By Crystal McGough
Housed in one of the most beautiful buildings in the heart of downtown Trussville, Bryant Bank has been a staple in the community for over a decade.
Bryant Bank’s Trussville location is one of the Alabama-based company’s seven branches in the Birmingham area, and one of 15 in the state.
“When we decide on a location, we don’t want to just have a building,” Senior Lender Jeremy Tuggle said. “We want to invest in that community. This is home to us, so we want to make sure that we are serving the community. We’re not here just to be a bank. We want to have relationships and we want to make sure that we’re giving back and jumping into the community with both feet.”
While Bryant Bank is a full-service bank, offering services such as commercial and consumer loans, deposit accounts, credit cards, safe boxes and mortgages, Tuggle said that he wants the community to know that they have much more to offer.
“We want to be the community bank of Trussville,” he said. “That doesn’t mean just opening accounts and answering calls. It means being in the community, being involved, having a presence.”
Bryant Bank is highly involved in Trussville community events, as well as local schools and churches. Annually, the staff hosts a Barbecue Tailgate party that is open to the public to kick off the football season. They also serve a pre-game meal each year to the Clay-Chalkville Middle School football team.
Other annual community involvements include, but are not limited to, supporting Earth Day through Trussville Gas and Water, participating in Relay for Life, Turn Trussville Blue (supporting law enforcement) and Turn Trussville Pink (supporting breast cancer awareness).
Additionally, the staff not only hosts annual bank tours for Trussville City Schools’ Kindergarteners, but also volunteers for financial literacy and business programs at both Hewitt-Trussville and Clay-Chalkville High Schools.
“I don’t know that there are many events in the city of Trussville that we’re not a part of,” Tuggle said. “Whether it’s connected through the Chamber of Commerce, local churches or the school system, we feel a responsibility to serve and give back. We’re raising our families here, so we’re personally invested in seeing this area thrive. No matter what the event is, we want to be there.”
The quality of service Bryant Bank offers to its customers and community sets it apart from other companies, Tuggle said.
“You’re not a number when you come here, you are family” he said. “We treat you the way that we would treat a family member. We try to go above and beyond in the service category.” One way that Bryant Bank goes above and beyond is by making their conference room open for community use free of charge.
The staff at Bryant Bank wants their customers to feel like family, and one way of accomplishing that is to let the community get to know them on a more personal level.
As Senior Lender, Tuggle oversees the Trussville market, but outside of the office he serves as President of the Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce. He lives in Stockton with his wife, Lauren, and their four children who attend Trussville City Schools.
Bryant Bank Trussville also has a Relationship Manager, Melissa Jones, who lives in Springville with her husband, Barry. They have three children and six grandchildren, and she is a Trussville City Schools Foundation board member and winner of the Trussville Gatekeeper Award in 2017.
Trussville’s Branch Manager is Natalie Norton, a lifelong resident of Trussville and Ambassador to the Trussville Chamber of Commerce. Norton is also a committee member for the Trussville Downtown Merchants Association and has two children in Trussville City Schools.
“We want to support our customers, we want to support the community, and it’s important to all of us because all of us live here,” Tuggle said. “This is home to us. We want to see this community thrive and we want to be a part of it, even the small part of helping people with opening up their bank accounts and helping them with loan needs. This is our home and we want to make it the best possible experience for everybody.”