It makes sense that a bank --  with all its dollars -- should be green. But when Northwest Georgia Bank’s North Shore branch opened in September as the state’s first LEED-certified or “green” bank building, it meant a lot more than the color of money.

“When an owner such as Northwest Georgia Bank makes a commitment to construct a LEED building, a unique design process is put into place,” said Pat Neuhoff of Neuhoff Taylor Architects, building designer. “From the inception, the LEED process requires the owner, architect, engineers and other consultants to focus on environmental responsibility. The impact of design decisions on the environment becomes a true priority.”

LEED™ is the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system used to identify and measure high performance, environmentally-responsible buildings.

“With the eco-commitment gaining a lot of steam already in Chattanooga, naturally we wanted to join our friends and neighbors in doing our part,” said Scott Smith, Northwest Georgia president and COO. “When we decided to build our North Shore branch LEED-certified, we had no idea that it would draw so much attention. We just knew it was smart business and the right thing to do for the neighborhood.”

Some LEED features of the North Shore branch include:

 • Alternative transportation: public transportation access, bicycle racks and storage, along with a shower and changing room
 • Water efficiency: water-efficient landscaping and plumbing
 • Materials and resources management: use of recycled building materials and regional materials requiring less fuel emissions to deliver, as well as recycling 50 to 75 percent of construction waste
 • Indoor environmental air quality: use of low-emitting VOC materials (like adhesives, carpet, paint) that contribute to good indoor air quality and an architectural design that uses lots of light.

Wes Smith, Northwest Georgia chairman and CEO, said the new branch is more than a token step. “Our Northwest Georgia Bank Foundation recently awarded a $5,000 grant to the Lookout Mountain Conservancy, a regional land trust focusing on conservation efforts on Lookout Mountain.”

At about 6,500 square feet, the North Shore branch at 319 Manufacturers Road will offer full-service banking, investments by Raymond James Financial, mortgage services, Internet access, and free gourmet coffee. Stacie Phillips is assistant vice president and branch manager.

Chattanooga Company Hits the Cyberspace Campaign Trail

With just days remaining in the election season, Chattanooga is again a hotbed of high-tech political activity for the Republican Party -- thanks to the role of a local technology company.
Smartech Corp., a division of Airnet Group, Inc., sends millions of requested messages on behalf of the presidential ticket and other GOP candidates.
Located at an ultra-secure site in Chattanooga, Smartech Corp. serves as the official web host for the Republican National Committee and upwards of 100 elected officials. Current and past clients include the political organizations of Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Newt Gingrich’s American Solutions.
Smartech President Jeff Averbeck was in St. Paul for the 2008 Republican National Convention, where his company was serving as web host for the proceedings. He was in good company with other national technology providers such as Google, Microsoft and Qwest.
Four years earlier, Averbeck and a team from Chattanooga were in New York for the GOP Convention providing video-on-demand streams and live webcam views of events through powerful web servers located at Smartech’s Chattanooga headquarters.
Averbeck worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority before founding his company in 1998.  He won the confidence of the GOP after responding to the Republicans’ call for technology help in the 2000 national campaign.
“Pew Research has reported that 36 percent of Americans look to the Internet and email updates for news and information,” Averbeck says. “By deploying sophisticated tools of data aggregation and micro-targeting, Smartech is on the leading edge of campaign communications.”