Sharon Burton, seated, is seen with three other members of the Aliant Bank staff. From left, they are Mona Howton, Tracey Schultz and Sharon Alexander. The bank officially opened on April 9.

Aliant Bank, located at 210 Fieldstown Road, Suite 142, is managed by Sharon Burton.

The business can be reached at 980-6500. The bank’s Web site is www.aliantbank.com.

Burton, a banking veteran with 33 years of experience, was previously the manager of the Decatur Highway branch of Regions Bank. She joined Aliant after someone at the Alexander City-based banking chain recommended her for the new branch in Gardendale.

“This gets me back to the things I enjoy doing most like visiting with my customers,” she said of her move.

The new bank officially opened on April 9 and will celebrate its grand opening in four to six weeks. The hours of operation are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The bank’s drive-through is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 6 p.m. on Friday. Transactions made before 5 p.m. are processed that day.

Burton said one of the positives about Aliant Bank is that it’s not a nationally-traded stock and that the founding family is still involved in the day-to-day operations. “We’re not out there getting the bumps and bruises that the larger banks have endured,” she said.

She shared the following about the business:



• How many employees do you have? “There’s actually four of us and we’re all from Regions. When Aliant started talking to me, I wanted to be able to bring my own team with me. I was very fortunate to bring folks on the staff I had there.”

• What services / products do you provide? “We pretty much offer the same types of services that you can receive at a larger bank. We specialize in local lending and can approve loans on a local basis.”

• Why should someone use your services over a competitor? “If we need something or there’s something we don’t know, we can pick up the phone and talk to an individual. The bank is small enough to offer people individual attention but large enough to offer everything a larger bank would offer.”

• What’s been your greatest success? “Building relationships. Banking is not about products and services — it’s really about relationships.”

• What’s the greatest joy of being the manager of a business? “Making a difference in someone’s life; getting to know their grandkids and learning something about them individually. Also, bringing up your peers and training your staff so they can grow with the company.”