BRANDSTORY | Sabal Palm Bank :: As Published in SRQ Magazine, October 2018

PA S S I O N A T E A B O U T S E R V I N G T H E N E E D S O F O U R C O M M U N I T Y

Sabal Palm Bank is a locally owned and operated community bank with offices in Sarasota and Venice.

The Bank’s exclusive mission is to serve the businesses, individuals and entrepreneurs in the communities they serve. The Bank was founded in 2006 by local shareholders and a local board of directors. After weathering several years of challenging economic conditions, the Bank became one of the first community banks in the country to successfully raise new capital post the Great Recession. More important, during a time when many community banks are actually owned or controlled by out of area investors, Sabal Palm Bank continues to be truly locally owned and operated.

A S P E C I A L B R A N D STO RY M A R K E T I N G F E AT U R E | S R Q M A G A Z I N E | O C TO B E R 2 0 1 8

I

“

say it often enough that people may get tired of hearing it,” laughs Sabal Palm Bank President and CEO Neil McCurry, “but all we do is focus on the communities that we live in and care about.” Within the bright, modern walls of the newly opened Sabal Palm Bank headquarters in downtown Sarasota, as well as the two additional locations on Fruitville Road and in Venice, community is a word you’ll hear often.

It is the foundation on which Sabal Palm Bank has built its mission and culture, and the driving force behind the strong relationships curated with its customers. Neil expands on the idea: “As a community bank, our mission is the community; we live it and breathe it every day, in everything that we do.”

Sabal Palm Bank has an In speaking with members of Sabal Palm Bank’s passionate team, they’re quick to unparalleled commitment express enormous pride in the businessto the community, a team es’ ongoing commitment to working with brimming with knowledge not-for-profit organizations in the commuand excitement for their nity. Together, the bank as a whole and its work, and a consistently individual employees support over 50 notforward-thinking mentality. for-profit organizations, by providing products and services tailored to the organization, volunteer time and as an annual supporter of The Giving Challenge. Working tirelessly to provide support for an incredibly diverse range of causes, Sabal Palm Bank is truly unafraid to walk the walk. “When you’re giving your time and resources,” Senior Vice President / Sarasota City Executive Kathy Collums says, “it goes handin-hand with us supporting the community by helping businesses be strong, individuals be strong, and in turn being able to do the same thing for our not-for-profits.”

NEIL MCCURRY | CEO AND PRESIDENT

Beyond charitable support, Sabal Palm Bank’s team is, above all else, fantastic at what they do. Combined, their bankers have over 1,000 years of banking experience – so you can rest assured you’re in good hands! Their approach is thoughtful, creative banking, focused on finding solutions tailored to the individual customer. Through economic ups and downs, Sabal Palm Bank has adapted and thrived, developing programs to support their clients and the community from within, even when times get tough. For small business owners, Sabal Palm Bank is ready to lift the weight of financial planning off their shoulders; a business owner may know their product inside and out, but the banking side can be a bit of mystery. With seasoned commercial lenders at the ready, constantly discovering new and better ideas, Sabal Palm Bank is more than just a financial institution; it’s a vital pillar of support in the economic lives of each individual they partner with.

In simple terms, Sabal Palm Bank is here to do the right thing for its clients. There is a difference you can feel when you walk in the front door, a welcoming energy that radiates from every team member that crosses your path.

They not only know your name, but the type of relationship you have with the bank; they may even know when you walk in the door exactly why you’re there.

When prompted to tell a favorite anecdote or customer story, Senior Customer Service Representative Stephen Craig is honest: “I can’t really put my finger on one particular experience, because every experience that I’ve had with each and every one of my customers has been special.” With an unparalleled commitment to the community, a team brimming with knowledge and excitement for the work, and a consistently forward-thinking mentality, when it comes to Sabal Palm Bank, special is an understatement.

Plant Parents Cultivating relationships is at the heart of everything Sabal Palm Bank does. With its clients, business associates and members of its team, the dedication to human connection truly sets Sabal Palm Bank apart.

An incredible example of this connection is the thriving partnership between Sabal Palm Bank and Plant Parents; a rapport that has grown over 12 years as business partners. This symbiotic relationship began simply enough; Plant Parents began as a client with Sabal Palm Bank, banking with the community bank when it was still in its youth. Sabal Palm Bank became a client of Plant Parents, utilizing their services for the horticulture at their Fruitville Road branch. From that point forward, the partnership blossomed, with Plant Parents’ products popping up at the Venice branch and Sabal Palm Bank fundraising events. As both Plant Parents and Sabal Palm Bank established themselves as robust mainstays in the community, the businesses’ work together continued to grow. When Sabal Palm Bank began to conceptualize its downtown office, Plant Parents was right there along for the ride, and the modern, flourishing designs that expertly accent the bank are a testamnt to the robust relationship behind the greenery.

Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch If Sabal Palm Bank is anything, it is surprising in its humanity. When called upon to speak at the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch, Bank President and CEO Neil McCurry found himself in a conversation with members of the club that were unhappy with their current banking situation.

Tapping Vice President of Business Development and Community Support Tish Scott-Murphy, the team got creative to devise a plan that would save the Rotary monthly on service fees, increase interest income and save money on merchant services; valuable assets for an organization that works tirelessly to fundraise that income to begin with. However, just providing banking resources wasn’t quite enough for Neil. When challenges arose with the technology the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch had in hand, Sabal Palm Bank’s team took it upon themselves to provide and install a computer, free of charge, at the club’s location that would allow them to fully utilize all available services. The Rotary may have been caught off guard, but for Sabal Palm Bank, giving what they could was an easy decision.

“As a small business,” Neil explains, “we can do anything we want to do, if it helps the community and makes sense we do it.”

Left to right : Rick Halloran Executive Vice President, Senior Lending Officer.

Kathy Collums, Senior Vice President/ Sarasota City Executive. Stephen Craig, Senior Customer Service Representative. Tish Scott-Murphy, Vice President of Business Development and Community Support.

RECENT RECOGNITION | Bauer 5 Star Rated Bank. Rated Healthiest Bank in Florida in 2015 and 2016 by DepositAccounts.Com (a bank rating company). Featured speaker for the FDIC at Washington DC headquarters regarding cybersecurity for financial institutions.

LOCATIONS Downtown Sarasota Office 1950 Ringling Boulevard Sarasota, Florida 34236 941-361-1122 Fruitville Office 5101 Fruitville Road, Suite 100 Sarasota, Florida 34232 941-361-1122

SENIOR TEAM Neil D. McCurry, Jr.

PRESIDENT & CEO

Rick Halloran

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT / SENIOR LENDER

Vickie Einwag

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT / BSA OFFICER

Kathy Collums

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT /SARASOTA CITY EXECUTIVE

Dave Froelich

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT / CFO

Dee Barth

VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS

Venice Office 735 East Venice Avenue Venice, Florida 34285 941-484-9191

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Toll Free Number M-F | 9am –4pm EST 844-772-4490

Neil D. McCurry, Jr.

Leslie Malkin

Ray Neff

Joe Dalton

Dick Rivera

Mark Davy

Charlene Wolff

Richard Karp

Jon Swift

Neal Neilinger

Drive-Thru 8:30am–5pm EST

SABALPALMBANK.COM