Charlotte Paul, an accounts operation tech at Northwest Georgia Bank, retired March 12 after 23 years of service. She worked at the 105-year-old community bank’s main office in Ringgold.

She started work at Northwest in 1987 as a loan secretary and transferred to account operations in 1992. She worked as a financial services representative for three years before transferring back to account operations in 2008. Prior to her banking career, Paul worked for eight years as secretary for Pathway Christian Academy in Dalton, Ga.

Though a Lakeview native, she graduated from Ringgold High School in 1970 after transferring to the school for most of her senior year. Paul majored in business at Lee College in Cleveland, Tenn., and earned diplomas in bank operations and general banking from the American Institute of Banking.

She met her husband, Ken, while attending college. They married in 1971 and have a son, Chris, an anesthesiologist, and three grandchildren.

About Northwest Georgia Bank

After 105 years serving Chattanooga area families, Northwest Georgia Bank remains proud of its reputation for quick, local decision-making, naturally friendly people and genuine devotion to the communities we serve. Despite recent economic pressures, Northwest donated more than $130,000 to area schools, charities and economic development causes last year, while the Northwest Georgia Bank Foundation raised an additional $100,000 to support community-based non-profit organizations. Employees continue to serve as both paid and unpaid community volunteers, tallying more than 2,300 hours in 2009. The Northwest Navigators -- the Bank’s officially recognized volunteer teams -- built houses and playgrounds last year, among other volunteer activities, while also raising more than $25,000 for local charities.