Month: August 2023

By Candace Higginbotham

For Connie Payne, it all started with a hammer. And a husband with a passion for helping people.

Payne serves on the board of Hearts in Hands, a faith-based organization in Birmingham, Alabama, that provides home repairs for low-income community members. But her connection to the nonprofit started with a simple desire to help people in need.

Payne, a product team manager for Regions Treasury Management, has always been involved in the community through programs associated with her church. After she married 11 years ago, she and her husband, Carl, wanted to find a cause they could work on together.

I love talking to people and hearing their stories. It can be difficult because so many people are in need, and you just wish you could help everyone, but it’s a good feeling to know you’re making a difference.

Connie Payne, product team manager for Regions Treasury Management

Through friends they found Hearts in Hands. Payne started out as a volunteer, helping to build wheelchair ramps, install handrails and doing minor plumbing and other repairs, but gradually began taking on more leadership and administrative roles with the organization.

“I just wanted to use my gifts to do more,” Payne said. With an accounting degree and an MBA, along with more than 39 years of banking experience, she has many financial and organizational skills to share. In addition to serving as secretary/treasurer of the board, she still finds time to work directly with clients, by taking the initial repair requests from homeowners.

“I love talking to people and hearing their stories,” she said. “It can be difficult because so many people are in need, and you just wish you could help everyone, but it’s a good feeling to know you’re making a difference.”

Many of their clients are elderly or people with disabilities and most do not have homeowners’ insurance. Hearts in Hands performed 300 home repair projects last year and installed 50 wheelchair ramps.

“Being a part of a nonprofit board is a different kind of community service,” said Wendi Boyen, head of Community Advocacy and Financial Wellness at Regions. “It’s not like making a financial gift or participating in a volunteer project. It’s a long-term commitment to make a difference in the community and support a cause you’re passionate about.”

Board members provide oversight, financial guidance and strategic planning to ensure the success of nonprofits, which strengthens our communities.

Board service is also a good way to enhance personal and professional development. Individuals who serve on a board have the opportunity to cultivate new skill sets and expand their network of peers, professionals, community leaders, and thought leaders, which provides new avenues for development, outreach, influence, and mentorship.

At Regions, board service is an important component of the Making Life Better Institute, the bank’s community engagement strategy that also includes volunteerism, financial education and CDFI and MDI support.

It’s not like making a financial gift or participating in a volunteer project – it’s a long-term commitment to make a difference in the community and support a cause you’re passionate about.

Wendi Boyen, head of Community Advocacy and Financial Wellness at Regions

Currently around 534 Regions associates serve on boards in communities throughout the bank’s footprint. Some associates’ board service is related to their work at the bank and many other associates provide leadership to organizations they care about personally.

Dennise Berger, branch manager of the Manatee Avenue Branch in Bradenton, Florida, also has a heart for service and a passion to lead.

“I grew up in the community I live in, and as a youth was instilled with the value of community service and giving back,” Berger said. And that drive to serve stayed with her as she began her banking career.

“I believe that we as bankers have a responsibility to give back to the communities that we serve to help them grow and thrive. If they are growing and thriving, so will we. And organizations and boards love to have bankers supporting their organizations,” she adds.

Berger has served on boards of several civic and nonprofit organizations, including Bradenton Rotary Foundation, Manatee Chamber of Commerce, Manatee Technical College and DeMolay Florida, an organization committed to developing and inspiring leadership, team building, and networking for young men.

Like Payne, Berger enjoys applying her specific skills and talents to provide leadership to these organizations and is gratified by their impact to the community.

“I am a member and past president of the Rotary Club. Every year we raise money to award grants to local organizations. We fund youth programs that help youth, the homeless population and also seniors. I’m really proud to lend my talents to help create positive outcomes for my community.”

Boyen has some advice for anyone interested in serving on a board. “First, think about the types of organizations that appeal to you and do some research on the nonprofits and their board structure,” she said.

If it’s in your heart to help people, I’d advise anyone to take a leadership role in an organization. Find your niche or your passion – or just do what I did and let your passion find you.

Connie Payne, product team manager for Regions Treasury Management

Boyen also suggests volunteering with the organization to get some hands-on experience with the work they do, and then connecting with a board member to let them know you’re interested in a leadership position.

To help associates learn more about serving on a nonprofit board, Regions recently launched a training course to provide information and insight on board service, as part of its Degreed learning platform.

“If it’s in your heart to help people, I’d advise anyone to take a leadership role in an organization,” Payne said. “Find your niche or your passion – or just do what I did and let your passion find you.”

As Hurricane Idalia intensifies to Category 3 and continues its path toward landfall, T-Mobile has activated its emergency plan so when needed, teams can quickly begin recovery efforts to keep communities, first responders and customers along the Gulf Coast and Atlantic seaboard connected.

The National Hurricane Center has warned that Idalia could bring catastrophic storm surge along the Gulf Coast and southward to Tampa Bay.

Key points you need to know:

Generators and batteries are topped off at local towers.Quick-deploy and portable satellites, microwave solutions and generators are ready to quickly recover critical connectivity.Customer concessions for unlimited talk, text and data from August 30 through September 6 are in place.Emergency teams are staged and ready to quickly begin network restoration; provide Wi-Fi, devices and device charging; and provide first responders with activated phones with Wireless Priority Service.

Here’s more about what we are doing to be ready:

Network 

Ahead of landfall, our Emergency Management teams have worked to ensure readiness and resiliency in projected impact areas. We’ve:

Refueled generators and ensured that high-capacity batteries are charged on towers and other important network sites.Readied and staged engineers, technicians and equipment — such as portable generators and satellites that can be quickly deployed, microwave solutions to supply temporary backhaul and heavy-duty trucks that provide high-speed and 5G coverage and capacity. This equipment can enhance network coverage, boost capacity, replace cell sites that are damaged or down due to commercial power outages, and connect cell sites to deliver high speed data should local fiber cable be damaged.Filled fuel trucks.

Also, over the last several years, our Emergency Management teams have extensively hardened our network ahead of the hurricane seasons, and we’ve worked to ensure readiness and resiliency in areas projected to be impacted by Idalia.

Customer Support

While the majority of our customers are on plans with unlimited talk, text and data, for those in impacted counties in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina who aren’t, we are offering unlimited talk, text and data starting Wednesday, August 30 through Wednesday, September 6.

First Responder and Community Support

T-Mobile’s teams have also staged equipment ready to provide critical wireless connectivity, Wi-Fi connectivity and devices to first responders, customers and communities. Our team is ready with heavy-duty supply transport trucks, Wi-Fi trailers and a Command Center. We’ll have additional RVs in the area to provide relief and housing to teams as needed. We’ll also be providing phones and charging equipment such as cables and battery packs, and we’ll have activated phones with Wireless Priority Service on hand for first responders to help ensure emergency communications move to the front of the line during times of high traffic. Our team is also at the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee working with state and local officials to support public safety.

Any first responder agencies or organizations needing communications assistance can reach out to our 24-hour emergency hotline at 888-639-0020 or email ERTRequests@T-Mobile.com.

T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile Stores

The safety of our employees and customers is paramount. We’ve already closed many stores in Idalia’s projected path and in surrounding areas, we’re closing others as early as 2 pm ET today. Updates on T-Mobile local store hours can be found here and Metro by T-Mobile stores are here.

Employees

We are partnering with our teams to take care of our local employees, which includes closing some office locations and supporting employees and their families during this time.

Plan for Every Emergency

Preparedness and proactive planning are essential for safeguarding you and your family’s well-being before, during and after a disaster. In preparation for Idalia and ahead of National Preparedness Month in September, here’s what you can do to be ready:

Create a family emergency plan with your loved ones so everyone knows what to do in an emergency. T-Mobile has tips, resources and an easy-to-use emergency template here: How to Create a Family Emergency Plan.Load up a fully equipped Go Bag to ensure that you and your family have critical items in case of a quick evacuation. For more information on the best items to include, check out Everything You Need in Your Go Bag.Put everything on your phone to be ready, and fully charge it. Download critical apps such as NOAA National Weather Service, enable Wireless Emergency Alerts, set up Wi-Fi calling and use power or battery saving modes to stretch battery life. Take steps outlined on the checklist below: Bookmark federal and disaster relief organizations, including The American Red Cross, Ready.gov and FEMA for more resources that can help you prepare or get support.

For more information on how T-Mobile prepares for and responds to disasters, visit T-Mobile’s Emergency Response Hub. 

Follow T-Mobile’s Official Twitter Newsroom @TMobileNews to stay up to date with the latest company news.