Bringing People Together Thomas Bell Brings Banking Into The Community by Karla Vierthaler I broke an appointment two weeks ago. It can’t really be justified as an honest mistake, but in the wake of all that was happening in New York and Washington — in America — an interview with Tom Bell, AllFirst Bank’s vice president of community and economic development, slipped my mind. The interview was rescheduled and the apologies abounded. Yet it wasn’t until I finally went to the AllFirst Building on Market Street that a deep guilt set in. Bell’s office is in the “penthouse” of the building, behind locked glass doors and a huge luxurious reception area. Wow, I thought, this guy is really important. And important he is, but not because of the location of his office or the number of couches in his reception area. Tom Bell is playing a major role in revitalizing central Pennsylvania, and he couldn’t be a nicer guy. “I love what I do,” says Bell with a grin, when asked about his job. What he does is bring the money and resources of the bank to the community. Bell is in charge of the 12 counties AllFirst covers in Pennsylvania, from the Lehigh Valley to Adams and Franklin counties. He organizes projects, generally the renovation or establishment of homes and businesses, to revitalize communities that may be down on their luck. “If the communities don’t survive, then it’s hard for the bank in that community to survive,” says Bell. “That’s been my philosophy in banking, and it’s worked very well here in Central Pennsylvania.” It’s a tough job, requiring Bell to be a banker as well as a community developer, public servant, and organizer. Here’s how it works: Bell seeks communities in need of aid and makes contacts with the mayor, head of economic development, non-profit groups, and community members to assess how each can contribute to revitalization. And AllFirst contributes a lot. “We want to put money back into the community utilizing the state’s comprehensive tax program [the Department of Community and Economic Development Comprehensive Tax Program],” he says. “We bring an infusion of cash into the community for a ten year period, and this allows us to leverage additional funds from the state, local and federal governments that can build on that base for low to moderate income housing, for small business structure, for economic development, the whole gamut.” He cites the bank’s average investment is $1 million, in the form of loans to small businesses, municipalities, non-profit housing organizations, and bond structures. Successful programs have been implemented around Harrisburg, specifically around Allison Hill and the South Duke Street corridor. Lancaster and Carlisle have also reaped the benefits of AllFirst’s commitment to community. Bell cites a successful project in Carlisle in the Memorial Park area. “There was a shooting in Memorial Park, near Dickinson College, a couple of years ago,” he said. “It’s a tough area.” So he set out to change that. Organizing a group that included a state representative, the mayor, and Dickinson College, Bell was able to re-establish the area as Hope Street Station. A cyber station was opened in an abandoned warehouse in the area for local children and small businesses are beginning to move into the neighborhood. Bell hopes to begin a similar project in South Bethlehem in the near future. “We’ve got the major and director of economic development totally behind us,” he says. But those aren’t the only people behind Bell. None of the work he has done would be possible without the support of AllFirst Bank. “I’m totally supported by the bank,” says Bell. “If I kept going against a brick wall, I probably wouldn’t be here. They trust me, they know the work that I do, they give me my leave and I go with it.” The whole thing began when AllFirst was conceived out of a merger between the First National Bank of Maryland and Dauphin Deposit Bank. Bell was in a similar position at the National Bank of Maryland, and when the two banks became one, he proposed some of the economic development plans that had been mulling around in his head. The board gave him the go ahead, and the work began. Bell says his typical day involves returning phone calls, traveling and attending meetings. He’s a banker, yes, but he’s also got community organizing down pat. A member of the Pennsylvania Community Development Bank, the Regional Housing Advisory Committee, Susquehanna Housing Initiatives, Drug Free Pennsylvania, as well as community action and planning commissions in all of the counties he represents, Bell’s a busy guy. “It’s not just giving money and then walking away,” he says of his job. “It requires continues follow up, that’s why I sit on all these committees.” “I actually do very little banking,” he says. “What I do is bring people together.”