Pinnacle Bank held the ribbon-cutting ceremony for its Martinez location on Friday, presented by its leaders as establishing a richer foothold for the independent bank in the Augusta area.
“This is hopefully the first of many,” said CEO Jackson McConnell. “We plan to continue to invest locally and expand. We’re excited about that opportunity.”
The full-service branch first opened at its Furys Ferry location on Nov. 1, 2021, though Pinnacle Bank has had a CSRA branch in its sights for several years, according to senior vice president and Augusta market manager Dustin Young. Headquartered in Elberton, Ga., it has over 25 offices throughout the state. For about three years, Pinnacle has developed a burgeoning presence in the area with commercial and mortgage loan offices in Evans.
“Our plan all along was, once we built a balance sheet of loans—which is our income producing asset—we were going to expand into brick and mortar retail operations,” said Young. “It’s been in the making for several years. What you see today has been on a vision board.”
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Young notes one motivation for Pinnacle Bank’s expansion is that though the Augusta-area market has a history of some strong community banks, most of them have gone through multiple mergers, becoming essentially large regional banks.
Young, who has been in banking for over 20 years, says he was inclined to join with Pinnacle after seeing a need for a community bank in the area. So did branch manager Melinda Faulk, who attributes the current flourishing of the new branch to previous customers from her former employer.
“It has to do with relationships,” said Faulk. “They trust us, and then we believe in this company. It’s different, it’s community. It’s about really getting to know the customer.”
The company has hit the ground running on continuing expansion after its first full-service branch in the area took root, as plans are already underway to for a branch on Lewiston Road in Grovetown. Young says construction is expected to begin in April, in time to open by the end of this summer.
“It’s just the right fit,” said Shannon Fortson, executive vice president of Pinnacle Bank. “It’s one of the strongest growth markets in the state, and it just fits into our business model. There’s the right leadership and the right locations and plans to expand to multiple branches for the network. So, it’s a great start for us here.”
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The grand opening event hosted a food truck from Diablo’s Southwest Grill, had tables outside the entrance with several souvenirs, and the ribbon-cutting ceremony itself was prefaced with Young, on behalf of the bank, presenting a $1,000 check to Laurie Cook, executive director of nonprofit RISE Augusta, for the purchase of books.
“Even though it’s a $2 billion bank, the folks at headquarters care enough to be at our branch opening,” said Columbia County Commissioner Connie Melear, who is a member of Pinnacle Bank’s board of directors. “They all came for this good thing here. They want to be part of it. Something that’s been missing around here is that community bank experience, and these folks are dedicated to that.”
The Martinez branch of Pinnacle Bank is located at 375 Furys Ferry Road.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering education in Columbia County and business-related topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
