Your Community Bank Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Annette Lange has a routine for starting her business day: She stops at Gateway Bank first before heading to her Alachua pizzeria, Main Street Pie.
“It’s always a pleasure,” she said. “I enjoy the friendly, hometown feel. It’s banking the way it used to be when everybody knew your name. We have a laugh, and it gets my day off on the right foot.”
Lange holds the distinction of being Gateway Bank’s first customer when it opened in Gainesville in 2008 as well as a year later when the Alachua branch opened. The comfortable feel Lange enjoys is the cornerstone of Gateway Bank’s “New Old-Fashioned” personal touch.
The old-fashioned part of Gateway Bank goes beyond friendliness to include a home-like setting. Danny Gilliland, Gateway’s Market President, was intent on creating a comfortable environment when he designed the first Alachua County Gateway branch, located near the intersection of Northwest 39th Avenue and Northwest 43rd Street in Gainesville. It features a fireplace and artwork depicting 19th-century Gainesville. You can grab a cookie and have a seat in front of the fireplace in a comfortable armchair that’s just like the one you have at home — a far cry from the sterile, impersonal environment seen in most banks.
“When we built the bank, I told the designer, ‘I want this to feel like my study at home,’” Gilliland said. “I wanted it to feel like a place you could sit and read a book.”
The warm environment is also present at the Gateway Bank branch in Alachua, located at the intersection of U.S. 441 and Northwest 144th Way in the heart of the city of Alachua.
“This location is ideally suited to our needs, with abundant parking, drivethrough banking and a spacious lobby,” Gilliland said.
The “new” part of Gateway Bank includes the conveniences of technology including online and mobile banking as well as lockbox and remote deposit capture for commercial deposits.
The local authority is what distinguishes Gateway Bank in the mind of Kevin Lytle, co-owner and general manager of Gainesville Harley-Davidson.
“I can talk to a decision-maker right then and there,” Lytle said. “They have the community feel and the power to meet our needs.”
Gainesville Harley-Davidson is among the many customers that take advantage of Gateway Bank’s courier service, which relationship banker Steve Garrahan provides. The secure personal courier will come to your business on a daily, weekly or as-needed basis.
“It’s good to see Steve every day,” Lytle said.
One of three Gateway Banks that together have nine branches with over $700 million in assets in the state of Florida, the Gainesville, Alachua and Ocala bank has its own board of directors that makes decisions at the local level. This is especially helpful for business owners. Somebody local, who knows you and your company, is far more likely to understand your needs than somebody in another state who you have probably never met.
“With the combined resources of the three sister banks, Gateway Bank can handle all of the financial needs of the customers in our markets,” Gilliland said.
Part of Gateway Bank’s community feel is supporting local causes including the March of Dimes, the Heart Walk, Tyler’s Hope, the Child Advocacy Center, the Boys & Girls Club, Alachua Main Street Festival, Scarecrow Row and the YMCA.
“We’re involved in the community,” Gilliland said. “They are our neighbors, we go to church with them and our kids play Little League together.”
The community involvement is just another part of what Gilliland believes makes Gateway Bank special.
“Functionally, banking is banking — my checking account doesn’t look much different from the bank down the street,” Gilliland said. “It comes back to people taking care of their friends. You make friends; you take good care of your friends. It’s that simple. That’s what we do. We don’t try to sell them something they don’t need. We try to understand what their needs are and take care of those needs.”
As far as Gilliland is concerned, financial strength and product offerings alone don’t make happy customers. He firmly believes that the “New Old- Fashioned” personal touch is exactly what makes banking work in these hectic times.
“In this fast-paced world, I think we’re all looking back to when people were really appreciated and there was a real connection, whether it’s your bank or anywhere else,” Gilliland said. “I think we all want that.”