Editor’s Note: This article is brought to you by First Federal Community Bank.
Chris Allison, CEO of Open Arms Health Systems, has made a lot of strides since opening his business in 2011. At first, it served as only a provider of senior services, but over the years it has expanded to what it’s become today: Caring for and providing opportunities to those with developmental disabilities.
Allison founded his business while living in Chicago, then moved it to Columbus. Recently, he moved it to the Mansfield area after purchasing the building at 35 North Park Street.
To purchase the building, Allison needed to find the right bank to give him a loan. After speaking with a friend, he received a referral to visit First Federal Community Bank and work with Travis Smith, Assistant Vice President and Commercial Lender.
“From the moment that I started working with [First Federal Community Bank], they’ve done everything they can to be able to accommodate and find ways and make the right decisions for our business so that way we can continue to grow,” Allison said.
Allison and Smith began working together in 2019. Allison wanted to be able to have easy access to the people he’d be working with the most. With large commercial banks, he wasn’t able to build that personal and collaborative relationship. Working with Smith was like a breath of fresh air.
“The biggest thing is the fact that I have the ability to be in touch with my banker,” Allison said. “With banks in the past, we didn’t really get to know them. We may get an email from them every once in a while, but I know that I’m able to reach First Federal Community Bank anytime that I need to be able to get ahold of them, which is very convenient.”
When Allison was shopping around for the perfect spot to move his building, he came across one he thought would be a good fit, and First Federal Community Bank worked with them on financials and saw it would fit within the budget of their loan. The deal ended up falling through, however, purchasing the building at 35 North Park Street ended up being the best decision.
Allison said Smith’s honesty and straightforwardness helped him in the long term of figuring out his best course of action in deciding whether or not to go through with choosing his new location.
“I appreciated the fact that he walked through what the purchase was,” Allison said. “Just from an outsider looking in at the end of the day, it didn’t seem like they were going to push either way for a purchase. They were going to make sure that we were going to make the right decision as a business,” Allison said.
At the end of the day, Allison felt reassured that he made the right choice for not only his business but also for his bank as well. At First Federal, he never felt pressured to do anything he didn’t feel comfortable with. He knew that they would support whichever way he wanted to go and worked with him to reach his conclusion.
“They were very helpful with getting us hooked up with the realtor and speaking with the realtor helping with our inspections and Travis made it extremely simple. I’d never purchased a building before and they made it extremely simple for us to be able to just do all the steps and made the process very quick and very easy to be able to go through without any hiccups.”
Allison is grateful to Smith and First Federal Community Bank for helping him make his transition to Mansfield as smooth as possible. He will continue to bank with them for a long time.
“Whenever we go into a branch, everybody that we speak to is extremely helpful—is extremely personable,” Allison said. “I’ve never had a bad experience with anybody there. Anytime that I’ve tried to call or tried to get a same-day appointment, they’ve always gone out of their way to be able to make it happen. It hasn’t always been the most convenient time for them, but they’ve always made that happen. So they’re great partners, they’re open, they’re honest and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to be able to serve the community.”
To learn more about the services First Federal Community Bank has to offer, check out their website for more information or call 419-562-7055.
