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Banking Wisdom and Community Spirit in Johnston County
Episode 626th January 2025 • Best of Johnston County • Jonathan Breeden
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Join us on The Best of Johnston County Podcast as we chat with Chad Massengill from United Community Bank. Discover Chad's journey from growing up in Dunn to a successful banking career. Learn about United Community Bank's offerings, common banking mistakes, and the importance of community banking. Chad also shares insights on tackling fraud and maintaining good credit. Plus, hear about his involvement with Garner Mid-Day Rotary and their support for Backpack Buddies. 

Tune in for an engaging discussion!

Transcripts

Jonathan Breeden: [:

We also get in a little bit about how to protect yourself from identity theft, which he talks about not mailing physical checks anymore, which I have to admit, I still do sometimes, as well as using credit. investments and how to maybe get a better credit score. I think you will find the conversation fascinating and informative about local banking and his story.

So listen in.

years. Whether it's a deep [:

Jonathan Breeden: Hello and welcome to another edition of The Best of Johnston County podcast. I'm your host, Jonathan Breeden. And on today's episode, we have Chad Massengill with United Community Bank. He's here to talk to us a little bit about how his story of where he grew up, how he got into banking, how he ended up with United Community Bank. Some of the products they provide at United Community Bank, some of the mistakes he sees people make in banking, and of course, what he loves about Johnston County, which is our favorite question to ask anybody on this podcast.

But before we get to that, I would like to ask you to like, follow and subscribe to this podcast, wherever you're seeing it, whether it be on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Tiktok, LinkedIn, or any of the other social media channels of The Best of Johnston County podcast.

've been doing this for well [:

And the podcast grows by you liking and subscribing and following it. It also grows by you sharing it. You can share it on your instagram stories, uh, and tag best of Johnston County in it. And you can also live as a five star review down at the bottom wherever you're saying and tell us what you like or maybe dislike about The Best of Johnston County podcast.

Cool. Chad, thank you for coming in.

Chad Massengill: Thank you, John.

Jonathan Breeden: Yeah, man. It's good to see you. Good to see you. Glad you, Glad you came in to talk to us. So tell us who you are, where you're from?

the Dunn. But my father grew [:

Man, you know, I think one of my great, great grandfathers was at Appomattox, along with his brother and they were on different sides of the war.

Chad Massengill: Oh, wow.

Jonathan Breeden: And when it was over, they both walked back home to Elkin, North Carolina, is the story I've been told in my family. We had two brothers on different sides of the war and they both ended up at Appomattox. Well,

Chad Massengill: Maybe they knew Nazareth.

ppened, but anyway, that's a [:

So did you go to Irwin Erwin Triton High School?

Chad Massengill: Went to Triton.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh my goodness.

Chad Massengill: Graduated in:

Jonathan Breeden: The Hawks.

Chad Massengill: The Hawks.

Jonathan Breeden: Why are they not good at sports?

Chad Massengill: I can't answer that. Okay. I'm just in general working in Johnston County to understand I'm just curious. Like with the ball program.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. I mean, every once in a while, they get good at football and then just in general, they're not that good. I'm just curious.

Chad Massengill: That's the question. I better stay away from it.

Jonathan Breeden: Anyway, being the Cleveland High School Football fanatic that I am you know, a little spoiled since they've won over 50 straight games, regular season games anyway. So cool. Where'd you go to college?

Chad Massengill: Went to East Carolina. Sure did. Went there. that I graduated high school, not everybody, but a lot of my friends, we all just did it as a collective group, and we all went, all hung out together. We continued high school with East Carolina. And it all worked out for some of us and I was one of, I was one of the ones that it did work out for. so, uh, Graduated there and at East Carolina is where I got into banking, actually.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. All right. Well, what, What interested you about banking?

Massengill: Well, My mother [:

I always thought I'd grow up and be a race car driver or something like that. you know Of course that never happened. Although I did race at Johnston county speedway that used to be out here, Okay down Cord Wallace Road, 30 years ago when it was a go kart track, so but that was close as I ever got to it.

But no, she taught me how to do that. And when I was in college, I was looking a part time job, and a job that would allow me to be You know off on the weekend so I could go home and race because that's what me and my dad did. And she knew someone at BB&T at the time in Greenville. And I went and had an interview and they hired me and worked around my school schedule. Ended up working there for about two years.

I transferred to that role. [:

Jonathan Breeden: This is all at BB&T?

Chad Massengill: All at BB&T for 10 years. That's where I started. That's where I cut my teeth with banking.

Jonathan Breeden: And this was all at the Benson branch or you moved to different branches?

Chad Massengill: It was all over. It was Benson. It was Dunn. It was Lillington Coats. Pretty much everywhere in Hornet County and, half of Johnston County I worked.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. All right. So you did start as a teller?

Chad Massengill: Yep, sure it is.

Jonathan Breeden: So the tellers that work for you now cannot say you don't know how to run the teller line and you don't know what our job's like.

Friday afternoon after hand [:

Now, I do go back there sometimes and they kick me out because I'm in the way. I'm trying to help them, but I I'm better off in the office.

Jonathan Breeden: That's what the attorneys here do to me, sometimes. I get it.

ld because when I was born in:

My dad worked at the uh, denim Mill there in Erwin. So it could have been that our parents knew each other because Dunn and Erwin were not very big places back then. So, Anyway, so it's just kind of a small world. My dad getting laid off from that job when I was about six months old.

re born and Dunn, I was born [:

So anyway, I mean, you said your mom was a bank, but clearly there had to be something that made that like a calling to you. Like, I mean, Everybody does something that. like, What was it about banking? I mean, I, I love bankers, you know, I love what you've done for me. Like, Maybe it was that you want to help small businesses like me.

Chad Massengill: Oh, yeah. well, At the age that I was when it happened, it, none of that came to mind, until later. And I realize now that it is, or was my calling, as you said, I was comfortable with it because my mother did it. And I had that safety net to go back. If there's something that spooked me out or something I didn't understand, I could talk to her.

, [:

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, that's cool. So I mean once it got to be beyond you like not working weekends, what did you begin to enjoy about banking?

Chad Massengill: Well, of course, the go kart racing went away. That's a very expensive thing to get into. And I don't recommend it. And it's fairly dangerous as well. But once I got into banking and I graduated up and started being a loan officer's assistant, started understanding, how to bank service the community, how to service individuals, how they can make or break a business, how to help get businesses started.

. They come to you and thank [:

And it's not that I knew more, it's not that I'm smart or anything like that, it's just when you're in front of different sets of people day in and day out, over and over and over, just like in your business, you see every example they can be. And it's easier to ascertain what folks need. And it's easier to hone in on what can solve their problems.

And sometimes, when it's you sitting in the seat of the financial situation, you need that second set of eyes to look at it and remove the dizziness that can come with it when your emotions are involved in your mind.

Jonathan Breeden: Well, that's a good point. A good point. And a lot of people make financial decisions based on emotions. Some good, some bad. and it does, you do need a independent person. I think that is not emotionally involved to help you make those decisions. you know,

his business to sort of look [:

But really, if you get an accountant or a banker and somebody is actually looking at the numbers saying, I don't know what you're telling yourself, but this is the number, and you know, numbers don't lie, or at least honest numbers don't lie, unless you're trying to cheat the government.

art my business in October of:

And I was 25 and didn't have any idea what I was doing. I had a business plan. Who knows? It didn't happen. I can tell you that, I mean, I had a plan, but you know, I did not make the revenue that I had on the plan. And I think they probably knew I wasn't going to. but you know, I thought I was. So, I mean, I think that's good.

So when you think about that, what are some of the common mistakes that people make when they come to see you or that you've seen, or you wish they wouldn't do?

Chad Massengill: I tell you right now, fraud is a big subject. We're seeing more and more of it as technology gets better. There's ways of, counterfeiting checks and things of that nature.

to help reduce that risk of [:

Jonathan Breeden: So what are some of the things that everybody listing out there could do to help protect themselves from this fraud you're seeing?

Chad Massengill: Well, Like I said, I like to mail checks, but that's not something I would suggest to do. You just have to get out of old habits because you've got a piece of paper floating out there with your account information on it. You got it. It's going into a mailbox, going into a mailman's hands, going into a truck, going out, you don't know how many places and things it stops to. When you do something ACH or electronic, it goes automatically.

look help, look after their [:

Jonathan Breeden: Kylie, I still mail a few checks, not nearly as many as I used to, but I still do mail, I don't know. I mean, Personally, I probably mail three or four a month. you know what I mean? And the business, we mail checks. We don't have to mail as many as we used to now that there's e filing in North Carolina and stuff, but we do mail a few you know, sponsorships and stuff like that, but I'd never really thought about that as, as a dangerous thing now. When you talk about all the different places, mailing a check can go, what are some other mistakes you see people make?

Chad Massengill: I think people can easily get wrapped up in abusing the availability on credit. Especially when you see inflation coming up like it has, rates, which rates are going down, fortunately, but as they were rising and cost of goods and just living expenses are just much more than it used to be.

quity line or a credit card. [:

Those things, revolving lines are used for short term needs, not long term needs. And many, many people use their short term credit products for a long term need. And there's nothing necessarily illegal about it or anything like that. There's, you can do it. No one's going to say anything as long as the payments are made.

nu prices might not be going [:

Right, right. No, I think you're right. And I think people don't realize, by just paying interest only how much that original principle ends up costing them. Sometimes it's two, three, four, five times what the original amount borrowed was ultimately to pay it back because they just make those interest only payments.

Right.

Jonathan Breeden: And that's a dangerous spot to be in.

Chad Massengill: Sure. And another thing too, you know, you can have great credit, pay all your bills on time every month. But if you've got a credit card or a credit line that's maxed and it stays maxed, that will chip away at your credit score. So having available credit. The more available credit you have, the better it is on your credit score as well.

Jonathan Breeden: That's true too.

m. com for practical advice, [:

Jonathan Breeden: So what is the number one thing somebody can do to help fix their credit if their credit isn't where it should be?

Chad Massengill: Time is number one. It depends on the situation, but a lot of credit problems or credit score declines are due to late payments. And the only thing that can cure that is time.

And of course not paying late.

Right, right. Pay on time.

Pay on time. And it's not going to change in 90 days. It takes a little time. You're going to have to work on it.

A lot of other things that bring down credit scores are collection items. A lot of people have medical bills that insurance won't cover. And sometimes, it's hard to figure out, who do I pay this? I want to pay it, but who do I pay it? Who do I pay it to? It's on my credit report. That's very difficult at times.

for something like that. But [:

Jonathan Breeden: All right. Well, Let's talk a little bit about United Community Bank. I think you came to work for Four Oaks Bank, so did you ever work for Four Oaks?

Chad Massengill: I did not.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay, because I know it was really close in time.

Chad Massengill: Sure, I was in talks with Four Oaks about moving over, at the same time that United was in talks with Four Oaks about coming together. So that was my move over to the bank was postponed because of that. So 90 days after the uh, acquisition of United taking over Four Oaks, I came on board. And met right up here on Glen Road with the uh, state president and the manager there at that time.

And, I've been here now six and a half years. It's been a good, a good move for me, I'd say.

y bank, much bigger than the [:

Well, I worked at BB&T, which was called BBT at the time, for 10 years. And then I left there and went to First South Bank, which is, no more.

Correct.

Chad Massengill: And then First Federal Bank, which is another community bank, then United. I've been at three or four institutions in the last 25 years.

Jonathan Breeden: So what makes community banking important and better than maybe the big banks? Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo?

's not a number. That's just [:

Chad Massengill: United's a great place and uh, treat your people well. They've had several JD Power awards over the years for customer service and employment retention and satisfaction in employment. They're very good and a lot of great people.

Jonathan Breeden: And I've always wondered this because it used to be, You know, when I came out in business, a lot of the loan decisions were made in the local branch. And then as things got bigger, it started going to a centralized loan office. With United, are the decisions made in the local branch or are they made by somebody who doesn't know me at a loan processing center?

entralization of operations, [:

Chad Massengill: Our headquarters, we're in six states. But in North Carolina, our local headquarters is Raleigh, where our state presidents reside, and our local underwriting team is housed out of Raleigh on Six Forks Road. So, When there's a commercial loan, we would go there to do that locally.

Now, consumer lending, like a home equity loan, a car loan, something like that, we enter that into the system, and it does go to Georgia where our bank was, is headquartered and where it began. And decisions are made there, but there's interaction. It's just not approval to not. Right.

Jonathan Breeden: That's what I'm asking.

Chad Massengill: There's a gray area in every decision.

Right.

Jonathan Breeden: Can you go to bat for me if somebody down there says, I don't know, but you're like, look, I know this guy, he's going to pay his bills.

fair and equitable, not just [:

Knowing me helps in as far as our relationship and our banking relationship, but getting a yes or no, that has nothing to do with it. It's all facts. And that's how it is at most banks. And if not all and I think regulation has created that environment. Whether you agree or not, that's the way it is.

Jonathan Breeden: Yeah. And, it may be, that probably is better for the bank, but I did used to like it where they could just make it more locally. Yeah. You know what I mean? And I know that probably led to more defaults and then the banks would have probably liked and that kind of stuff. But, But it just makes me old school. I'm not that old. We're the same age but, but you know, I mean, well,

nd years ago. Those days are [:

And the customer had been banking there and knew everyone. And that still does matter to a degree. And we do look at current customers. And their repayment ability to us, that plays a factor in a decision.

Jonathan Breeden: All right. Well, tell me a little bit about, I know you're the president of the Garner Mid-Day Rotary Club. Tell me a little bit about when and how you got involved in Rotary and some of the things that your Garner Club are doing.

Chad Massengill: I joined Rotary initially back, about eight or nine years when I was with another bank. And then when I came to Garner, to this office, I transferred to Garner Mid-Day. And there was a choice.

ved as much as I am now with [:

I had been president of Kiwanis Club in Dunn, a few years ago. I had to have some you know. experience in that matter. So this is my second year as president and we do have a president elect. June, um, I will be passing the gavel over, but I've enjoyed being president this year.

Well,

Jonathan Breeden: And I know that one of the big, I mean, you gonna do so much in the Garner community, it's tremendous, everything. But one of the big things y'all do is, you do some big fundraiser every year to help the Backpack Buddies program. I know, by the time this episode runs, the one that this year's casino night will be over.

But what got Rotary involved with Backpack Buddies and what are y'all trying to do for them?

She's our fundraising chair. [:

Chad Massengill: She's done a fabulous job with that. And uh, really does a good job leading the group with that. It's as far as what it, like you said, Casino Night, it's on November the 2nd. We have it every fall. The last year and this year, we changed it to a  Casino Night. It used to be a bling, but it's still a black tie affair.

You come in and everything, you got blackjack tables, roulette, poker tables, things of that nature. All the proceeds go to the Backpack Buddy program. And we raise anywhere from $100,000-130,000 in one night. And I know you recently sponsored and we appreciate that. And you know, the sponsorships, it's cut off for now. There's still tickets available for it. And we're still selling those, but it's a huge night. It's a great night. It's going be long and tiring for us in the Rotary, but we enjoy it.

ram provides a backpack full [:

Chad Massengill: True.

Jonathan Breeden: And they take home on the weekends because not all these kids have food at their house that would be nutritious and good for them. And it helps them get back to school on Monday where they can get free breakfast and free lunch, as well. If you've listened to this podcast before, we've had Carlton McDaniel on who in his group with the disabled adults, but makes these backpacks for the Garner schools.

We also had the head of the Cleveland area Backpack Buddies program on, about a year ago, talking about their program and they usually do a big hearts gala around Valentine's Day, every year as well, to raise money for the Cleveland area Backpack program. It's a tremendous program. And if you've not been involved in it, if you get a chance, please do because you would be stunned at the number of children who go home without food in our communities every single day.

an be sad, but it is what it [:

Chad Massengill: I didn't believe it either until I saw that. Yeah, it's, truly unbelievable, how it all comes together. And it's worked all year long. You know, We get into it, and it really ramps up in the fall and um, but we've, had a, a lot of partners. You mentioned Carlton earlier, saw it right before we came in here today. And I know he was on your program. He and his staff are really helpful in that as well.

Every other week on Monday, a few Rotarians including myself will pick up food, and I'll fill the back of my pickup with it, and mostly canned foods. And we take that to Lord of Life Lutheran Church where they store it.

it just, the number of kids, [:

I'll buy a thousand dollars worth of food to fill up the back of my truck. Last year, that was 6 and $700. So you can see a huge increase in that. So we've got to make up for that inflation. And we're not going to let inflation be the excuse. These kids are going to get fed.

Well,

Jonathan Breeden: And I think y'all are serving 180 kids a week, at least, if not more, right?

Chad Massengill: And I don't know the exact number.

Right.

Jonathan Breeden: But it's more than 180, I think.

Chad Massengill: Yeah, I believe it is too. Right. If my memory serves me right, it's in the 190s. But Rita, she has all those numbers.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. So if somebody wanted to get up with you, uh, United Community Bank or learn more about Garner Mid-Day Rotary, how would they do that?

L @ U C B I dot com. And you [:

Well, that's great. That's great. You've been a tremendous asset to me and my business over the six years. You've been at United Community Bank.

Jonathan Breeden: Last question we ask everybody is, what do you love most about Johnston County?

Chad Massengill: Oh man, it's got everything you need. I mean, I may be wrong, but I know Johnston County was one of the fastest growing counties in North Carolina, if not the country. I think it has a mix of the down home people that live here, mixed with all the amenities that we have.

Everything is a short drive away. Now, I wish the roads were wider. I wish some of the construction would hurry up and finish. But they're all growing pains and we have to live with that, but it's just a great place to live and work. And uh, I would recommend it highly.

Well, I definitely, I would agree with you on that.

ell, We'd like to thank Chad [:

Until next week, I'm your host, Jonathan Breeden.

Narrator: That's the end of today's episode of Best of Johnston County, a show brought to you by the trusted team at Breeden Law Office. We thank you for joining us today and we look forward to sharing more interesting facets of this community next week. Every story, every viewpoint adds another thread to the rich tapestry of Johnston County.

If the legal aspects highlighted raised some questions, help is just around the corner at www. breedenfirm. com.

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