Neighbor helping neighbor? Bank on it.

Mary Carpenter, banker and head of this year’s United Way campaign in North Georgia. Photo by Mike O’Neal

Mary Carpenter has always been a builder, though not the kind using hammer and nails.

Her banking career has been built on forming personal relationships and accountability.

“Banking is all about people, trust and personal relationships,” this veteran of more than 30 years in the financial industry said recently. “Service is so important at a bank that it – that personal connection, that attention to the customer – is what I notice everywhere, whether it is in a store, at a fast food drive-through or on the telephone.”

Skills this vice president of marketing for Gateway Bank & Trust has honed in the world of finance will be dedicated this year to chairing the 2011 North Georgia Campaign for United Way in Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties.

“I wish I could close the bank for a day and take all the employees on a tour of all the facilities and agencies we support so they could see all the good things that happen because of United Way,” she said. “So many little things – and small contributions – make so many big things possible.”