| Patricia Coleman never meets a stranger. She is a friend to everyone, and is like a breath of fresh air when she walks into a room. She always has a kind word to say, and really knows how to make a person feel good about themselves.
Born in St. Louis , Missouri on September 5, 1956 , Patricia is the third of seven children. Her dad, who passed away in August 2003, was a strong influence in her life. “My dad taught us great Christian values”, says Patricia.
“He taught us to treat others the way you want to be treated, and to always do good things for others”. Her dad, a deacon in their church, taught his children to be servants to other. “We were always feeding people meals”, Patricia remembers. “We served Sunday dinner to the pastor every week”.
Patricia remembers having the best childhood growing up. “We never lacked for anything. My mom worked nights and my dad worked days so we didn't have to have a babysitter. My mom always had a hot meal fixed for us when we got home from school”.
Patricia moved to Dallas in 1981 to attend Bauder Fashion College in Arlington . “I never returned home because I met and married my husband while attending school”, Patricia laughingly said. She and her husband Oswald (Oz) have been married 22 years, and have one daughter, Oschuwa, a senior at UNT-Denton. Oschuwa is majoring in child psychology with a minor in sign language.
The Colemans moved to DeSoto in 1988, and have lived in the same house ever since. “We live in a great neighborhood”, says Patricia. “Most of our neighbors have lived in our community for as long as we have. We have cookouts, barbeques, and ice cream parties (where we make homemade ice cream!) all the time”. Patricia considers DeSoto a great place to live. “We're a community-oriented city, and you can cultivate so many great friendships here. People are genuinely interested in being friends with their neighbors”.While attending Bauder Fashion College , Patricia worked part time as a Mini Bank teller. After completing her two-year program at Bauder, she worked for the Health Science Center on Harry Hines in the accounting department. Patricia thought that was a great job because she really likes working with numbers; her department did the billing for all the doctors, so she was able to interact with many different people. After the Health Science Center , Patricia was a Claims Rep for Nationwide Insurance in Las Colinas. “That was another awesome job, but when the department moved to San Antonio , my husband said I had to quit!”
American Airlines was the next lucky recipient of Patricia's awesome talents. Working as a Ticket Agent for AA, Patricia had to deal with all kinds of people, which is the kind of job she really enjoys. “I love dealing with people”, she says. “The more irate, the better, because then I know I can really help them, and they'll want to come back to see me”.
When asked how she finally made it to Bank of DeSoto, where she's been for the last 13 years, Patricia laughed and said her husband told her she was driving too far every day and she had to get something closer. She started out in new accounts and is now Director of Marketing for the bank. “I really enjoy working for the Bank of DeSoto. It has allowed me to incorporate my personality into my job, and my career has really blossomed because of that”. Bank of DeSoto has been locally owned and managed since 1986, and is committed to meeting your complete banking needs like only an independently owned bank can do. Their experienced bankers are part of the community, just like Patricia, and offer outstanding customer service.
Patricia feels that one of the best things that ever happened to her was Leadership Southwest. “ Roy Orr recommended me for the program, and I really do appreciate him for that”, she says. Patricia went on to say that Mr. Orr always encourages her both personally and career-wise, and that he has always given her good advice on how to better herself in her career, so she jumped on the chance to apply for the Leadership Southwest program when he told her about it. Patricia says that Leadership Southwest has really sharpened her leadership skills, her management skills and her interpersonal skills, and she's thankful for the opportunity to have gone through the program.
Besides working at the Bank of DeSoto, Patricia has been active with the DeSoto Chamber for the past eight years, and currently serves as Team Leader for the Membership Team, bringing her team of Ambassadors, as they are called, to the next level. When she's not working at the bank or volunteering for the Chamber , Patricia runs “Girlfriends Ministries International”, a group of 29 girls whom Patricia leads in praise dance and bible study twice a month. “I started this group three years ago after a conversation I had with my daughter”, Patricia explains. “I felt that if I could teach my daughter how not to succumb to peer pressure and how to use her own mind to make decisions, then I could help other young ladies, too”. Patricia takes her group out once a month to a nice restaurant where she teaches them charm and etiquette. “It's a lot of hard work, and I see them go through many stages in their lives, but it pays off in the end”.
Patricia's dream is to form a group to help bring medicines, shoes and clothing to South Africa , where 1300 children die each day. “This is something that someone has to tackle….somebody has to save these babies”.
If anyone can do it, Patricia Coleman can…. because if you know Patricia Coleman , you know that she can do anything she puts her mind to.
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