ALPHARETTA, GA., June 6, 2000 --- The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and North Atlanta National Bank (NANB) have joined forces to provide one-stop counseling and banking services to entrepreneurs and small business owners in North Fulton. In a brief ceremony on May 18^th at North Atlanta National Bank’s headquarters, Jimmy Walker, Chairman and President of the bank, officially welcomed Fred Macfee, the Chairman of the Atlanta SCORE chapter, and its volunteers to their new office in the bank’s building.

Walker stated in his remarks that the bank’s partnership with SCORE creates an extraordinary synergy that will benefit the North Fulton small business community. "Small businesses are the backbone of this country. Everyone reads about the Fortune 500 but few are aware of the 23 million small businesses in America that employ more than 50% of the private workforce and generate more than half of our country’s gross domestic products. In today’s world, small businesses are the principal source of new jobs. Like the rest of the country, these jobs contribute to the high quality of life that we enjoy today in North Fulton. As a community bank, our partnership with SCORE helps us to support the needs of existing small businesses in our community today and to nurture the successful businesses of tomorrow."

According to Macfee, the Atlanta Chapter of SCORE is the only volunteer counseling group in Atlanta staffed exclusively by experienced business executives with real-world experience. All SCORE volunteers have specific industry and general business expertise. In his remarks, Macfee expressed his excitement about the affiliation with North Atlanta National Bank. "The new office in Alpharetta will dramatically expand SCORE’s services. It’s no secret that the Alpharetta, Roswell, and North Fulton Markets are a hotbed for small business activity. Our partnership with North Atlanta National Bank and our new office in Alpharetta make it possible to provide convenient services and present workshops and seminars to existing and future small business owners in North Fulton. The small businessperson and the budding entrepreneur face a host of dilemmas including the access to business knowledge and experience, capital and time. They have an urgent need for the counseling and workshops that SCORE provides but don’t have the time to travel downtown to take advantage of them. Our new offices at North Atlanta National Bank help to resolve this issue. The establishment of a North Fulton office is important and needed to be done. This location will provide greater accessibility to our clients and allows us to fill their needs. We can do all of this now because we have North Atlanta National Bank as a sponsor."

SCORE conducts daytime seminars on topics that include starting and financing a new business, applying for SBA loans and writing the business plan. These seminars are currently being held at the Small Business Resource Center in downtown Atlanta and in Buckhead. Macfee is looking forward to SCORE expanding its offerings to its new office in North Fulton. "Along with the office space, North Atlanta National Bank has donated the use of its state-of-the-art conference room and other facilities so that we can conduct our workshops here.

This will be a tremendous benefit for small business owners in the area. Now they will be able to receive quality low-cost training without having to sacrifice a full day away from their business."

For information on SCORE counseling at the New North Atlanta office, call 678-277-8437.

SCORE is a national organization dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of small businesses. It is a network of volunteer business executives and professionals that provides small businesses with technical and managerial counseling and training. For more information about the Atlanta Chapter of SCORE, please call (404) 331-0121; or visit the web site at http://www.scoreatlanta.org. The chapter’s e-mail address is scoreatl@mindspring.com. The web site for the national organization can be found at http://www.score.org.