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Boone’s Piedmont Federal Savings Bank Unveils New Website to Assist Potential High Country Homebuyers

by Madison Fisler Lewis

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From left: Susan Norris, Sarah Holt, Erica Helms, Diana Proffit and Vilma Sanqui

Aug. 13, 2014. At the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce’s 65th annual meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 12, the Boone branch of the Piedmont Federal Savings Bank unveiled a new website to assist potential High Country homebuyers. The website, which officially launched last night, provides inside information about living in the High Country that those looking to purchase homes in this area may want to know.

“Piedmont Federal was created in 1903 with the sole purpose of providing folks financing for their homes who at that time didn’t have access to financing,” said Ric Wagner, who has been president of Piedmont Federal since 2009.

The Boone branch of Piedmont Federal opened in 1973 and has been a mainstay of lending since then.

“We want to be a vital part of the community that we serve,” said Diana Proffitt, Branch Manager of the Boone location who has been with the bank for 29 years.

“The more we reach out to the community the more they respond to us. Piedmont Federal started as a hometown local bank and it has been pretty much the same since then. We finance primary and secondary homes, we are a portfolio lender, we hold all of our loans in house.”

And it is that dedication to their customers that led the Boone branch of Piedmont Federal to commission a website that would help potential homebuyers in the High Country get all of the information that they need before they buy the home of their dreams.

To create this extremely unique and useful website, Piedmont Federal enlisted the help of Alderman Company in High Point which did the development and the design along with Piedmont Federal. The bank wanted to provide something unique and interesting that would  provide inside knowledge for people buying their first homes and vacation homes.

The website fills a niche, providing information not for tourists, but for those who want to make the High Country their home. The user-friendly website itself includes many different parts, including a section dedicated to “must know” information like population and schools; “funny you ask” section including information about the weather, the infamous High Country potholes and wildlife; and even a section dedicated to real estate.

“The project has been in development for about 10 months,” said Susan Norris, Business Development Manager for the High Country Region. “It came up about a year ago, really everything is going to the internet these days. We figured this would be a great way to support the community. Instead of looking all over the place for information, you can come here. It is a great resource for those who want to move here, and even for realtors to show their clients before bringing them up here. I think it will be a great resource for everyone.”

“We are just thrilled that it is finally here,” Proffitt said. “We are excited to unveil this website that will be truly helpful. We always say that Piedmont Federal is one of the best places to work, we treat our customers well and we are part of the community. We watch our clients’ kids grow up and they become clients themselves and that really speaks to our client base. We hope that this website will help our clients, and potential future clients too.”

The website was officially unveiled last night during the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce meeting.

“It was really amazing, I think, how well it integrated with other websites,” Wagner said. “We aren’t out to replace any websites – why reinvent the wheel – but we wanted to compliment those and act as a clearinghouse to direct people there. It helps you to find school districts, populations of various areas, and those are not on your normal visitors’ websites. Hopefully potential homebuyers will find it useful in making an informed decision as far as property preparing for the homes that they might buy. There are a lot of special considerations when you move to the High Country that you don’t normally think about. This website is our way of saying thank you to the community. We are not charging for it, and we hope that it is a success. We want to build stronger communities by helping more people to own their homes.”

But don’t take our word for it, visit the website for yourself here.

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Piedmont Federal Ric Wagner speaks at the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting
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President and CEO Ric Wagner looks on as the new website is unveiled
Promotional fans were handed out at the meeting.
Promotional fans were handed out at the meeting.

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The Piedmont Federal table at the annual meeting was full of smiling faces