Business View Magazine l October 2022

98 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 10 from the prior year. It’s more like a family reunion than a business meeting. Although we cover a lot of business, it definitely feels like a family event.” For Fidelity Bank, giving back to the community takes many forms, from volunteering on non- profit boards, to actively volunteering at events, to teaching financial literacy in schools. Understanding the diverse needs of the neighborhoods around them is also a priority. As Community Banker Dave Craven asserts, “We try to make that a huge part of what we do, to understand the folks that we work with on a daily basis and understand the needs of those communities. We try to always be doing our part to support them in any way that we can. Our bankers live and work in their communities. They are actively involved in their surroundings and working hard to ensure that we are playing a role in the communities that we serve, that are so good to us.” Fidelity Bank’s commitment to their customers was more evident than ever during COVID, as they were one of the first banks in North Carolina to get the PPP program moving, and as Willis reports, “get money on the streets.” She recounts, “We made that the number one priority for our bank; we were really concerned about our customers. All 500 associates pulled together to figure out what we could do to help these customers. The backroom people on the operation side, along with the frontline branch associates, pulled together to be able to participate in this program. We were able to start taking applications day one, and we had money funding the very first day the SBA released the money.” With 7,000 loans totalling close to $500 million, the bank was also able to assist many small F B 2022 - Business View Magazine_Half Page Ad.indd 13 10/17/2022 4:50:38 PM