BUSINESS
THE CHAMPION, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21 - 27, 2019 • PAGE 11
r
TUCKER
Tucker bank first to open in Georgia in 11 years
BY KATHY MITCHELL
FREELANCE REPORTER
The primary difference
between a community bank
and a national or regional
bank is relationships,
according to Charles
DeWitt, founder and CEO
of Tandem Bank, which
recently opened in Tucker.
It is that difference that
prompted him after working
more than 17 years at a
regional bank.to found
and operate a community
bank in the Northlake area.
After operating that bank
for approximately 10 years,
DeWitt has now started
another community bank—
Tandem—a short distance
away. DeWitt noted that
Tandem is the first new-not
a branch, but an original
institution-bank to open in
Georgia in 11 years.
After a soft opening in
September, Tandem held its
grand opening Nov. 14.
“It’s exciting to be part of
the life of a community, its
businesses and its families,
to watch them grow, see
their dreams come true and
know that you’re playing a
small part in their success.
Our mission is to help people
achieve their goals,” DeWitt
said.
DeWitt, who is from
the Tucker area, said he is
delighted by the growth
he has seen since Tucker
became a city. “There are
more than 1,799 small
businesses in this area.
That’s a lot of opportunity
and we’re sitting in the
catbird seat. We’re right on
Main Street in Tucker and
that’s just where we want to
be,” he said.
“As a local bank we have
a lot of flexibility. We know
that every new business is
unique; that’s why we don’t
offer cookie cutter service.
We know what it is to be
an entrepreneur because
we’re entrepreneurs. We
understand and identify with
a small business’ growing
pains,” DeWitt continued.
“We named the bank
Tandem because we work in
nimble partnership with our
customers, catering to each
one’s requirements—we’re
doing it together.”
DeWitt said he enjoys
the close relationship with
each business client. “I get
to leam a lot about different
businesses. Each one has its
own challenges and its own
triumphs. It’s fascinating to
leam what it takes to build
success in different types
of businesses and to leam
about the details, large and
small, that lead to success or
failure. That appeals to my
intellectual curiosity.”
After DeWitt decided he
wanted to start a local bank
with a community identity
in Tucker, he contacted 13
business and community
leaders most of whom
have a tie to the Tucker
and Decatur area, inviting
them to become part of the
venture. “Almost everyone
said ‘yes’ immediately. They
loved the idea. We quickly
raised more than $21 million
from approximately 300
shareholders. We were very
encouraged by that.”
Starting a bank requires
putting together a lot of
regulatory pieces, according
to DeWitt. “The state and
federal agencies were great
partners. They helped us
get through the process as
painlessly as possible.”
With more than 30 years
in the banking industry,
DeWitt said he had no
trouble pulling together a
leadership team with years of
experience in banking who
share his vision of providing
excellent customer service.
He described Tandem’s
staff as having “extensive
experience as entrepreneurs
helping small business
leaders navigate their
banking needs.” “We want
to provide an extraordinary
customer experience,
whether customers choose
to bank traditionally or
take care of all transactions
online. We want our clients
to be able to bank the way
they prefer. When clients
walk into the bank, we give
them a friendly greeting
and we are soon able to call
them by name,” DeWitt
said. Pointing to the bright,
homey decor, he added, “We
don’t want to look or feel
institutional.”
He noted that behind
the old-fashioned personal
service is cutting-edge
technology. “It’s really the
best of both worlds. Clients
get the personalized service
they expect in a local bank,
yet we leverage the latest
technology to make banking
fast, secure and efficient.”
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Stone
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SEEKING LEGAL
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ASSISTANCE
Concrete repairs
This issue mav include $500 million
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P. 0. Box 1647, Pine Lake, GA 30072
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS
CITY OF CHAMBLEE
The Mayor and City Council of the City of Chamblee, Georgia will hold a public hearing on Thursday December
12, 2019 at the Chamblee Civic Center, 3540 Broad Street, Chamblee, GA 30341 at 6:00 p.m. to receive public
comments regarding the following matters:
• PZ2019-558: Applicant: Chuck Ptacek, GDE Renovations, and Owner: SABRA Property Management,
request approval of a Development of Community Impact, from the City of Chamblee Code of Ordinances,
Appendix A, Unified Development Ordinance, to construct a one-story leasing office. The property is located at
2729 Shallowford Rd, being Dekalb County tax parcel 18 246 01 001 and zoned Village Residential district.
• PZ2019-560: Applicant: Kenneth J. Wood, Planners & Engineers Collaborative, Inc; Owner: Copperleaf
Partners, LLC, request an approval of a Development of Community Impact to develop a residential townhome
subdivision and related variances, to not provide the required 5 ft-wide landscape zone along interior private
streets; place required street trees and pedestrian lights behind the 5-ft -wide sidewalk along private streets; not
provide covered 8 ft x 6 ft front porches on all units; not provide 200sf of private outdoor space for every unit;
reduce minimum lot size from 1,600sf to 1,200sf; allow retaining walls to exceed the maximum 8 ft height limit to
varying heights up to 22 ft in the rear and side of the property; from the City of Chamblee Code of Ordinances,
Appendix A, Unified Development Ordinance. The property is located at 4011 &4147 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd,
being Dekalb County tax parcels 18 325 06 001 and 18 332 03 020 and zoned Neighborhood Residential 2 district.
• PZ2019-567: Applicant: Kenneth J. Wood, Planners & Engineers Collaborative, Inc; Owner: Copperleaf
Partners, LLC, request the following amendments to the official zoning map: Rezone 4011 & 4147 Chamblee
Dunwoody Rd, being Dekalb County tax parcels 18 325 06 001 and 18 332 03 020, from Neighborhood
Residential-2 and Neighborhood Residential-1 respectively, to Neighborhood Residential-3.
