The Bank Note - November 2020
Connecting with Shareholders of Alliance Bank Central Texas
November 2020
Message from Todd Moore
Todd Moore
President & CEO
Cell Phone: 254.722.2300
21 Days for the 2021 United Way
Our "21 Days for the 2021 United Way" employee giving campaign is underway! The United Way of Waco-McLennan County creates change in our community by empowering the essential work of many nonprofits that directly improve the lives of McLennan County residents. It's clear our employees are proud to support this organization: since 2013, Alliance Bank has donated over $58,500. Last year we donated $9,680 and we look forward to topping it this year! Want to join us in creating change in our community? Consider making a donation through your own corporate campaign, or as part of our team with a one time donation. Simply fill out this pledge form and email it to Tanner Moore.
20 Questions in 30 Seconds
Mark Minor
Chief Credit Officer
Executive Vice President
Following in his grandfather’s, father’s and two uncles’ footsteps, Mark began his banking career 38 years ago. He’s had experience across all areas of the bank, been a bank examiner and has served on five different bank boards. He says helping people achieve their financial goals and his vast customer base keep him motivated and make work fun. But what career would he have pursued had he not been drawn to banking? His first job of mowing lawns might give a clue. Read below about his love of the outdoors, how he likes to motivate others, plans for his upcoming retirement and more.
1. How long have you been in banking and what roles have you held? I have been in banking 38 years and have served as a bookkeeping associate, drive thru teller, lobby teller, new accounts representative, and installment lender and commercial lender. I was also a bank examiner for the Texas Department of Banking and have served on five different bank board of directors.
2. When did you join the Alliance Bank team and what is your current role? I joined ABCT first as a director when the bank opened in Waco in 2007, and later as a lender in 2010. I currently serve as Chief Credit Officer and Executive Vice President.
3. What inspired you to pursue a career in banking? I was born into a family of bankers with my father, grandfather and two uncles all in banking. I was drawn to it since I was a young child.
4. What motivates you to wake up and go to work? I enjoy helping people achieve their financial goals.
5. How do you like to motivate others? I like to motivate others by setting a good example in everything I do. I would never ask someone to do something that I would not do.
6. What do you think is the key to customer service? Always treat customers with respect and to give everyone the same level of service – your absolute very best.
7. What has been your favorite project/milestone at the bank? Working to improve asset quality and enjoying the results recognized by regulators.
8. Over the years, what changes have you seen that have most impacted the industry? Computers totally changed the mechanics of the banking industry.
9. What would you say is the most important facet of workplace culture? For every employee to be treated fairly and held to the same standard – no exceptions.
10. What is your favorite thing about working at Alliance Bank Central Texas? The vast customer base we have has been fun for me.
11. If you could choose any profession other than banking, what would it be? Nursery owner and landscape design.
12. What is on your retirement "to-do" list? Travel with my wife Teresa, spend time with my grandchildren, fish for salmon in Alaska and hunt elk in Wyoming with my grandson, Jackson, and spend the month of August in Colorado.
13. When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you like to pass the time? Always outside working in the yard.
14. What is your favorite social media outlet? Facebook.
15. What was your very first job? Mowing yards.
16. What would you name the autobiography of your life? “Don’t Worry About the Mule – Just Load the Wagon.”
17. What does a typical Saturday look like for you? I’m up at 5 a.m. and head to the ranch for a day of work.
18. What’s your favorite indoor/outdoor activity? Indoor – watching Alaska related TV programs; Outdoor – working in my yard, fishing, shooting firearms.
19. What household chore do you absolutely hate doing? Putting up Christmas lights.
20. What was your first concert? Neil Diamond.
Fraud Alert
Fraud continues to be on the rise. This time of uncertainty caused by the pandemic, coupled with the holiday season, has scammers working overtime trying to steal your personal information, money, or both. Don't let them! If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Never provide your usernames, passwords, date of birth, social security number, financial data, or other personal information in response to an email or robocall, or at the request of someone you met online. You work hard for your money, work just as hard to protect it!
In the Spotlight
CargoHome Tiny Houses and VillaStay Vacation Rentals
Kenneth “Josiah” Wheeler, Founder
Josiah Wheeler is a lifelong Texan who firmly believes that ice cream, especially Blue Bell, is a staple food item. Waco became home in 1990 where he met his wife and they raised their nine children. In 2016 Josiah and his sons built a tiny house. What began as a family project turned into two family businesses that blend his passion for construction and hospitality. CargoHome Tiny Houses and VillaStay Vacation Rentals offers a comprehensive approach, from design to rental management and everything in between.
You’re a lifelong Texan, but when did Waco become home?
I was born in Georgetown and grew up in Austin so I’m a lifelong Texan. In 1990 my family moved to Waco; it’s hard to believe I’ve lived here for 30 years now! I met my wife, Angie, here and we just celebrated our 25th anniversary. We are grateful to have raised our nine children here. So Waco is definitely “home” to us.
What lead you to starting CargoHome Tiny Houses and Villa ?
I’ve always enjoyed home building and home design and in my 20’s, I helped build a number of high-end, custom homes, including President Bush’s home in Crawford. I also spent several years building custom furniture. For the last 15 years, I’ve been in administrative roles in other businesses, but my heart has always been in building things. About six years ago, I started noticing a buzz around tiny houses, and though I didn’t have much of an impetus to live in one, I found the idea intriguing. In 2016, I decided to build one with my boys and teach them some of what I knew in the construction trades. We had initially thought about selling it, but decided to list it on Airbnb in spring of 2017. Within a couple of days, we had dozens of bookings. We realized we might be on to something and decided to build a few more. In January 2018, we decided to start a business building, selling, and renting them as vacation rentals. I’ve always loved construction and the hospitality industry. Voila! I get to do both and the rest is history!
Why a shipping cargo container tiny house?
After building our initial tiny house, which was on wheels and typical framed construction, we decided to try for a “niche of a niche” and build not only a tiny house, but a tiny house out of a shipping container. There is definitely a trend of downsizing in home building–not necessarily just to “tiny house” size but in general people attempting to reduce their footprint. With typical home prices being so high, especially millennials look at small or tiny houses as an entry to the home buying world. Certainly people are also looking to be more eco-friendly in construction materials and utilities efficiency. There are so many new eco-friendly and efficient products on the market now, it’s a lot easier than it was 20 years ago!
Our hunch that it might be popular was proven correct, and it booked even faster than our first tiny house!
What growth have has the company experienced?
By spring of 2019, we had close to ten rentals in the Waco area with over 95% occupancy rates. We also were selling them to customers who wanted us to install them on our properties and manage for them as vacation rentals. This was proving to be a very profitable investment for our customers and was basically a completely passive investment–we build the house, set it up and manage it and the customer gets a check once a month for the net amount.
By 2019 it became clear that we were really operating two different businesses: a tiny house construction business and a vacation rental management company. We had been operating the vacation rentals under the CargoHome name as well, so we formed two separate companies–CargoHome Tiny Houses and VillaStay Vacation Rentals to help streamline our operations. The two companies work hand in glove to offer our customers a seamless experience.
Currently we focus strictly on “tiny house” container homes, not full size container homes. We may get into that eventually. The vast majority of the tiny homes we build are for vacation rentals–either for our own properties or our customer’s property. We’ve sold them to individuals in California, Ohio and Florida that are using them for their own vacation rental business.
We now have over 30 homes under management and one of our container homes was listed in Airbnb’s annual Traveler Trends report this year as the fifth most wish-listed tiny house in the world! We were featured in Dwell magazine earlier this year and were just featured in the October 18 Sunday edition of the Houston Chronicle. So a lot of exciting growth and we’re looking forward to what next year holds.
What makes the customer service experience unique?
For CargoHome, we strive to make the experience of designing and purchasing a tiny house as simple as possible. We have several models we offer with different customizable options that make it quick and easy to order. We also will work with customers to create a custom design.
For VillaStay, we have designed an experience for our guests where they feel like any need or question is answered before they have the question. We have paid attention to the things our guests have asked or needed over the years and built our operations and communication around these needs. Our over 4,400 positive reviews give testimony to our stellar guest service experience.
For our “owners” (customers who purchase a tiny house and have us manage it) we strive to make it a smooth, seamless experience so that once they have signed the contract for us to build and manage, they don’t have to worry about another thing. Once the house is up and running, they receive a monthly deposit along with an owner statement showing all their bookings and expenses. They love having a “no-worries” passive income stream coming in.
As minimalist/"tiny" living continues to be a growing trend, how has Cargohome been able to help homebuyers meet their lifestyle goals?
One issue with purchasing tiny houses has always been financing them. Since we offer the option of buying from us along with the ability for us to manage them as an income source, people are able to finance them as a business investment as opposed to a traditional mortgage. Alliance Bank has been a tremendous part of making this happen for our customers. Some want to keep their tiny house in our management portfolio indefinitely and some want to keep them with us until they pay them off–this often can be done in two to five years. Once they’re paid off, they can move them to their property to use as they wish.
How has the pandemic impacted the purchase and rental of the tiny homes?
In March of this year, McLennan county mostly shut down and travel ceased. For about four to six weeks, we were hanging on by a thread as the majority of our guests cancelled their stays and large CargoHome orders were cancelled. By mid-April though, people were desperate to get out of their houses and stay somewhere safe, in a private space. Our tiny houses were the perfect solution and bookings started to rapidly increase. We also had a growing interest in our tiny houses as people began to think about having a small place of their own to go to outside urban centers. Now, in October, our bookings are even higher than they were before the pandemic and we’ve moved our CargoHome operation into a much larger, 30,000 sq. ft. facility to keep up with the orders we are receiving,
-What keeps you energized about going to work each day?
Building a business that my children benefit from. Several of my sons and one daughter work for the business and I hope it will be a support to them and my family for many years to come!
And finally, hobbies/pastimes do you enjoy?
Not much time for hobbies but I’m a musician and singer. I lead worship at our church and our whole family enjoys playing music and singing together. And…I firmly believe that ice cream is a staple food item–especially Texas’ very own Blue Bell.
Noteworthy
Tanner Moore, EVP & Commercial Loan Officer, was featured in Texas Bankers Association's Community Banker Spotlight. Click here to read about why he describes his profession as a calling, and more. Thank you Tanner for the work you do with TBA!
Employee Birthday Celebrations
November Celebrations
Betty Yates (11/2)
Caleb Quetz (11/3)
Kimberly Aguilar (11/6)
Jesus Varela (11/8)
Bacilio Garcia (11/11)
Angelica Barrientos (11/14)
Kenia Ortega (11/18)
Jonathan Briscoe (11/22)
Mayra Gutierrez (11/23)
Florence Sebesta (11/27)
December Celebrations
Travis Louge (12/27)
Patti Johnson (12/29)