Jul 17, 2020
It would be an understatement to say this has been an incredibly challenging time for the people and businesses of our community. During the past several months, we have witnessed conditions and restrictions that many could not imagine. With the tests we have all faced, I am tremendously proud of the way Buckeye Community Bank’s passionate team has responded to our community.
Since its inception, Buckeye has existed to serve the business community in our region and ensure our clients have the financial resources necessary to capture opportunities and address challenges. It pleases me that this focus still rings true today. Every member of our team has been committed during this time to preserving the tradition of service to our clients and community that has defined Buckeye. We are all in this together and are prepared to continue leading.
Since March, Buckeye has taken action by:
- Helping 175 local businesses secure more than $18.6 million through the SBA’s Payroll Protection Program, which protected thousands of area jobs during a time of business disruption and high unemployment
- Implementing a well-constructed response plan that modified operations in considerable uncertainty and witnessed no interruption in our hallmark responsive nature even though more than two-thirds of our staff started working remotely for the first time
- Continuing innovative and flexible methods to keep our clients, our employees and our community safe while providing strength for the local business community in unprecedented times
- Supporting individual clients who may face distress with case-by-case reviews to address any needed account modifications
- Eliminating restrictions on withdrawals for various account types to help clients weather the economic slowdown
- Processing a historically high demand in residential mortgage applications for clients taking advantage of low rates
- Ensuring clients had access to conduct needed banking activities through drive-up service, safe appointments with staff and providing round-the- clock access to accounts with Buckeye’s mobile and online options
- Increasing online education about avoiding fraud, protecting accounts and accessing other Buckeye client-centric services
As of today, our community and America are open again for business. While the economic outlook remains challenging, Buckeye stays solidly focused on helping clients tackle the uncertainty and protecting our community.
Throughout this time, and in compliance with state and federal orders, Buckeye remained open to serve. Our skilled community banking team continued to meet the needs of our clients directly and safely. The Buckeye team is starting to get back out in the community by visiting new and current clients in safe and responsible ways. Further, Buckeye’s leaders have taken aggressive steps to ensure everyone is safe and protected when visiting our offices.
One of our clients, Defense Soap, is a local business that met the incredible challenge of responding to the global pandemic. Within days of moving into its new Vermilion headquarters, owner Guy Sako and his team needed to ramp up efforts to meet a nearly 500 percent increase in demand for the company’s disinfecting products from healthcare, corporate and other organizations. Buckeye is tremendously proud to be one of Defense Soap’s trusted partners. We are excited about the remarkable local economic opportunity the new facility will provide.
Our First Mate Evelyn Galarza is one of our front-line team members who demonstrated incredible commitment and flexibility during challenging times. A life-long resident of Lorain, Evelyn is a community cheerleader, and we are glad that she enriches our Buckeye family after years spent in the corporate world.
Coronavirus continues to dominate the news and conversations. I am incredibly proud of the way the Buckeye team rose to this urgent challenge by embracing the values that have always made Buckeye an essential community partner. We drew on our core belief in serving the community and worked to safeguard our clients, our families, our businesses and our community.
Our experiences over the years have taught us valuable lessons – crises are never the same and they all end. The success of those who thrive is in the speed and quality at which the crisis is managed.
We hope that you are proud to call Buckeye your business bank and would appreciate you recommending us to others that may need a new bank. At Buckeye, every day we reaffirm our commitment to the local business community and those who provide the jobs in our community. As always, Buckeye is here for you, our partners, and we look forward to seeing you soon.
