Check out Southern Community's
new home in the mountains!

We invite our customers to visit our new western regional headquarters in Asheville, which officially opened for business on May 18th. The 10,000 square foot building is not an ordinary bank branch office. It takes its cue from famous local architecture like the Grove Park Inn and Biltmore Estate. The stone façade, grand vaulted arch at the canopy, and stair turret all complement Asheville's unique look.

Southern Community has developed a keen understanding of the growing Asheville community since establishing an office there in October of 2006. Most of our staff members at the new facility are originally






from Asheville or lived in the Asheville area prior to joining the bank, so they have an inside perspective on how Southern Community can best serve their neighbors and friends.


The new office building includes an expansive lobby area and offices for retail and commercial bankers, mortgage lenders, commercial and construction lenders, and wealth management advisors. It also includes safe deposit boxes and a community board room.

Grand opening events took place during the week of June 8th, and included an official ribbon cutting ceremony and reception, customer appreciation events, and special offers for Asheville citizens. Prize drawings were also held throughout the week.

Special thanks to all who helped to develop the new branch, and we invite everyone to stop by and check out our home in the mountains!

Kim Phillips Honored
as YWCA Woman of Vision

Southern Community would like to congratulate Kim Phillips on her recent recognition as an outstanding female community leader by the YWCA of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County. Kim serves as Executive Assistant to the President & Customer Service Relationship Manager here at Southern Community. She was one of only 25 women honored at the 2009 "Women of Vision" Awards Luncheon in May. The award recognizes area women whose knowledge, creativity, leadership and other traits make a positive impact on the community. "We've always been proud of the contributions that Kim has made to our bank," says Southern Community President Jeff Clark, "and it's nice to see that she is being recognized for her equally outstanding contributions to our community." Congratulations, Kim!

Security Tips

Social Networks

In each issue of our newsletter, we offer tips to help keep you and your money safe. Social networks like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are becoming an increasingly popular method of communication. However, they are also becoming a more popular target for scammers to identify potential victims.

Scammers have learned to access a user's account, pose as that network member, and send out malicious links to his or her "friends". Clicking on these links will allow the scammer to take control of the recipient's computer, compromising bank accounts, credit card details, and other confidential information that they may have

Here are some tips to keep in mind when exploring the social media world that can help keep you and your confi dential information safe.

  • Only accept invitations to "connect" with or become "friends" with people who you know.
  • Do not include personal information like your email address, physical address or phone number in your personal profile.
  • Pick a password that cannot be easily guessed (i.e. not your pet's name or maiden name). The best passwords are 8-10 characters long and include upper and lower case letters, plus numbers and/or symbols if possible.
  • If you use a shared computer (like those at an office or library) to log into a social network, be sure to completely log off when you are finished by clicking the log out button. Simply closing the screen may allow someone to come behind you and access your information or contact your "friends".
  • Be careful when downloading applications or "apps" to your page. In order to function properly, apps almost always need to access certain information from your profile. You should research the app before incorporating it into your profile – paying close attention to what kind of information the app needs to access.
  • Never respond to any requests for password or credit card information. If an app or any person requests this information, it should raise a red flag.
  • Unlike many scams where the target is the only victim, social network scams can affect you even if it was your "friend" who was actually targeted. If one of your friends has fallen victim to a scam, you may receive a message that appears to be from him or her. These messages will typically ask you to visit a link that is included in the message. Before clicking anything, you should confirm with your friend that it is a legitimate message and link.