Business View Magazine | August 2020

123 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE AUGUST 2020 OCONEE STATE BANK amongst our competition.” “I would agree with everything Neil just said,” remarks Cristi Donahue, EVP & Chief Retail Officer. “We’re an evolving community and being able to continue to serve the growing needs of our community as it changes has been a key differentiating factor for us. I believe our history, stability, and reputation help us to stand out amongst the competition. We take the customer experience to a different level; we hold the customer’s hand through major phases in their lives. This current time is just another phase when we can continue to be that essential partner to them. So, the competition is tough, but our history has allowed us to leverage our relationships to our community, to our customers, and to our businesses during this time.” Philip Bernardi, EVP & Chief Lending Officer, believes that the bank’s customers appreciate a community bank that is responsive to their needs – something that has taken on increased importance during the current coronavirus pandemic. “You really saw it in the Paycheck Protection Program While the bank is the only one headquartered in Oconee County, Stevens admits that it still has a great deal of competition, both from within and around its geographic footprint. “It’s a great place to live,” he explains, “and there’s a lot to do here. Athens is a college town – the University of Georgia with 30,000-plus students is eight miles away; the school system in Oconee County is among the best in the country; there are great hospital systems; it’s not as fast-paced here and there’s not as much traffic as the metro Atlanta area, but you’re only an hour away. So, it’s a vibrant part of the state, which creates a great deal of competition.” Stevens adds that beating the competition means relying on its ability to create remarkable experiences for its customers. “Banks are banks,” he admits, “but we try to find that five or ten percent that we can do radically different than our competitors. Everybody will tell you that their people are their differentiators - that’s a standard line, but I think it’s what we do to create and nurture a strong culture that distinguishes us