Walt Adams:
Time once again for the Power of Potential brought to you by AIM Services, where they have their Coquet on the Green tournament and Garden Party and Picnic in the Park coming up on Tuesday, August 3rd at Gavin park. Executive director, Chris Lyons is on much deserved time off right now, but we’re going to have our special guests to join us. Kate Otis, community development officer at Saratoga National Bank and the Arrow Family of Companies. Good morning, Kate.
Kate Otis:
Good morning. Walt, so nice to talk to you,
Walt Adams:
Pleasure to speak with you, as well. And the bank is very involved with community efforts here in Saratoga Springs. It’s been a bank that is far more than a bank to people, but also that a place in the community that people are very familiar with Saratoga National Bank and Glens Falls National Bank, and your support of people with disabilities at AIM Services. Tell us a little bit about some of the things planned for this season.
Kate Otis:
Absolutely. So I’m, I have the fortunate privilege of being the community development officer for both Saratoga National Bank, the Glens Falls National bank, and Upstate Agency insurance, all in the Arrow Family Company. And we are always out there as much as possible trying to support our communities. Caring for our communities is such a big part of what we do and who we are and our support centers around, the board of education, workforce development, affordable housing, [food and 00:01:28] security, economic development, and, and of course, AIM Services. We are really proud to be able to support all of them with initiatives. And as we come out of COVID pandemic world, we’re really excited to be able to get back out in the community as our team, what they love to do is build relationships and talk to people. So everyone’s very excited to get back out and be able to do that.
Walt Adams:
Having the horse there as a part of the Saratoga National Bank logo. What does the track being open mean for what you guys do and your services?
Kate Otis:
Yeah, well, we have a lot of customers in the circle, as well as, other reasons that lake George, for instance, that are definitely hot spots for the summer. So, having the flexibility to be back out and about those areas in particular, as well as, our whole territory is Plattsburgh Albany. So I can feel a new sense of energy coming from them. And as we try to support our customers in the community, but one of the things that we’ve been doing on our end is trying to monitor the needs of the nonprofits in our region and, and the people, the vulnerable populations of people in our community and see how those needs have maybe changed or increase during COVID. And we’ve been able to do a lot of supporting last year. I was so proud that we supported the nonprofits in our area and continue to do so.
Kate Otis:
And we did a gratitude campaign last fall with an additional $75,000 on top our normal giving to help meet the great needs of all of the nonprofits in our region, we were faithful to as well. And additionally, our staff continues to volunteer. Sometimes you would think that, that would decrease due to COVID and people, working from home and things like that. But the last for our team specifically at almost 3,500 volunteer hours, and, one of my favorite parts of my job is being able to be, as people walk their hours to see the great difference that they’re making in the community. And, everything from coaching a sports team, to volunteering with service organizations like Kiwanis, and Rotary or working with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and a lot of the other organizations that are doing such amazing things in the community. Our team is out there and providing that support. So not only financially did we get to help, but I get to see those great stories of impact that our teams are making.
Walt Adams:
You’re listening to Star Radio, I’m Walt Adams with our special guests, Kate Otis, community development officer at Saratoga National Bank and the Arrow Family of Companies. Between those enormous amount of hours donated to a volunteer, as well as the financial support, you guys really do make a huge difference in the quality of life in Saratoga Springs, and we thank you for that. And again, a special thank you for helping people with disabilities and AIM Services, our Croquet Tournament coming up on Tuesday, August 3rd, and you’ve been a sponsor over the years, and we really do thank you for that relationship.
Kate Otis:
Absolutely. It’s such a pleasure and the privilege to be able to do it. And our team is very excited to participate on August 3rd, at the Croquet event. There’s a lot of buzz going internally. And one thing that I’ve been proud of is to work with AIM recently to diversify our philanthropic support of fundraising events to also help with programmatic and campaign support. So, we did a multi-year pledge that started last summer that supported the self-direction campaign to help foster independence and economic sustainability over disabilities. And then this year, we are also supporting the community transition loan program, which is an acronym for living independently for everyone, which is designed to help individuals who are transitioning out of the community by providing a 0% interest on an offset. The upfront cost is independent living. As people go out in the community, down payment on an apartment, for instance, and those startup costs, with those necessary things, but also teaches financial literacy, teaching banking skills in a relationship which, as a community bank is really important to us to protect the most vulnerable people in our community. And that happens with training and establishing those relationships before problems arise.
Walt Adams:
Great story. What a wonderful legacy you guys have. We’re very thankful that you’re a part of the community and continued success. This season, I look forward to talking to you again soon. Kate Otis, thank you so much for joining us today.
Kate Otis:
Thank you, Walt. I appreciate it.
Walt Adams:
That’s Kate Otis, community development officer at Saratoga National Bank in the Arrow Family of Companies. For more information on the services that AIM provides, or to join the AIM team, or to be a part of Croquet on the Green, go to aimservicesinc.org for the Power of Potential.