Independent Banker - July 2020 - 69

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the unique beachside communities of Sanibel Island and
Captiva Island.
" Our bank ... is the only bank that is chartered on Sanibel
Island and created [with a] mission to serve the businesses
and residents of Sanibel Island and Captiva Island, which
attract visitors from all over the world because of our beautiful
beaches, " says Amy McQuagge, the community bank's
vice president and director of marketing.
According to local booster organizations, the community
bank has played a key role in the development of the area. In
2018, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank won the Chrysalis
Award for business development, an honor presented by the
Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau and the Greater
Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce. The honor signifies the
development of a partnership between the business-in this
case, the bank-and tourism communities in the county.
Tourism is critical to the success of Lee County. Both Fort
Myers and Sanibel have been named top destinations for
tourists and snowbirds looking for a weekend vacation or
to build a summer home. The industry injects more than
$3 billion into the economy annually and accounts for almost
44,000 local jobs. As such, collaboration between the
tourism and hospitality industries and the county's broader
business community is crucial to its economic success.
McQuagge says the community bank has continually invested
in its local area. Every dollar it gets in the form of
deposits, it turns around and lends out to local individuals,
families and business owners. " Our loan-deposit ratio is
right around 100%, " she says. " Other banks don't lend as
much of their deposits and invest the rest in Wall Street. As
a result, the bank helps stimulate the local economy, which
helps local businesses grow and flourish. "
In fact, because of the community bank's growing commitment
to helping the community, McQuagge's position as
director of marketing was created in October 2018 to market
the bank's growth " off island " and continued commitment
to the community.
A friend to the community
Since bringing home the Chrysalis Award in 2018, Sanibel
Captiva Community Bank has been no stranger to other
awards in the region.
In October 2019, it was named a finalist for the Large
Business of the Year category for the Horizon Council and Lee
County Economic Development Office, which celebrates Lee
County's business community, and recognizes outstanding
local businesses that have positively influenced the southwest
Florida region. That same month, the community bank was
named a finalist for the Uncommon Friends Foundation
Business Ethics Award, which recognizes organizations that
" Our loan-deposit ratio
is right around 100%.
... As a result, the bank
helps stimulate the
local economy. "
-Amy McQuagge,
Sanibel Captiva Community Bank
exemplify high standards of ethical behavior in conducting
daily operations in southwest Florida, as well as during
times of crisis.
Despite its success, Sanibel Captiva hasn't wavered from
its commitment to the community it serves. Just this past
year, the bank has found several opportunities to help out.
For the past three years, Sanibel Captiva Community
Bank and a local charity donated close to 20 adaptive tricycles
worth nearly $50,000 to the Robbie's Riders program,
which provides special adaptive bicycles and tricycles to
Southwest Florida children with disabilities.
In May 2019, the community bank housed the William
Jenkins Memorial Fund in memory of a Fort Myers teen
who died while fishing off the Sanibel Causeway. After the
bank made its own contribution to the memorial fund, a
number of bank employees decided to challenge one another
to donate to the fund and the bank matched those donations
resulting in almost $1,500 of combined giving.
In June 2019, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank announced
that all seven of its branches would be donation
drop-off locations to benefit the county's chapter of the Pace
Center for Girls, which offers year-round counseling and academic
services for girls ages 12 to 18. For three months,
the program accepted new and gently used dresses, shoes,
handbags and accessories, which were then made available
for resale at a fundraiser benefiting the Pace Center.
This past November, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank
made a $25,000 donation to the Florida Gulf Coast University's
College of Education. The college is using the money to
cover program expenses for students.
" Because we are local, our business and residential customers
are actually our friends and neighbors, " McQuagge
says. " So, we have an additional commitment to support
them and their causes. "
William Atkinson is a writer in Illinois.
independentbanker.org Q 69
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