beat
COMMUNITY WILL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS Local bank’s rising star BY ALISON BAILIN BATZ PHOTO BY MARK MORGAN
T
he highest ranking female at Washington Federal in the Valley, Paris Davis, serves as the bank’s vice president and northwest Arizona retail banking division manager. Davis, who has been in banking for more than 30 years was key in Washington Federal’s 2014 acquisition of 23 Bank of America branches. But, she had another huge event in her life that year when she came down with what she thought was an earache. “It got so bad, after a few weeks I finally relented and visited a doctor,” says Davis. “At the time, I was just elected cochair our annual United Way campaign, and we were working toward a massive national technology conversion.” But, it wasn’t an infection – it was thyroid cancer. Not that it slowed her down; Davis continued to helm the United Way campaign, albeit sometimes from a doctor’s office. The result: A cancer-free Davis whose team raised a record $515,000plus for United Way, and completed the conversion on schedule. Davis also got her certification with Take Charge America to teach financial literacy.
Etc.
Did you always want to go into banking? As a child, I wanted to be a singing basketball player since, you know, that’s clearly a job. Beyond United Way, how do you help your team to get community involved? I help spearhead our Washington Federal Focus on Arizona community outreach program, which donates hundreds of hours and raises thousands of dollars for organizations statewide, including our hugely successful “Save at School” program, where we visit local schools and help kids as young as kindergarteners to open their first savings accounts and to understand the value of a dollar. UPTOWN |
22
| MAY 2016