GAINESVILLE - Chattahoochee Bank of Georgia, currently in organization, is expected to open this summer pending regulatory approval. Jim Walters of Walters Management and Chairman of the Board of Chattahoochee Bank of Georgia announces a groundbreaking for the new bank headquarters on May 1 at noon at the site at 643 E.E. Butler Parkway in downtown Gainesville.<br />
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The architect for the bank's new headquarters is local firm H. Lloyd Hill Architects & Associates Inc., and the general contractor is Carroll Daniel Construction Company, also of Gainesville. The two-story, 14,277-square-foot facility will feature a first floor banking lobby, safe box vault, drive-up banking and a second floor with space for bank operations and room for expansion.<br />
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The privately held bank expects to begin a stock offering to prospective investors in late April or early May 2008. The bank will target small- to medium-sized businesses, their owners and professionals in Gainesville-Hall County as well as in northern Gwinnett County. While the bank plans to focus on business banking, it will offer a full range of retail banking services for consumers. <br />
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Chattahoochee Bank of Georgia President & CEO Jody Lail has 20 years of banking experience, including 13 years in the Northeast Georgia market. He most recently served as senior loan officer at Quantum National Bank, a $300 million community bank in northern Gwinnett County. Prior to his four years at Quantum, Lail was with SunTrust Bank in Gainesville for eight years. <br />
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The bank's chief credit officer, Stephen Starke, has 15 years of bank and credit administration experience. Greg Barrett, who has 10 years of banking experience, is chief administrative officer, and Tom Healan is chief financial officer. <br />
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Healan, who has 17 years of banking experience, previously served as CFO for three other banks. Lail, Starke and Barrett previously worked together at SunTrust Bank in Gainesville. Starke, Barrett and Healan worked together at Lanier Community Bank and First Bank of the South, both in northern Gwinnett County.<br />
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One of the organizing directors, Len Dorminey, is the CEO of Heritage Financial Group, a bank holding company headquartered in Albany, GA. Heritage Financial Group has committed to purchase 4.99 percent of Chattahoochee Bank of Georgia's initial capitalization. Heritage Financial Group is the holding company for Heritage Bank of the South, which has offices in Albany, Sylvester and Leesburg, Ga., as well as in Ocala, Fla. Heritage Bank of the South was originally founded in 1955 as a credit union and converted to a bank in 2001. The company, which is publicly traded on NASDAQ, reported assets of $455 million as of Sept. 30, 2007. <br />
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Upon receipt of final regulatory approvals, Chattahoochee Bank of Georgia plans to open in a temporary office at 130-A Townview Plaza while the new bank facility is under construction.<br />
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Chattahoochee Bank of Georgia Board of Directors:<br />
Chairman, Jim Walters, Walters Management Company<br />
Jimmy Adams, The Adams Companies<br />
Greg Barrett, Chattahoochee Bank of Georgia<br />
Keith Breedlove, Northstar Builders and Developers<br />
Len Dorminey, Heritage Financial Group<br />
Austin Edmondson, The Fockele Garden Company & Georgia Printing Co.<br />
Rob Fowler, Turner, Wood & Smith<br />
Jeff Gay, Protein Products<br />
Jack Hough, MSE Hospitality Holdings<br />
Jody Lail, Chattahoochee Bank of Georgia<br />
Doug McMahan, McMahan Consulting<br />
Stephen Starke, Chattahoochee Bank of Georgia<br />
Wendell Starke, The Starke Companies
