Talbert Toole
Lifestyles Editor
talbert.toole@hottytoddy.com
Tucked in the breezeway of Oxford Square North, Paragon Bank offers more than just banking services to the LOU community. At first glance the business does not resemble a traditional bank; however, what is lacked in tradition is made up with its determination to push boundaries in customer service.
Paragon Bank, which originally started in 2005 with multiple locations in Memphis, brings a personal touch to the Oxford banking scene because three of its founding members are Oxford natives.
Chief Executive Officer Robert Shaw, Oxford President Kin Kinney and Glen Cofield, a member of the board of directors, all graduated from Oxford High School. Their understanding of the community has created a connection from the bank to its clientele.
“Customer service is key,” Kinney said. “Our goal is to provide a service in a way that our customers really appreciate it.”
Due to its nontraditional flare in the banking world, Paragon takes the extra step in its customer service. Kinney said the bank has created mobility to come directly to its clientele with services.
For those who deem traveling to a bank unnecessary, Paragon caters to its clientele through internet banking, Kinney said.
Although bank tellers and teller cages are absent within the walls of Paragon, Kinney said it allows for the bank to provide a more intimate, personal space.
“[Paragon] is a more sit down, personal-type atmosphere,” Kinney said. “It is a little unique. People will walk in here and won’t think they are in a traditional bank.
Another unique characteristic of the bank, that differs it from its competition, is the ownership. Paragon’s employees own approximately one fourth of the bank, according to Shaw.
When the bank first opened, Paragon had its original tellers invest their individual retirement accounts (IRAs), Shaw said, which created the large employee ownership.
“Our employees aren’t just employees,” he said, “They’re owners and know they can make an impact.”
Paragon Bank was listed as one of the 85 banks nationwide in American Banker’s—a newspaper which covers financial services industry—Best Banks to Work For 2018 program. It landed the number 33 spot on the highly recognized list.
“I think that is reflection of the ownership,” Kinney said, referring to the employee ownership. “If you are an owner you want your business to succeed.”
The bank not only strives for excellence within its own establishment, but it continues to work for the community, too.
Through a program known as Assisting the Community Through Service (A.C.T.S.), Paragon provides its employees 40 hours of paid time per year to volunteer for local, regional and national nonprofits from a list of partnering organizations.
“We encourage a lot of community involvement,” Shaw said. “We do a lot of things in a group and individually.”
In 2015, Paragon spent more than 1,500 hours volunteering for various organizations in a plethora of communities, Shaw said. Throughout the business’s 13 years, it has donated more than 7,300 community service hours.
“Ninety-seven percent of our employees participate in our community service program,” he said.
For more information on Paragon Bank’s Oxford branch—located at 265 North Lamar Blvd—visit their website or call 662-259-8325.
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