Good morning. Welcome to the 2022 Capital City Bank Group, Inc. Shareowners Meeting. I don't know about you, but I'm sure glad to be back in person and see everybody. I'm not sure a hug fest was appropriate, but I was glad to see it occurring outside. In the unlikely event of an emergency, I'm gonna ask Olivia Watson of Corporate Security to give us a safety briefing, please. Olivia.
Thank you, Mr. Smith. We provide this information every year as our safety is our highest priority. In the event of an emergency, and we must evacuate the building, please do so in a calm and orderly manner and follow the directions of the FSU staff. The exits are clearly marked with two doors in the back and two doors on the side of the stage. If you have a medical emergency, please reach me or FSU staff.
Thanks, Olivia. Appreciate it. Let's see, maybe we have some people who are here for the first time. If you'll stand up and let us recognize you if this is a first time for you. Yeah, a couple of people. Welcome. One of my old fraternity brothers, Everett Drew, I mean, Everett Boyd, was kind enough to bring his grandson, Everett. We're glad you're here, Everett, at your first meeting. How old are you, buddy?
10.
10. Okay. I noticed we had a couple of our associates who brought their children with them. I know I saw Lee Nichols brought his daughter with him. Did somebody else bring their child or grandchild with them? Okay. Well, Emily, glad you're here. I'll now call the 2022 Capital City Bank Group, Inc. Shareowners Meeting to order. The polls are open and will remain open until all matters set forth in the proxy statement are concluded. Kim Davis, Capital City's Corporate Secretary, will provide the notice of the annual meeting.
Mr. Chairman, I have a notice of annual meeting and an affidavit attesting that the notice was mailed on March 17th, 2022, to all shareowners of record as of February 24th, 2022. I also have available as of record date, a list of shareowners, including number of shares owned.
The notice of the meeting and affidavit will be annexed to the corporate minutes. Kim has taken an oath and will act as our inspector of elections for the meeting. Kim, please advise the shareowners if we have a quorum present and are able to conduct business.
Mr. Chairman, we have in excess of a majority of the outstanding shares represented at today's meeting, either in person or by proxy. Therefore, we have a quorum and may conduct business.
I might just add, I looked at the latest proxy vote early this morning, and Kim, you can correct me, but we were up right around 87%. Man, I wish we could get that kind of turnout for political elections. 87%, that's pretty amazing. Since the quorum is present, I'll now introduce the formal proposals as set forth in the proxy statement which was previously made available to you. Proposal number one for the election of directors. Do I hear a motion to approve the election of the 13 directors and that the nominations for elections be closed?
Moved.
Moved and seconded. Thank you. Proposal number two is for the ratification of the expected appointment of BKD CPAs & Advisors as the independent registered public accounting firm for the company for the fiscal year ending December 31st, 2022. Do I hear a motion for the ratification of BKD?
Motion.
Motion and second. Thank you. Is there any discussion on the proposals as presented? Megan Clark with BKD and the partner in charge of the CCB relationship is here today. Megan, would you like to make any comments? Good. That's great. Best answer yet. I was hoping you would say that. As all discussion on the matter set forth in the proxy is complete, I declare the polls closed. Will the inspector give the last preliminary report we are in receipt of at this time with the final vote to be tabulated and reported publicly within the required timeframe?
As of record date, we had 16,941,721 shares outstanding and eligible to vote. As of midnight last night, we had 14,717,886 shares or 86.87% of the total outstanding shares voted, thereby constituting a quorum. Based on the preliminary vote, I'm pleased to announce the approval of all matters presented.
Thanks, Kim. I do have some personal remarks I'd like to make, before doing so, I like to conclude the formal portion of the annual meeting. As there's no other business to come before this meeting, I'd entertain a motion to adjourn.
Moved.
All right. Motion and a second. Thank you. Meeting is adjourned, but don't leave yet. I'll now move on to the presentation portion of our meeting. Let me get this moved away. Thanks, guys. Again, welcome to the 2022 Capital City Bank Group, Inc. shareowners meeting. During my presentation today, I might make some forward-looking statements, and the notice of that is posted on the screen. I'm not gonna read it to you. I'd like to recognize the Capital City Bank Group board members and ask them to stand and remain standing until all are recognized. Our lead director, Stan Connally Jr., Executive Vice President, Operations, Southern Company, and Chairman, President, and CEO of Southern Company Services, Inc. Robert Antoine, former partner in the banking and securities practice of Deloitte & Touche. Tom Barron, President, Capital City Bank.
Will Butler, President and Founder of Real Estate InSync, REI. Marshall Criser III, Chancellor of the State University System of Florida and Chair of the Compensation Committee, one of my better friends. Kimberly Crowell, Principal, Kalo Companies. Bonnie Davenport, President and Founding Principal of BKJ, Inc. Architecture. J. Everitt Drew, President, SouthGroup Equities, Inc. Eric Grant, President and General Manager, CivicPlus, who chairs the Corporate Governance Committee. Laura Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Coton Colors. John Sample, former Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Atlantic American Corporation, who chairs the Audit Committee. William G. Smith Jr., Chairman, President, and CEO, Capital City Bank Group, Inc. Ash Williams, former Chief Investment Officer, Florida State Board of Administration. Thank you to these ladies and gentlemen for serving. Please join me in recognizing Dr. Allan Bense.
I'm not gonna ask him to stand, but, Allan's President and CEO of Bense Enterprises, Inc., who is retiring from the board after eight years of incredible service, including chairing the Compensation Committee and serving on the Audit Committee. Allan served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1998 through 2006, and was Speaker of the House from 2004 -2006. He's currently Chairman of the Board of Bense Enterprises, Inc. Allan's a real success story, having worked his way through school from junior high through college, and was one of the driving forces in Capital City's plans to expand to the Panama City area. Allan worked at the BP station next to Capital City's main office downtown, and often said he dreamed of being associated with the bank. Allan, thank you for incredible service, sir. We appreciate you. Also join me in recognizing Cader B.
Cox III, Chairman and Secretary of Riverview Plantation, Inc., who's retiring from the board after 27 years of service. Cader was a phenomenal director, chaired the Comp Committee for 19 years, and was our lead director for five years. On a personal note, Cader and I have enjoyed a long history together. We met in 1968, and I've spent the last 54 years serving as his banker, a fellow director, and friend. We've been there for weddings, funerals of family, and our relationship grew stronger with each encounter. Thank you, Cader. I'd also like to acknowledge the members of the Capital City Bank board and our community boards. These incredible, important contributors to Capital City provide invaluable insight, direction, and leadership. I'd ask the members of our bank board and community boards who are here to stand and join us. Let us thank them for their service.
Guys, ladies, I know some of y'all are here, so thank you. Capital City has an impressive group of leaders we refer to as the Management Council. I thank them for their service and commitment with a special thank you to my senior partners, Tom Barron, Kim Davis, Beth Corum, Ed Canup, and Dale Thompson. I wanna give special recognition to my two senior partners, Tom Barron and Kim Davis, who lead the bank on a day-to-day basis. Their tireless efforts on behalf of the company are appreciated. I'd ask all members of the Management Council to stand and let us recognize you. Let's see, I always struggle doing this 'cause I'm always afraid I'm gonna leave somebody out. We've got a number of guests of the company today who are present at today's meeting. Virtually all of them are shareowners. D.B.
Ausley McMullen, Jeff Wahlen, David Weiss and Elizabeth Barron from Ausley McMullen, Capital City's general counsel. Andrew Bayer from Gunster, who serves as Capital City's SEC counsel. Marcus Canady, Jody Farrell, and Chito Lobolo, thank you, from Deloitte. Megan Clark, who promised not to say anything, from BKD CPAs. They serve as Capital City's outside CPA firm. Our old friends, John Holmes and Frank Sutton from Securitas. Welcome. For the last several years, we've recognized the very best from our company in both sales and service at our annual Star Summit gathering. I'd like all the 22 Star Summit participants to stand and let us recognize you and congratulate them. 22 Star Summit, how about stand up? Let us recognize you. Four of our associates were recognized for the company, particularly for their outstanding performance.
I know I've seen Danny Etheridge. Where are you, Danny? Where's Danny? Danny, stand up. Danny, financial advisor in Chiefland, received the Ripple Effect Award for his ability to seek out opportunities and deepen client relationships. Spencer Hines, credit analyst in Tallahassee, received the Fire Starter Award for achieving remarkable results and outstanding performance. Jill Tarbox, I know she's not here. She calls all the time, and she is out all the time. She's a business banker in Port Richey. She received the Rainmaker Award for consistently going above and beyond driving relationships. Kat Bailey. I know I saw Kat here earlier. Yeah, stand up, Kat. Kat's the IT project manager in Tallahassee. She received the Mountain Mover Award for consistently going above and beyond. Congratulations to all four who were specifically.
How about joining me in a moment of silence to recognize members of the Capital City family we lost during the last year. Thank you. Let me take a few minutes to provide some 2021 highlights before talking about the first quarter of 2022 and the rest of the year. 2021 was a remarkable year, given all that had occurred. Some of the financial highlights are included on the next few slides. Record earnings of $33.4 million or $1.98 a share, up 5.3% from the prior year. Average loan growth of $40 million. Average deposits increased $562 million or 20%. A phenomenal year of organic growth, like acquiring a couple of $250 million dollar banks. Non-performing assets of $4.3 million.
This is in context to a high-water mark of $137.6 million during the Great Recession. Capital City had a net recovery on loans of $632,000. What that means is we, you know, collected some of those bad ones more than the ones we charged off. Hell of a year. I'd like that every year. Produced a return on assets of 0.84 and return on equity of 10%. Capital City Home Loans closed $1.5 billion in loans with an average loan size of just over $300,000. Capital City Wealth managed $2.3 billion in client assets. Capital City continued its transition to a more technology-based delivery, with almost 50% of traditional client transactions being handled electronically.
During both phases of PPP, the Paycheck Protection Program, Capital City closed 3,414 loans totaling $266 million. Our average loan size was only $78,000. Our largest PPP loan was $7.8 million, and our smallest was $172, with almost all the work around this endeavor being done remotely. Over 100 associates from across the bank participated with our PPP efforts, including those behind the scenes in operations like Amanda Register. I know you're here, Amanda. I saw you earlier. Where are you, Amanda? Don't be bashful. Where's Amanda? Nope. Alicia? I saw Alicia, I'm sure. Where are you, Alicia? There you are. Their teams did a great job behind the scenes. Capital City closed 4,850 auto loans for $222 million last year.
The Capital City Bank Group Foundation approved 111 applications, contributing $175,000 in grants to deserving nonprofits across our footprint. Looking at our four stakeholders, how did we do in 2021? Shareowners. Stock was up 7.4%, and the dividends paid increased 8.8%, a record earnings year. Communities. Capital City Bank Group provided leadership to countless activities in the places we call home, from the United Way to Little League Baseball, and contributed almost 8,700 hours of community service or 11.5 hours per associate. The grants mentioned before include $149,000 in applicable grants to Community Reinvestment Act organizations, making our communities better. Associates.
Capital City paid a year-end bonus of between $500- $1,500 per retail associate who served clients during the pandemic. We auto-enrolled each new associate in our 401(k) with an automatic 3% contribution for being part of the team. We were once again recognized as a great place to work by Florida Trend and ranked number 47 in the country of a little less than 5,000 banks as a great place to work by the American Banker. Just yesterday, we learned we were again recognized by Florida Trend as a great place to work for 2022, our 11th year in a row. We provided the PPP loans previously mentioned with $266 million, with only five loans remaining on our books that haven't been forgiven, and those are all amortizing.
We have 35 ITM machines with an average wait time of 14 seconds. We answered 224,000 calls in bank direct with an average wait time of 1.27 minutes in the fourth quarter. 14 new ITMs, interactive teller machines, are planned for 2022. We lived up to our brand promise, more than your bank, your banker. During 2021, Capital City paid $9.8 million in taxes or about $27,000 a day. Capital City pays more in taxes in one day than a credit union of our size pays in a year. With inflation at about 8% for the current reporting period, what does that mean for the economy in Capital City? High inflation is dangerous, causing purchasing power to decrease, and households can be forced to borrow or make tough daily decisions.
Higher rates will be an attempt to lower inflation, but inflation is often more about consumer expectations than inflation itself. Moves by the Fed this year will be an attempt to alter those expectations. William McChesney Martin, the longest-serving Federal Reserve Chairman in history of 19 years, famously said, "The job of the Fed is to take the punchbowl away from the party before it gets going." Perhaps this Fed got a little too carried away with the word transitory and slipped on the way to the punchbowl. COVID and supply chain issues were inflation drivers, and while COVID appears to be under better control, supply chain issues continue to exist. We hear it every day from our clients. Our director, Laura Johnson, talks about it at board meetings often on supply chain. Inflation means higher prices for homes and autos and will have some effect on CCBG.
We anticipate a flat home financing year with the lack of inventory being a primary driver. The cost of autos and available automobile inventory should slow purchases somewhat, even though Capital City enjoyed a record auto financing year in 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. It's hard for me to have too much sympathy for homebuyers over rates, given your grandchildren can receive a home loan at about the same rate your grandparents bought their first house for. The cost of the lot and the home are more of an issue than the rate, and that cost has been adversely affected by inflation, supply chain, and lack of available lots. The economy continues to move forward very rapidly, given my earlier inflationary comments. Higher rates will slow down some borrowing and bring cap rates on commercial real estate more in line, as Will Butler often reminds us of.
Residential and commercial real estate feels hot to me. While I don't see the excesses noted in 2008 with extreme speculation and flipping of properties, there are excesses. Pricing for starter homes, given the cost of land and materials, puts one of America's dreams out of reach and is a primary driver of increased rentals and multifamily rents. I do not see excesses in our portfolio of lots financed for future development, spec homes, inflated appraisals or significant real estate flippers. Working remotely became somewhat of a norm in 2021 with the virus as we put safety protocols in place. I expect a portion of the workforce will still find some hybrid of this to be a reality, but I'm very cognizant of the strong Capital City culture that is created with the personal interactions our associates develop with their teammates in the workplace.
This element's critical to our success and cannot be overlooked. I believe Capital City has and will continue to have proper balance with respect to COVID and our interactions with our clients and each other. A special thanks to Pam Gay and Leanne Stallenberg for their leadership with Capital City's COVID efforts. I know Leanne is out this week, but Pam, thank you very much for your efforts. We appreciate it. Conversation regarding our country's debt and deficit financing is all but absent in today's political debate. While I'm still betting on the USA, this is really troublesome. Capital City is strong but capitalism is strong and moves us ahead. Way too many folks see some other form of society they believe in more. I have noted the lack of civility in previous shareowner remarks, and it's not gotten any better at the local, state or national level.
A terrible example for our children and grandchildren to observe and does not bode well for the future. In May of 2021, Capital City acquired Strategic Wealth Group to further complement our wealth offerings from Capital City Trust and Capital City Investments. This investment was rebranded Capital City Strategic Wealth, and their results in the first quarter of 2022 were phenomenal. It's a long cycle business, and I'm really excited to have them join the Capital City family. How about the members of the Capital City Strategic Wealth stand and let us recognize you? I know I saw many of you out here today earlier. Guys, stand up. Ladies. Capital City opened an office in Breakfast Point in Bay County, Florida, following Hurricane Michael. We're currently in the final steps of building design on an office at the entrance to Latitude Margaritaville Watersound on Highway 79. This St.
The development, along with the partnership of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, Florida State University and the announced medical center will be a huge driver for Bay and Walton counties. In Walton County, we share office space with Capital City Home Loans on Highway 98. Our future full service banking office is under construction in front of Watersound Origins, a 40,000 planned unit subdivision. We're located in front of Publix who's building their largest store in Florida. Both Publix and Capital City should open the end of this year. I was in Panama City last week for a ceremonial groundbreaking with Ed Canup, who really is sort of the mastermind behind this. Ed, thank you, buddy. Appreciate it. I love our location.
I bet standing there we were doing this little ceremonial throw the dirt, and we probably had a dozen cars honk at us as we were out there and they were riding by. We've executed our plan to help with the help of Capital City Home Loans to plant a flag in the northern arc of Atlanta. In February 2021, a residential construction lender was added in Cumming, Georgia. We've got a team in Cobb County. We recently broke ground on a new office in Marietta and should occupy that by year-end. We're currently building our team out in Gwinnett. Capital City Home Loans had another solid first quarter. With 40% of Capital City Home Loans residential closings in the northern arc of Atlanta, we expect the addition of a banking office will be beneficial to both entities.
Home purchase financing activity is expected to be up slightly in 2022, with refinances off significantly. Capital City Home Loans has positioned itself to concentrate on purchase activity, and our current activity is running about 75%-80% purchase, about 20%-25% refinance. 2021 saw nice gains in our wealth area with $2.3 billion of assets under management. I always have thought the size of assets under management should equal the size of the bank. Capital City made a strategic investment in BankTech Ventures. Really, thanks to Tom and Kim. This BankTech Ventures makes investments in companies with product offerings advantageous to banks. This investment will give us the opportunity to interact with those management teams, use some of their applicable products, and maybe even acquire a company that we invest in through BankTech Ventures outright.
The Capital City Bank Group board is as strong as I've ever remember, particularly with the additions of Will Butler, Kimberly Crowell, Bonnie Davenport, and Ash Williams. They bring diversity of thought to an incredible group of existing directors. Retirements at Capital City is always an issue, but I like our bench strength, many of whom are here today. We've given our teammates increased responsibility in preparation for greater roles in the future. State budgets enjoyed a record year with increased spending in a number of areas important to Capital City geographies and the economy. Florida State University of Florida A&M, and healthcare were all beneficiaries of increased state revenues. Clearly, government spending is important to the well-being of many of our markets, especially those with higher institutions of higher learning, as we hear about from Marshall all the time.
Not in my remarks, but I'm often reminded my father used to tell a joke that government inefficiency was okay, as long as it deposited in Capital City Bank. We continue to see excesses in student housing and some early real estate speculation in the economy, but closed the year feeling particularly good with spectacular credit quality. Residential construction led the economy in many of our markets, with developments like Canopy in Tallahassee and Haile Homestead in Gainesville. I expect the 2022 economy will be a little choppy, with increased volatility given inflation, the war, and dinner table issues like the price of gasoline and groceries. These economic issues can be drivers as we vote in 2022. Capital City enjoyed another solid year. Loan demand so far in 2022 is decent, as both home and auto sales are holding their own.
The war is an unknown, and we all pray that a peaceful outcome is the best answer. President Putin seems determined to want different results. While the fear of a recession is real, I don't see strong signals that will occur in 2022. Although as I write my remarks here about 30 days out, the yield curve has inverted, meaning the 10-year Treasury is yielding less than the two-year Treasury. This has not been sustained for any length of time yet, but that inversion is the signal of a recession. I am less certain about that, my recessionary comments in future years. Goldman Sachs sees a 38% chance of a recession in the next 24 months.
There's a first time for everything, but if you look back over 75 years, every time inflation has exceeded 4% and unemployment has gone below 5%, the economy has entered a recession within two years. Today, inflation is where would you like for it to be? North of 8%, and unemployment is south of 4%. Capital City raised the dividend to $0.16 a share a quarter in Q3 of 2021. This reflected our confidence in the future and stated goal of returning 25%-35% of our normalized earnings to share owners in the form of dividends. During 2021, Capital City returned almost $10.5 million to our share owners. Capital City had a strong year-end capital position of $383 million, up 19% year-over-year, well in excess of all regulatory guidelines.
As we plan for the future, 93% of adults use the Internet, up from 52% just two years ago. By 2030, the number of devices connected to the Internet will reach 50 billion. Capital City announced first quarter 2022 results yesterday. A few of those highlights are earnings of eight and a half million dollars or 0.50 a share, loan growth of $54 million, up 2.8% over year-end, and average deposits up $165 million or 4.6%. I'm often reminded of what Capital City CFO Kim Davis said when asked by an analyst about the next quarter. Kim asked, "Are you talking about the next 90 days or the next quarter of a century?" Capital City is in this business for the long run.
Before I make some 2022 predictions, let's review how I did last year. Capital City did reach its challenging 2021 budget goals. Rates remained low. UF did beat FSU in football. COVID did see significant progress in the latter half of 2021. Acquisitions did heat up. Capital City Strategic Wealth was a great addition. As I said earlier, Capital City basically acquired a $500 million-$600 million bank last year through organic growth alone. Capital City was again named a great place to work. UGA did lose to Alabama in the SEC Championship. The prospect for higher taxes in 2022 didn't happen, but I'm afraid it will soon, and how I want to miss that prediction. The 10-year Treasury didn't reach 1.9% by year-end, but did so on January 20th, 2022. FSU hired a new president, and he's a good one.
Capital City Home Loans closed $1.005 billion in loans, slightly below my $1.8 billion prediction. U.S. 27 was not renamed for President Trump, and the FSU basketball team didn't make it to the Sweet Sixteen. Not all bad for a crystal ball gazer. Here are a few for 2022. Gasoline will end the year around $4 a gallon. The Dow and S&P will end the year slightly lower than the indexes are today. Hope I'm wrong on that one too. The 10-year Treasury will be in the 2.5-2.7 range. Alabama will beat Ohio State for the national championship in football. UF will win against FSU in football. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will be named Person of the Year. FSU baseball will make it to Omaha. The Fed will raise short-term rates about $1.75 more.
Midterm elections will see Republicans gain seats. My thoughts are about a 51-49 majority in the Senate, and the House about 235-200 Republican. The price of Brent crude will end the year around $100 a barrel, and the Florida Cabinet will be all Republican after the November election. Capital City continues to make great strides around ESG, environmental, social, and governance, although still a work in progress. We focused on sustainability and resource conservation, and as a result, seek to reduce consumption through efficiencies in our offices. We do this through company-wide recycling programs, the implementation of LED lighting in our workplaces, and working to reduce our reliance on disposable products. During 2021, we purchased renewable energy credits or certificates to offset our energy usage during the year and plan on continuing that practice in 2022.
Capital City's electric car has been ordered and should arrive soon. This will be our transportation for documents around the footprint. We've also invested in tools and capabilities that allow our team members to work remotely as appropriate. Our wealth area offers ESG investing opportunities, and on the S front, we ask each associate for 10 hours of community service each year and achieved 116% of that goal, even during the COVID year. On diversity, equity, and inclusion front, we believe that an equitable and inclusive environment with diverse teams produces more creative solutions, results in better services, and is critical to our efforts to retain and attract key talent. Capital City named the Chief Diversity Officer, Sharon Bradley, a 28-year associate. Last year, we established the DEI charter and formed the DEI Council.
Council consists of a diverse group of members from all levels of our organization, and its purpose is to bring inclusion in the workforce, the workplace, and our community. In January of 2022, we added four new directors to our CCBG board. Of those four, 50% are white males, 25% minority female, and 25% non-minority female. The CCBG board has 11 independent directors. Of those 11 individuals, 27% are female and 18% are ethnic minority. We continue to focus on building an inclusive culture through a variety of diversity and inclusion initiatives, including those related to internal promotions and hiring practices. Our associate resource group also helps to build an inclusive culture through company events, participation in our recruitment efforts, and input into hiring strategies. I'm excited about 2022. We've established very challenging internal budget.
probably say this every year, but the most challenging in my career. It'll take strong loan growth, continued improvement in the economy, and rising rates for our budget to be achieved. As I reported earlier, I like where we stand after the first quarter. The business of banking is back to being fun again after nearly a decade of dealing with troubled economy and problem credits. Thank you. The Julian V. Smith Community Service Award was established in 1989 and named for Julian, who spent his entire career with Capital City and was an original member of the Capital City Bank Group board. Each year, Capital City recognizes one of our own teammates who epitomizes Julian's legacy of community service. The recipient of this award selflessly gives back to his or her community through volunteerism and leadership and is not afraid to sacrifice personal time for the benefit of others.
Our Julian V. Smith honoree is Susan Ahrens, Treasury Management Sales Banker. Susan. Susan's husband is here, and I said I was gonna say some nice things about Susan, and he promised to listen attentively for two minutes. Susan joined our team in 2016, brought energy, enthusiasm, and valuable expertise to help us grow our treasury management area. She exemplifies all the traits of a great Capital City banker, both through her daily efforts to serve our clients as well as through her extraordinary commitment to her community. She's a mother of two, Connor and Riley, and those who know her know she's every bit a proud and dedicated parent. Ensuring her children have everything they need to thrive is her most important priority.
It'll come as no surprise children's issues rank high on Susan's passion projects. What sets her apart from any parent who wants the best for her children is that her advocacy extends beyond providing the best possible education and opportunity for all. Some of her volunteer commitments include. She was chair-elect of the Foundation for Leon County Schools, as well as a member of the finance committee, instrumental in helping them raise over $70,000 for the foundation. She's a homeroom mother and third-grade mentor. She's the Swift Creek Elementary president of the parent-teacher-student organization, member of the senior leadership team, and she's a volunteer with the Lincoln High School cross-country team and a National Junior ROTC volunteer. She received numerous endorsements from peers recommending her for this honor.
Let me take just a few seconds to share a few of these. "Susan is the epitome of a community advocate. She wears the CCB star proudly. She's always gone above and beyond in her service to community. She sacrifices personal time to impact the lives of others around her. She's an outstanding corporate citizen and representative of CCB. She has a deep feeling for our community, and it shows in her involvement. She's a great example for all of us." These endorsements say it all. I couldn't say it any better. I'm pleased to present Susan with 25 shares of Capital City stock and a check for a $1,000 contribution to the organization of her choice, the Foundation for Leon County Schools. Susan, thank you for your service, leadership, and commitment in making Leon County a stronger place by helping our children thrive. Susan, congratulations. Proud of you.
You can take that off so you can see your name now. There you go. It falls off, so hold on. Yeah, here. Congratulations. We'll take a picture later, too. You can take that home. You can take that back.
They told me to leave it here.
Oh, they told you to leave it there. Okay. Shows you what I know. Susan, congratulations. Your husband does believe all that. At Capital City, we work hard to promote a team environment in our approach. Each year, we recognize a single associate who truly embodies the spirit of Capital City Bank. The Godfrey Smith Award is the highest single honor an associate can receive. It's named for longtime banker Godfrey Smith, who devoted almost 63 years to Capital City and established the banking foundation we enjoy today. This year's Godfrey Smith Award winner is a bit too young to match Godfrey's 63 years of service, but in his 22 years, he has demonstrated enduring loyalty and embodied the example Godfrey Smith set in every way that counts.
I'm proud to announce the 22 Godfrey Smith Award honoree is a devoted family man, lauded professional, and impassioned community advocate, Seth Clark. Didn't see that one coming, did you, big cheater? When he said 22 years, you said, "Well, I got a chance." Seth is the investment manager and senior vice president with Capital City Trust Company. He began his career interning in our trust division while attending Florida A&M University, and came on full-time after graduation. Does an exceptional job for our clients, takes time to build rapport, and is gifted in explaining market complexities in ways his clients understand, which goes a long way to easing fears in a volatile market. He listens with the goal of having true understanding of their financial needs and comfort level, so he can build the right portfolio to best meet their needs.
In the office, Seth works with his brain and his heart. He is sharp-witted, analytical, and inquiring. His natural aptitude for business is enhanced by his diligent work ethic and drive to continuously grow his knowledge and hone his craft. What's most extraordinary about Seth is alongside that skilled technician and consummate professional, there's also a compassionate and caring man, just like Godfrey. Out of the office, he's selfless in giving, eager to use his skills and abilities in any way to strengthen our community, such as the service he provides to the Community Foundation of North Florida as a board member and chair of the investment committee. He's previously volunteered with the Miccosukee Youth Education Foundation and also serves on the bank's retirement management committee. Got a lot of folks out there counting on you, bubba. Yeah.
They administer our corporate retirement plan for the benefit of most of us in the room. Simply put, Seth cares for his family, his work, his clients, and his community, and in every instance, exemplifies everything a Capital City banker aspires to be. No one more deserving of the recognition. Congratulations, Seth. Surprise, right? Yeah. Are you supposed to leave yours here too?
I'm not just kidding.
Okay. Anybody got any questions? That's about as long as I'm gonna wait. Okay. Let's see if I got this right. We got a few door prizes to give away. Just in case you don't know, for those of you who work for the company, this is rigged. You're not gonna win. It says we'll give a Capital City YETI set to my old friend, Jep Larkin. Where's Jep? Where's Jep? All right, Jep. I can't believe they did this one, but a Nike pullover to Wally Dunn.
Hello.
Used to do some work for Capital City years ago. Where's Wally? I know. There you are, Wally. After Wally retired, he let his hair grow too long, and we kept telling him he had to get a haircut if he's gonna come to shareholders' meeting, and he lived up. A waterproof Bluetooth to young Everett Boyd. Congratulations, Ev. Let's see. I'll look around to see is there anything else I'm supposed to do before the video?
No.
No. Okay. Thank you. Before we close, I'd like to share a video that our marketing team did. By the way, I'd like to thank our marketing team for always putting on a great shareholders' meeting. We appreciate all you guys. Great job. They put together a video that highlighted Capital City's COVID efforts, as well as our involvement with the Paycheck Protection Program, PPP. If we could run the video, that would be great.
We really weren't thinking it was gonna be that big of a deal, as far as the financial impact and what it would do to the client population out there at large. Obviously that changed pretty quick.
One day we were working normally, the next day we were shut down.
As business bankers, you know, we meet with our clients face-to-face. We're going to their businesses, you know, talking to them, seeing what they have going on, and all of that stopped.
We knew that we were gonna have to act, and so we started having the conversations about how do we comply with what we're being told to do and still keep our business operations open for our client.
I had thoughts of what is this gonna look like for our business clients? How shutting down the economy and everybody staying at home, what's that gonna mean to these folks?
In order to continue to service our clients, we had to move quickly, and that meant getting people set up to work remotely. It meant involving a number of areas of our bank to make that happen, and I was incredibly impressed by the teamwork that was shown to get people up and running.
Our approach really was always from the perspective of taking care of our associates. That was our number one priority, was to take care of Capital City Bank associates.
It was nothing for me to get a phone call out of the blue from Bill Smith or Tom Barron or Beth Corum saying, "Hey, how are you doing today? What's happening? Are we good?" That just meant a lot. Just those little small things add up to a lot of big things. It was important that communication stayed tight. Our team was great.
Our retail associates handled themselves in a way that is indescribable. People came in, they appreciated what the bank was doing to try to acknowledge the work that they did. Most recently, at the end of the year, we recognized every associate who had been with us during some phase of the pandemic. We recognized every retail associate for the commitment that they gave to keeping our bank open and keeping our clients happy and satisfied.
With the beginning of the Paycheck Protection Program, it was all new, and we knew it was coming, and it was coming very quickly.
Clients, you know, they were very, very anxious as you can understand, you know. It'd be at midnight, and they would be emailing us, calling. I would be returning calls and texts. You know, one of them I called at 2 A.M. just to let them know, "It's good. You're good now. You know, your money has been allocated. We're gonna get it to you." It was pretty intense.
We're rolling things out as we're still getting or waiting for guidance on what that's gonna look like, you know. Yet, still serving the clients.
We had associates really from all of our entire footprint to come together to put this together for clients because we were gonna participate, and we just knew we had to for our clients.
There was no, you know, "This is my job. This is your job." That was all gone. The teamwork definitely is what made it work.
We were stronger as a team, stronger together, working with people that you didn't always work with every single day. We were a hugely strong team that just like the regular family, don't always see eye to eye, but we all came together for what was the right thing to do.
I think we learned the true value of teamwork because regardless of where you worked within the bank, you had to rely on other areas to make sure that you were successful in the work that you did.
Managing COVID was a full-time job. It was like having two jobs at the bank. Leanne and I became known as Pam Anne. I really cherish the friendship that we developed.
I am so proud to be the Anne of Pam Anne. She's more than a friend to me. We're buddies. We are connected at the heart.
Relationships have deepened. They've become more personal and more professional.
Our heart was always there in the right place to take care of our folks, our associates, and each other. I can truly say that was one of the most beautiful things that came out of COVID.
If I look back on clients who sought me out or would see me and make comments, I'm probably most proud of hearing, "Y'all really stepped up and helped me in a time of need.
Having clients call and just say, "You guys came through. Thank you so much for making this happen." You know, all the team received those phone calls, and I think I speak for the entire team when I say that made it worthwhile.
Clearly, there were times when it was just so overwhelming. In retrospect, I wouldn't change it because it was such a learning experience for me. You know, it stretched me professionally. It stretched me personally. I would not change it.
There's a handful of different things, I think, over the years that I've been involved in with the bank that have made me feel like, "You know what? This is a good place to be in." PPP is real high on that list.
I think about the number of clients that we were able to help and how even today in working with them, they will talk about, you know, what you were able to do for me through PPP and that time saved my business. You know, I'm very proud to work for Capital City Bank. I'm glad that I work for Capital City Bank every single day, and I was before COVID. COVID just strengthened that a little bit because you saw the bank respond in a different way. I was very proud to be part of Capital City Bank.
Thanks to our friends, actually our great clients, PSG in the back, for doing all this today. Larry, thank you, buddy. We appreciate y'all. Thanks for coming. Panel, seeing you again next year in 2023 at the shareholders meeting. Y'all have a great day.