Pinnacle Financial Partners: A Community Focused Bank

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Pinnacle Financial Partners is all about community

Pinnacle Financial Partners is a unique bank. “When Pinnacle was created, the purpose behind it was to have a financial institution that would be diametrically opposed to the big bank mentality,” explains William Dixon, Pinnacle Commercial Financial Advisor. The firm takes a different approach to hiring. It doesn’t outright accept job applications, but instead leans heavily on the expertise of human resources and Pinnacle associates to invite potential hires to join the team. Individuals are recommended who fit the culture, exemplify Pinnacle’s core values, and are self-motivated producers with at least ten years of banking experience.

The firm also chooses to not advertise. But it does invest heavily in community service programs. These beneficiaries are chosen by Pinnacle associates and their leaders, all of whom value and support the mission and activities of the community.

The firm was founded in 2000. American Banker has recognized Pinnacle as one of America’s Best Banks to Work For eleven years in a row. In 2023, it earned the No. 4 spot. Fortune ranked Pinnacle No. 11 on their most recent 100 Best Companies to Work For list. It’s been on that list every year since it became eligible in 2017.   

The regional bank spans the Southeast corner of the United States, employing more than 3,500 people. Virginia and Maryland are the northern most branch locations. Corporate headquarters are in Nashville, Tennessee. Currently, Jacksonville, Florida is the southern-most location in the service region.

Helping customers learn about money

Realizing the importance of educating its valued clients, Pinnacle launched Business and Consumer Mastermind initiatives. Each provides a safe space for learning. Covered topics include anything from financial basics to more explicit business planning. Led by a Pinnacle associate, each weekly session is about an hour long and spans over six weeks. Sessions take place either at a Pinnacle or offsite location, based on what’s most convenient for those enrolled.

The Consumer Mastermind program has two tracks: 1.0 covers everything from money mindsets to home buying. Consumer Mastermind 2.0 gets into the details of insurance, investing, tax considerations, retirement and estate planning, and data security. There is no cost to register or participate. Small groups of ten or less are preferred to give everyone the opportunity to participate.

William’s history with TAP extends decades. He served on the Inner-City Athletics Board when Ted Edlich was TAP president. Inner-City Athletics provided sporting activities to help get at risk kids off the streets. “I’ve been involved with TAP over the years, supporting TAP financially as well as volunteering. So, it was a real joy when I was asked by then Executive Director, Annette Lewis, to serve on the TAP Board,” says William. He joined the Board in 2023 and serves on the Generosity Connections Commission Committee and Finance Committee. Pinnacle has been a TAP Empower Investor for the past four years.    

“I’m very community focused,” William explains. “I wanted to make a difference by touching those who are underserved. The best way we can achieve that is to partner with someone like TAP, who has made it their mission. Providing economic equity, if you will. Our vision and TAP’s vision correlates. As our communities prosper, we want the individuals in the community to prosper as well. In other words, leave no one behind.” Pinnacle partners with TAP for affordable housing assistance, grant investing, first time home buyer down payment assistance, and financial education. “TAP has long been a great partner with Pinnacle and we have all the intentions of sustaining and growing throughout the years, together,” says William.

Featured Story: Miz Lexima

TAP Helps the Whole Family: Miz’s Story

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Miz Lexima is a successful, smart, and driven woman. Working as an oncology and infusion nurse, she is almost done with her master’s degree in nursing through James Madison University and is planning to become a nurse practitioner after graduation. And as if that wasn’t enough, she also runs a business to create medical-grade wigs. How did Miz start on this track? She worked with TAP.

After graduating from high school, Miz wasn’t sure what she was going to do. Then her older sister recommended TAP’s Certified Nurse Aide program. It seemed like a good fit for Miz—she had always been inspired by nurses. “And TAP had a good reputation,” she says, so she joined the program.

From her start with TAP in the CNA program, Miz felt like she was in the right place—she felt a connection with TAP staff from the beginning and was excited to see Black women in roles of authority. Feeling comfortable at TAP, she also began to look at other programs. She enrolled her kids in TAP’s Head Start program and later served as the vice president of the TAP Head Start Parent Policy Council. Through this role, Miz developed a range of skills, like networking and building a professional reputation. She spent time in a few of TAP’s education and employment programs and gained educational and professional experience, which led to her getting an associate degree in nursing from Virginia Western, and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from James Madison University.

Miz found that TAP had programs which could help her while she was parenting, working, and pursuing her education at the same time. TAP’s Job Training programs gave Miz an extra support system when she needed it. Looking back, she recalls “I had an end point of nursing,” and that the staff at TAP “helped me find the way there.” And especially early on, TAP programs were able to give support in ways that made a difference. When her laptop died right before the end of her semester, Miz was able to consult with TAP staff. TAP was able to use some job training funding to quickly replace the broken laptop since it was crucial to her education and training work. Miz put in the hard work, and TAP was able to make sure small barriers couldn’t keep her from reaching the finish line.

For Miz, working as a nurse is deeply rooted in her personal goals, and her desire to be a leader in the community. The opportunities she has taken advantage of are as much about the sense of growth as they are the qualification at the end of the journey. “I want to be a leader in my community through nursing,” Miz explains. At TAP, she could pursue her full portfolio of personal and professional goals without needing to prioritize one over the other.  

With the final stretch of her nursing goals in sight, she is looking forward to establishing herself as not just a Nurse Practitioner but also as a community leader through her work, and to innovating as an entrepreneur with a strong foundation of medical knowledge powering her future business endeavors. Looking back, Miz knows she is on the right path. “Nursing is tough,” she acknowledges. “But life’s been good.”

Supporter Spotlight: Spilman Thomas & Battle

Spilman Makes Giving Back a Priority

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This year marks the 160th anniversary of Spilman Thomas & Battle’s founding. The Roanoke office was opened in 2007 to improve and expand services to clients in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic region. At that time, the firm focused on wealth management, banking & finance, bankruptcy & creditors’ rights, consumer finance, tax law, and bond/public finance. Since then, the firm has expanded and deepened practices in local government law, labor and employment law, and general litigation. Firm offices across the country connect through a secure technology platform. Attorneys collaborate daily with colleagues on a variety of matters.

Spilman has been a TAP Empower Level Sponsor for the past four years. “We deeply believe in TAP’s mission to help lift our community out of poverty,” says Bryce J. Hunter, an attorney with the Roanoke office of Spilman Thomas & Battle. “It’s a cause that is very near and dear to the heart of many of us at Spilman. We are pleased and grateful that we are able to support TAP.”

The firm has a rich and diverse tradition of giving back. “Our community and professional stewardship is at the core of who we are,” says Lori D. Thompson, Member in Charge of Spilman’s Roanoke Office. Activities include pro bono legal services, volunteering in local schools, adoption services, and elder care. “We encourage each individual to contribute their time and resources to a cause they are personally passionate about,” she explains.    

“We recognize the value of housing affordability and availability to organizations, like TAP, and governmental authorities as a means to maintain workforce mobility, job opportunities, and positive impact on families and communities,” Lori continues. This includes representing lenders, investors, developers, and local governmental authorities with affordable housing and community development matters. Spilman also provides counsel on real estate, tax, financing, and government affairs solutions.

The firm advises on low-income housing tax credit projects, public-private partnerships, governmental financing and economic development initiatives and tax allocation district formation and financing. Regionally, the firm has worked with the Roanoke Valley Alleghany Regional Commission (RVARC), the Covington Redevelopment and Housing Authority, and the Bedford Redevelopment and Housing Authority. It has collaborated with the City of Lexington and Botetourt County on zoning reforms to improve housing availability and affordability. Additionally, a Spilman attorney is Co-Chair of the Housing Law Practice Group for the Local Government Attorneys.

Spilman recently received the Empowering Women Award from Virginia Lawyers Weekly. The award is designed to showcase tangible and innovative efforts by law firms to advance women attorneys in the workplace and community.