Justin Allender, 37

Occupation: Commercial Loan Officer, First National Bank of Mount Dora

What I do: I help Lake County business owners finance their land, building and equipment.

How I got started: I started off as a bank teller in 2008 during my time at Florida State. I took a break to get my MBA, but 2025 will be my 15th year in Banking.

Commercial banking is my passion because: Whether it’s ground-up construction or just helping someone switch from renting to owning, it’s fun to see the tangible ways I can play a part in a business’s success. I am involved in several local chambers of commerce, so that way I know what’s going on in our local communities. Being a community banker lets me pair my financial knowledge with local resources that are available to my clients. It allows me to offer a banking relationship instead of a banking transaction; something that a computer in New York City, Charlotte or San Francisco can’t imitate.

My biggest professional achievement: I’m proud to have completed a two-year values-based banking leadership academy with MIT’s CoLab in 2016. I got to explore how banking can make communities stronger when focused on people and not just profit. Over the two years I got to visit Germany, France, Bolivia and had my capstone in Boston with colleagues from banks from around the world.

When I’m not working with loans: If you ask anyone who knows me, they’ll tell you I don’t really do “spare” time. I plan out my life like crazy. I recently started teaching a night/online course for Lake Sumter State College’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Leadership program. I host the South Lake Young Professionals monthly and I serve on several non-profit boards. I do have season tickets to the Broadway shows at the Dr. Phillips Center to get some culture and I manage to go to Universal Studios a few times a month for some fun with my family, too.

My first job: I started as a stock boy at JC Penney, then I was put on a cash register on Black Friday. I was so good at encouraging people to apply for a JC Penney credit card they never sent me back to the stockroom.

My local mentor: There are too many to name that I’d be afraid of leaving someone out. However, I will always treasure those ahead of me in life who have always extended a helping hand up the career ladder.

The best advice I’ve ever received: I can’t think of a sage piece of wisdom someone gave me specifically, but I have a moment seared in my brain that I use as a guidepost. In high school, I remember a cell phone store tricking my grandmother into signing up for texting package and more minutes than she’d ever use. I was only 15 but I made her drive me to the store so I could scold the salesperson and have him put her on a plan that was appropriate. I always try to think, if this client were someone’s grandparent would their family be happy with the way I treated them?

Fun fact: One of my guilty pleasures is reality TV.  Big Brother, Traitors and Selling Sunset come to mind.

If I had a million dollars to give away: I would support The Neighborhood Center of South Lake, which is a community food pantry; Find Feed Restore, which helps unhoused families with children; and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lake County.

Life after 40: I really enjoy asking upper management (when appropriate, of course) the strategy behind some of their decisions, which is how I learn and why I love being at a small company of only 85 people. I’m also pretty decent at assembling teams and knowing who should be friends, so I hope to eventually combine these quirks of mine into a bank executive-level role. That way I can continue the legacy of community banking making our towns stronger and creating better places to live.