When Patricia Duncan walked into American Pride Bank years ago, she had been turned away by several other lenders. As a female entrepreneur in Macon, Georgia, trying to expand into adult day care services, she couldn’t find anyone who believed in her vision—until she met American Pride banker Rolando Dixon.
That initial belief transformed Patricia’s grandmother-namesake facility, Alice’s Place, into a thriving care economy anchor. Today, she serves clients across 51 Georgia counties through three integrated operations: an adult day care center for people with dementia and disabilities, a caregiver training school, and a statewide program helping families keep loved ones out of nursing homes.
The partnership deepened when the facility faced a critical challenge. Alice’s Place needed significant space improvements to safely serve their growing client base, and families were desperate for the services to expand. Patricia and her husband went back to Ro, by then a VP of Commercial Lending. “He literally sat there and structured everything for us,” she recalls. With American Pride’s support, they refinanced, leveraged equity, and expanded into the adjacent building.
The results: growth from three part-time employees to eleven staff members, additional company vehicles, a nonprofit called Making Ways for the Elderly, and multiple “Best of” community awards. Now they face waiting lists.
But American Pride’s commitment extends beyond capital. This year, the bank has conducted on-site financial education sessions for Patricia’s clients and staff—teaching account management, elder abuse protection, and budgeting basics, while helping clients open accounts. Currently, they’re working together on a loan renewal that will leverage Patricia’s built equity to expand services and add 1,700 more square feet to accommodate wheelchair-bound clients, with funding targeted for year-end and expansion beginning January 2026.
“If we didn’t have the financial backing of American Pride, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Patricia says. For underestimated entrepreneurs building the care economy, the right financial partner doesn’t just provide capital—they provide belief, partnership, and sustained support that transforms communities.
