Newspaper Page Text
Page 2— Wednesday, January 5, 2022, The True Citizen
Public policy shapes local man’s life
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
Preston Conner officially
retired Dec. 31 from the South
ern Bank in Sardis after nearly
37 years, most of that time as
the bank’s president.
Working with the public is
something that Conner has
always enjoyed. In his first job,
at the age of 11, he worked as a
bellhop. After graduating from
high school, he attended col
lege until the tragic murder of
his father altered his life path.
After his father’s death, Con
ner decided to enter the miliary
during the Vietnam War. While
in the U.S. Army, he served as
a noncommissioned officer at
a dental clinic overseas.
“I was lucky, I spent most of
my time in Germany,” he said.
After his military service, he
moved back to his home-state
of Florida where he enrolled in
business college courses while
he worked in a mill. An oppor
tunity presented itself with the
Atlanta National Bank branch
in Palatka, Fla. which got him
started in the banking industry.
“I have been in banking for
50 years,” he said.
Conner came to Southern
Bank when it was still known
as the Bank of Sardis. In
1987, the bank branched out
to Waynesboro and became the
Bank of Burke County. When
the institution branched out
to Hephzibah, the name was
changed to Southern Bank.
“I enjoy meeting the people
and enjoy that kind of work and
I know I will miss it,” Conner
said of banking.
He has experienced many
changes in the banking indus
try after being involved in it for
a half century.
“When I started you could
pretty much do things on what
I refer to as a handshake. You
knew the people and you were
able to accommodate them,”
he said and pointed out that
changes in banking regula
tions altered that way of doing
business.
The Dodd-Frank Act also
known as the Dodd-Frank Wall
Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act, was passed by
Congress in 2010 in reaction to
the financial crisis of 2008 and
basically changed the scope
of government regulation of
banks. It was a defining mo
ment for Conner and it began
to change the passion he felt
for his career. Before the act
was passed, Conner thought
he would work in banking until
he died. However, the policy’s
restrictions moved him to re
define his future path.
“This was done during the
Obama administration,” Con
ner said. “That act pretty much
prevented me from serving my
customers like I wanted to in a
low-income area.”
A passion for serving the
public has meant more than
just working at the bank. Con
ner served on the Burke Coun
ty Development Authority, the
Hospital Authority and the
Chamber of Commerce. He
served on the Board of Direc
tors and as Chairman of the
Community Bankers of Geor
gia. He also served as trustee
of the Georgia Baptist Founda
tion. Conner served as mayor
of Sardis for 14 consecutive
years. Afterward, he served on
the city council for two years.
He is proud of the murals and
the city park that were created
during that time. Also, grants
were secured to improve the
sewer treatment plant.
Conner will remain on the
board of directors for Southern
Bank through 2022. He will
also be keeping his eye on
the Development Authority's
progress; a department he says
is "dear to his heart."
"The Development Author
ity is good for Burke County,"
he said. "I think that if the
economy comes back, they
have the finances to attract
some good businesses."
Conner would like to see
the agency address the need
for bringing businesses to the
outlying cities, in addition to
Thigpen
attracting big businesses to
Waynesboro. He admitted that
a lack of interstate access is
a challenge for the Bird Dog
Capital. Zoning issues deter
businesses from considering
the outlying cities. He said.
Citizens' resistance to changing
zoning laws is a major obstacle
to future growth.
"They don't want to be told
how to use their land," he said.
"That's one of the problems
that we have, you cannot ex
pect builders to come in and
build homes in the outlying
communities and not have any
type of protection there for it."
Many restaurant chains will
not even consider a city with a
population less than 1,500, he
said. So housing is needed to
build up the population outside
of Waynesboro.
"Still, I think that Burke
County is prime for industry,"
he said. "I think it will come
when the economy starts com
ing back."
Seventy-five-year-old Con
ner and his wife, Joy, intend to
spend time in both Sardis and
Florida as well as to do some
traveling.
Preston Conner at his desk the last week before his retirement
from The Southern Bank.
Continued from front
MAKING
ENDS MEET
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
The Waynesboro City Coun
cil unanimously voted to au
thorize the temporary borrow
ing of money during a called
meeting January 3.
The city’s gross income
from taxes in the last pre
ceding calendar year totaled
$ 1,456,487.23, contributing to
anticipated revenue for 2022
that exceeds $1,519,600.00.
“The amount to be bor
rowed, $1,000,000.00, plus
all other temporary loans of
the city for the current cal
endar year are less than the
total anticipated revenue from
all sources...” the resolution
states.
Temporary loans may be
obtained by the city to pay
the current year’s operating
expenses, according to Geor
gia law.
The resolution authorizes
city officials to borrow sums
of money from local lending
institutions to pay the current
year’s operating expenses from
time to time during the year,
the aggregate amount of which
is not to exceed $ 1,000,000.00.
It authorizes loans that bear
interest at the lowest rate ob
tainable at the time of the loan.
The loans, along with interest,
are to be repaid on or before
December 31,2022.
“This is something that we
do at the beginning of every
year,” Councilman Bill Tinley
said and pointed out that it
doesn’t mean the city will ab
solutely borrow the money, but
authorizes loans in the event
they are needed.
During the called meeting
the panel also accepted the first
reading of the proposed 2022
budget.
The next city council meet
ing is rescheduled for January
18 due to the observance of
Martin Luther King Jr. day.
hometown of Vidalia about
14 years ago, with a different
partner. However, four years
ago Thigpen and Miller part
nered to start the Paul Thigpen
Automotive Group. They cur
rently own both the Ford and
Chevy stores in Vidalia along
with a used car lot. Addition
ally, they own a Chevy, Buick,
GMC store in LaFayette, Ga.
The narrative behind how
Miller and Thigpen decided
to combine forces is a story
that Miller refers to as “crazy
funny.” Thigpen sold cars for
a while in Vidalia but left the
industry and purchased a Sub
way restaurant. He currently
owns 10 Subways. However,
the automotive industry beck
oned him back and he opened
two used car lots, one on each
end of town.
“Paul would come in and
buy parts from my Ford store
and constantly offer to buy it,”
Miller said. “Every time I told
him ‘No, no, no.’”
Persistent in his endeavor,
Thigpen obtained Miller’s cell
phone number and offered him
an “outrageous” amount for the
dealership.
“The answer was still no,”
Miller said laughing. Eventu
ally the two partnered and to
this day the cell phone with
the string of text messages
in which Miller claimed they
would never be partners is a
keepsake they laugh about.
Thigpen became a partner after
he bought Miller’s partner’s
potion of the business. The
new partnership contains a
synergy that is paying off. The
group intends to buy 10 more
stores in the next five years.
Thigpen is a marketing guy,
Miller said and referred to him
self as the behind-the-scenes
type. Miller shies away from
the limelight, thus the reason
why his partner’s name hangs
on the building. Miller prefers
to handle the accounting and
sales records.
“It’s the perfect match,” he
said.
Miller finds Burke County’s
hometown feel alluring. He is
seriously considering a move to
the Bird Dog Capital.
“Me and Paul are country
folks,” he said. “It feels like
home.”
It is a tough time to be in
the automotive industry. Part
and chip shortages inspired by
the pandemic have created a
market in which used vehicles
are pricey and hard to come by.
New vehicle inventories are
low in supply and servicing a
vehicle can take longer to ac
complish. Still, the group saw
the sale of Mizell Ford as an
opportunity they didn’t want
to pass by them.
“We thought twice about
it and prayed about it a lot,”
Miller said. “It is very tough,
there are not 15 new cars on
any lot that we have.”
The future is bright though,
Miller said. Since the pandemic
there has a been a movement
to produce chips in America
which were previously manu
factured overseas. The basic
law of economics will apply, he
said. As the supply increases,
the price will go down. Also,
all of the major car manufac
tures are looking at electric
vehicles as a viable option.
“We will never have this
problem again,” Miller said.
“I think it is a year or two out
before we get to the point that
we have new vehicles readily
available.”
Burke Countians can expect
to see the new owners support
ing the community.
“We will be involved with
every school, all events that are
going on, everything” Thigpen
said. “That is our specialty, we
get into the community. Our
goal is to never take from, we
want to give back.”
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