Newsroom

Paragon Bank is pleased to announce that Lisa Word — Real Estate Lending Officer, was selected by her peers as one of the Team Members of the Quarter for the fourth quarter of 2024.

Each quarter, Paragon Bank recognizes an employee for their outstanding performance in demonstrating Paragon’s values. At the end of the year, a Team Member of the Year is selected from the previous Quarter winners.

Word, who has been with Paragon for two decades, says that her duties cover anything and everything to do with real estate loan closings from start-to-finish, inspections and draws, working on exceptions and keeping files current.

“The past few months, I have been training my replacement, as I am about to retire,” she said.

Word, who is an original employee of Paragon, says the people are what makes Paragon special.

“Without a doubt, our people [are my favorite part of working at Paragon],” she explained. “From the top down. Quite a few of us have been at Paragon since the beginning 20 years ago, and I’ve been lucky to work with the best all the years. It’s also exciting to be part of the explosive growth of the bank.”

When she’s not in the office (and once she retires!), Word loves to travel to the mountains and the beach.

“My husband and I walked to the top of Clingman’s Dome in the Smoky Mountains last summer. It was the hardest walk of my life!” she laughed. “Hanging out with my daughter is always a joy and full of laughs. I love gardening and plan to get deeper into this after retirement. I also enjoy cooking and have a cookbook obsession. I have over 125 cookbooks!”

Thanks, Lisa, for your continued dedication to Paragon! Congrats on your well-deserved recognition and your retirement! We’ll miss you!