Dayton, TN Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors for 2009

That's me sitting in the middle. They're a great bunch to work with! I'm the president of the group again this year.

2009 Dayton, TN Chamber of Commerce Ambassador of the Year

This is me giving the Ambassador of the Year Award to Diane Emens in March. The black suit really slims me down compared to last year's picture.

"That Looks Like A Nice Little Bank"

That's the reason somebody told me recently why they decided to bank at Community National Bank. Our little town in Tennessee is no doubt "overbanked", as I heard last night at my son's soccer game. Everyone has many choices about where they want to bank. If you live in a large metropolitan area, it's all about convenience (Which bank is on my way home? Which bank is closest to my work or home?).

But if you live in a smaller community your options are mostly smaller banks . . . and you still have a lot of options. So in rural areas it really comes down to do I like the people at my bank; have I known someone at my bank for a long time; do I have a friend or family member that works there. Community banks all have different feels and personalities. If someone was rude to you once, you may never enter that bank again. My point is people have reasons why they bank where they bank. Sometimes it's a long sordid ordeal how they ended up banking at a certain place.

Why do you bank where you bank? Everyone has a story to tell.

We Have Our Own Golf Tournament Now!

Can you believe it! As part of combining with our sister bank, we now have our very own golf tournament called the Jane Abercrombie Memorial Golf Tournament. It's this Saturday, April 25th, at 9:00 am at the La Fayette Municipal Golf Course in La Fayette, GA, just a little ways down into Georgia.

Jane Abercrombie was a beloved employee who worked at our Rossville Branch who died at an early age from cancer. The golf tournament benefits the Catoosa and Walker County American Cancer Society and Four Points Ministry, which helps in domestic violence situations. So your participation goes to benefit some very worthy causes.

The cost is $400.00 for a team of four. We have a $10,000.00 Hole-In-One Prize! Contact Rodney Long at (706) 861-8888 if you can participate. We would love to see some of our Tennessee customers from a little bit further north come down to play.

So come on out to your bank's golf tournament (now that we have one!) and say, "Hi". I'll be there! Not golfing, of course, I'll save that story for another post, but make sure and look me up, and let me know you read about it here.

Banking Made Easier

That is our new slogan! And while it's still All About You at Community National Bank, we wanted something new as we expanded into Georgia. We know "banking" and the economy can be complicated and burdensome, and everyone keeps getting busier and busier, so we have dedicated ourselves to making your life, as our customer, less complicated.

If your banking experience is not as easy as it possibly could be, please let me know. We do care and are concerned about you. We understand these times everyone is going through are difficult and we want dealing with your finances at Community National Bank to be one less thing to worry about.

So I hope when you think of Community National Bank, the word "easier" will come to mind.

More Is Better!

CNB now has more locations to serve you. In March we combined with our sister bank down in Georgia, so now we have three branches in northeast GA. That also means three more ATM's for you on the south side of Chattanooga. Where are these new locations? Glad you asked: First is the Rossville Branch all the way down Rossville Blvd. to the end (it's on the left). Flintstone, GA has a branch. If you're in Flintstone, you can see the branch. And the Ringgold Branch is on Battlefield Blvd. accessible from I-75.

So if you're out and about in north Georgia, stop by and say "Hi" to our friendly employees. Seek us out. Look us up. Think of it like an Easter Egg Hunt.

Does your Bank have Remote Deposit?

If you bank at Community National Bank the answer is "Yes".

What is Remote Deposit? I'm glad you asked. Remote Deposit allows a business to deposit checks into their banking account without ever leaving their office. Remote Deposit uses a small scanner hooked into your computer with internet access to change your customer's check into an image which is deposited into your account.

Obviously this technology doesn't work with cash, but it can make deposits into multiple accounts using the same scanner. The website and scanner are very easy to use. You receive an email shortly after each deposit confirming that it was received.

So if you're a business that receives lots of checks, but sometimes is too busy to make it to the bank every day, Remote Deposit may be the solution for you. Ask your friendly Customer Service Rep today at any of our convenient locations.

Shameless Self-Advertisement #2

AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR Vaughn Berger, president of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors for 2008-09, received the award for Ambassador of the Year Thursday. Above, 2007-08 Ambassador President Marlene Fouts presents the plaque to Berger. Photo by John Carpenter.

Shameless Sef-Advertisement #1

CHAMBER AMBASSADORS Dayton Chamber Ambassadors for 2008-09 (left to right): Front Row- Nadia Hicks, President Vaughn Berger and Marlene Fouts; Back Row- Anneke Wilkey, Diane Emens, Steve Brown and Administrative Assistant Cynthia Rodriguez. Not pictured: Billy Lovett, Christine Ralph, Dianne Tumlin, Stephanie Gates, Amy Masterson and Jan Motes. Photo by John Carpenter.

What Does "Recession" Mean?

These days all you hear about on the radio or read about in the newspaper are the interest rates, the housing market, the Federal Reserve or the "recession."And its not only in the media, bring the subject up at any gathering and people will pile on that subject like there's no tomorrow.

So what is a "recession"? Basically its "less". Less than last year, less than the last five years. We're producing less, we're making less. Not everyone is earning less, but some people are. It starts with the builders and manufacturers, and works through the system until lots of people are making less. And even if you don't end up making less, all this talk about a recession may make you tighten up on your spending, which in turn just keeps feeding the recession.

The real question is are we in a recession? I would say, (The views expressed here are the views of the individual author and his views alone. Community National Bank does not express an opinion regarding the author's views. The views expressed may or may not coincide with Community National Bank's view of the economy. The following should not be viewed as economic advice to anyone reading this, or Ben Bernanke, or the Federal Reserve.)"Yes." Others may disagree, but based on my definition above, I think the media has talked us into a recession.

Some good things that come out of a recession are that people tighten up on their spending. During a recession people save money! During a recession people pay off debt! So its not the end of the world, and I realize there are plenty of builders and laborers without work right now, and that is unfortunate. But we live in a country where people have come to expect "more" every year and in every way. People want more, and more, and more. And that is just not how an economy works. There will be ups and there will be downs.

I hope this brief explanantion helps. Perhaps you can form your own opinion on whether we are in a recession or not. Hopefully you'll understand what everybody else is talking about at your next gathering.