Chuck Bannister, left, is congratulated by Laura Cox of the Moultrie Junior Women’s Club for being named January Mentor of the Month.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Moultrie Junior Woman’s Club recently named Chuck Bannister the January Mentor of the Month.

As senior vice president and city president of South Georgia Banking Company, Bannister has worked in banking for the last 33 years and has lived in Moultrie for 53 years.

Bannister prioritizes serving the community; his time as a mentor is just one way he makes a difference. Bannister said he sees the YMCA Mentor program as a great opportunity to encourage the youth in the community and make improvements in their lives.

A mentor for the Colquitt County YMCA for six years, Bannister currently mentors students at Willie J. Williams Middle School. Bannister has mentored several students, one of whom he has mentored now for six consecutive years.  Every Friday, Bannister looks forward to meeting with his mentee: “I have probably learned more from him than he has from me. I look forward to seeing his smiling face each Friday morning.” Bannister encourages his mentee to strive to always do his best.

When asked how he became involved and encouraged to mentor, Bannister answered that Robert Duggan, a former Moultrian, was the reason. He said Duggan had always been one of his personal heroes and that he was an all-around wonderful person and friend. Bannister hopes that others will consider becoming a YMCA mentor.

“If your heart is in the right place, you will find ways to give back to your community, and I believe the Mentor Program is a great way to accomplish that,” he said.

The YMCA mentoring program is a school-based mentoring program working with more than 200 volunteers from the community. To find out more about how you can become a mentor in our community, contact Jan Barrow, Mentoring Director, at 985-1154 or jbarrow@moultrieymca.org.