor Follows His Heart to Protect Local Greenspace
North Georgia Land Trust charter board: (from left): RK Whitehead, Wes Robinson, Phil Bonelli, Dixie Truelove, John Vardeman, and Brent Hoffman
Twenty-five years ago, around the turn of a new century, Brent Hoffman went out over the then-fledgling Internet to register “ForeverIsALongTime.org” as a website domain address. It was all about a dream he hoped to fulfill one day.
Back then, Brent was building his business in commercial real estate and starting his family in Gainesville with wife Paula Hoffman. Few would have guessed that Brent, who would go on to chair the local Chamber of Commerce and advocate for economic development, was harboring a strong desire to launch a major greenspace initiative creating a regional land trust.
“My deep passion behind starting a land trust may seem at odds with my longtime career in real estate,” says Brent, who is now retiring. “But I believe there is a balance, and the success of our local economy is only possible with the wonderful quality of life that is enjoyed through our lake, streams, mountains and other natural areas.”
Brent is well on his way now. This summer, the North Georgia Land Trust officially received its 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS. He also has gathered an impressive team of like-minded civic and business leaders for his board of directors. In addition to Brent, who serves as chairman, they are:
- Phil Bonelli, farmer and business consultant
- Wes Robinson, attorney
- RK Whitehead, businessman
- John Vardeman, marketing professional
- Dixie Truelove, farmer
The North Georgia Land Trust allows landowners to donate their land as greenspace – forever. The last word, “forever,” is most important. It means future generations will always be able to enjoy a mountain trail, a fishing pond or a beautiful forest of trees – forever. And like Brent envisioned many years ago, “forever is a long time” – a phrase he uses as a tagline and a reminder of the land trust’s goals.
Brent also points out that the North Georgia Land Trust is local and voluntary. Land donations to the trust come from the heart. Donors typically have a special emotional connection to their land. It may have been a family farm for generations or simply a beautiful property that should never be destroyed or developed.
As an extra incentive, land donors receive tax benefits to reduce their financial obligations. In addition, donors may set up an optional conservation easement/agreement that allows more flexibility to reserve a portion of their donated land for their own private use or future development.
If you would like to learn more or make a financial donation to the North Georgia Land Trust, visit www.NorthGeorgiaLandTrust.org.
digital security tips | Beware of Phone Fraud Alert Scams
A popular scam these days uses your phone to supposedly warn you of fraudulent activity.
The biggest warning signs come when the caller offers to protect your money by moving it or requests you share a verification code.
The Federal Trade Commission offers several great tips to avoid being scammed.
- Never move or transfer your money to “protect it.” Your money is fine where it is, no matter what a caller might say. If someone says it is urgent that you move your money for protection, it is a scammer. Period.
- Never share a verification code. Banks and investment management companies use these codes for online accounts to prove you’re really you. If you share that code, the scammer can use it to falsely represent you and steal your money. No caller — especially someone from your bank or investment company’s fraud department — will ever ask for the verification code. That’s always a scam.
- Stop and check it out. If you’re worried, simply hang up the phone and call your bank, broker, or investment advisor. Use the number you find on your statement — never call the number the caller gave you, which will only lead you back to the scammer.
If you do receive a suspicious call, text, or message, contact your bank or fund administrator right away – especially if you already moved your money or shared a verification code.
Peach State Bank would never ask for account numbers or passwords.
Santa Is Coming To Peach State
Hey everyone! Get ready for a special visit from the REAL Santa at Peach State Bank on December 17th and 19th from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Stop by, say hi, and let him know what’s on your Christmas wish list. And of course, remember to stay on the nice list until then!
EMPLOYEE spotlight | Kim Anderson
Universal Banker at Peach State Braselton
Kim Anderson
The construction of our first branch bank in Braselton will mean a lot for Kim Anderson, a Flowery Branch resident and member of our Universal Banking team.
“I live here, so it’s kind of personal to me,” Kim says. “We are very excited to soon be a permanent fixture here in South Hall and have a much larger presence.”
Located between Thompson Mill Road and Friendship Road, the Braselton bank is set for completion in early 2025.
Like other members of the Braselton team, Kim lives in the community. She and her husband, Michael, have two adult daughters, Kristen and Kelly, who both live in the area with their families. Being so close allows the proud grandparents to dote on their granddaughter, Olivia, 3.
Kim, who started working at Peach State in February 2022, has worked in banking for almost 40 years in the metro Atlanta area. She came to Peach State Bank after working at two national banks. The move to Hall County’s only community bank has been good for Kim.
“I like how we can get to know our customers and build relationships with them,” she said.
As a Universal Banker, she assists customers in opening accounts, with online banking and treasury management, and answering questions through our friendly call center.
Kim’s path to a banking career began while attending Georgia State University in Atlanta. Kim had a friend who worked at Trust Company Bank and helped her get a job there. Starting as a teller, she has worked in retail banking for her entire career.
“In Braselton and surrounding areas, we will be able to grow substantially, in particular with our deposit products,” Kim said. “Braselton is a great community and deserves a great community bank like Peach State.”
community News
Thanks For Coming – and Weren’t Those Tomatoes Tasty?
The Jack McKibbon BLT Luncheon this past summer proved to be a record success yet again.
Thanks to all our customers and friends who joined us in the parking lot of our Gainesville bank. And special thanks to our dedicated staff who put in a terrific effort in setting up tables and preparing the mouthwatering combinations of white bread, homegrown tomatoes, bacon and lettuce to a whopping 1,500 attendees.
peachstate.bank
121 E E Butler Pkwy | Gainesville, GA 30501 | Phone: (770) 536-1100 | Fax: (770) 536-2525