Jim McLemore
EVP, Chief Financial Officer
Oconee State Bank, Watkinsville, GA
Member, GBA Asset/Liability Management Committee
Q: What was your first job, and was there a lesson you learned there that you still use today?
A: My first job in banking was a management trainee. I worked on the teller line and then in the mortgage department. I wasn’t very good at either. I learned that I was better suited to using my accounting degree!
Q: What was the most useful piece of advice you received from a mentor (or in the early/formative years of your career)?
A: Joe Evans gave me a lot of good advice. The one piece of advice he gave me that I have used often and has served me well is – “If you don’t feel like you’re paying someone enough, don’t go home at the end of the day before you do something about it.”
Q: Tell us about one experience you’ve had that exemplifies being a banker or your role at the bank.
A: Working in a bank at the time of the PPP program. Although I was not involved directly in the lending process, I was very proud to be in banking at a time when banks were meeting a very crucial need in our communities. P.S. Now that PPP is over, I can understand the bank’s numbers again!
Q: What is the hardest part about your job?
A: Taking complex/arcane financial topics and making them understandable and useful for non-financial folks (which is just about everyone else in the bank).
Q: First tap/click of the day?
A: What appointments are on my calendar and my work email.
Q: When you’re not on the job at the bank, what do you like to do?
A: Golf, running, working out and college football