President Paige presented Mr. Marion Lessington, one of AWER’s most excellent new members, who presented a classification talk, describing his life and career. Marion gave us the wonderful surprise that he is a musician, having graduated from the College of Charleston (SC) as a music major and served as the music director in his church. He’s now the manager of Ameris Bank, having started with a national bank, Wells Fargo, then a state bank, SunTrust which is now Truist Bank, and now with Ameris, a community bank. Marion sees Fintech, the technology side of the world of finance, in his future. For now he envisions himself taking Ameris to the community, by making many appearances at events and with people in the community whom he wants to know and whom he believes need to know of the services Ameris provides – plus Marion regards himself at home when he’s out of the bank as he’s a people person. He wants to know the heartbeat of the community – best for him, and definitely best for Ameris. His objective in connecting with people centers on enabling them to move their lives forward in a positive way. Further, he also sees it to be important to be with kids in schools. He wants our schools to be strong … he helps school raise money. Ameris gives 1% of deposits from newly recruited customers to schools! Music, banking and Fintech occupy his vision for now and the future. Regarding Fintech, Marion explained that a huge percentage of jobs are being lost to automation and more specifically to artificial intelligence. Marion also emphasizes the decreasing need for banks to have a brick-and-mortar presence – again owing to the power of technology – Fintech. Accordingly, he foresees fewer bank branches and a greater concentration reaching people in the community and at work without the need for people to actually walk into their bank branch. Marion concluded with two other visions of himself: 1) MellSaidIt is Marion’s brand for making and keeping positivity possible. His flare for cooking bolsters this vision, as also does 2) Your Soul Care Community. YSCC is a global collective led by Marion’s partner, Marcus K. Johnson, its Founder. The Vision: building a collective of adults and youth who experience spirituality and fellowship in non-traditional ways. YSCC seeks a world more “present, loving and accepting for all people …”