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By ROBERT A. DEFRANK
ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- Alicia Jordan, 45, of S. Clairsville is marketing director at Belmont Savings Bank and at the forefront of the bank's outreach programs.
"I've been with the bank for two years and my role is all of the marketing. Any public relations, any sponsorships, and events that we attend, marketing campaigns, I oversee all the media and the ad buys and the advertising, the creative, and all of our community involvement," she said. "What I like about Belmont Savings Bank is how involved they are in the community."
Jordan's work varies from day to day. She is responsible for generating ideas and carrying them out.
"There's never a dull moment, that's for sure. At the beginning of the year, it's working on strategic planning, marketing," she said. This includes working on television commercials, advertisements and internal campaigns.
"I work with a team at the bank that kind of helps and cultivates the culture. We're always coming up with new ideas for our employees."
Her motto is the scriptural passage Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."
"I believe that God puts opportunities in front of you for a reason, and if I can help someone I would want to do the right thing. I would want to do what I would want someone to do for me," she said. She credits her parents and grandmother for instilling this. "I think I grew up with a very good foundation, and we were always told to put God first in everything that you do. My parents are very faithful, my grandmother was very faithful, and I just want to kind of follow in their footsteps and make them proud."
Jordan was born and raised in the Ohio Valley and learned to love it at an early age.
"I love the Ohio Valley. It's a great community. There's some wonderful people here. My roots are here. What keeps me here is probably the people here," Jordan said.
"This will always be home. I look for calmness that is here, and the people are just great, and my family's here."
She is familiar with the valley's many attractions.
"The rolling hills. I love the hills and the trees in the fall, and when it snows. I think Oglebay Park is just beautiful. I think the park in Barnesville is just beautiful. There are so many quiet, calm attractions where you can just go and be yourself. I think Heritage Port (in Wheeling) by the river, I think that is calming, and many of the people in the Ohio Valley are so kind and giving. I've found that most when I was with A Special Wish Foundation, how the businesses and people were just so willing to help without even batting an eye or questioning. They just wanted to help, and that's what I love about this area."
Jordan advises young people entering the workforce to foster determination and commit to their goals.
"Stay strong, follow your dreams. Life is short. Don't ever second-guess yourself, and do you. Don't live for anyone else, life for yourself and do what makes you happy."
She is the president of the St. Clairsville Sunrise Rotary Club, sits on the Wheeling Symphony board, the St. Clairsville Recreation Department board, and the corporate board for A Special Wish Foundation.
One lesson she has learned in her career is to listen and be open to advice, see other points of view and not take matters personally.
"Sometimes I find it difficult to take criticism, and being in the field of marketing is challenging when your work gets criticized, so I just have to take a step back," she said. "I'm a work in progress and I feel like I've come a long way."
She also pointed out the value of teamwork.
"Alone, I am no good. With a team of people, I can be great," she said.
In the future, Jordan expects technology to play a bigger role in her work. She said this was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Marketing is evolving and it's changing. Even here in the rural Ohio Valley it is changing. People are looking more digitally and online. I'm learning something new everyday about how we can advertise and market differently."