MOUNT VERNON – Mount Vernon native Jim Meyer, a mortgage and consumer lender for Park National Bank, has been nominated by Mayor Matthew Starr to a five-year term on the Knox County Metropolitan Housing Authority (KMHA).
Meyer's nomination will be far from the first for Knox County, as multiple appointments have come to the fore at the end of 2020.
For Meyer, the desire to serve on the KMHA is deeply connected with his roots to Mount Vernon as a whole.
"I was born and raised in Mount Vernon and have worked for Park National Bank for about 21 years," he told the Mount Vernon News. His experience at Park National Bank working with hundreds of local community members to find the perfect home makes him an ideal fit for the position at KMHA.
Park National Bank has offered services to residents across the United States for more than 100 years. The firm boasts over 125 locations and nearly $9.7 billion in total assets, with 1,859 associates ensuring the smooth running of its day-to-day operations.
It is precisely Meyer's work experience that drew him to the position in the first place.
Working at the KMHA is "something that falls in line with what I do at work; it was a natural fit for me," he said.
Consistent with the mission of the MHA, Meyer made it clear that the ultimate goal of his post it to create "more opportunities for people who are in need of affordable housing."
One of Knox County's major charms is its close-knit community, a phenomenon that Meyer knows quite well.
"It's nice to go places where you know people," Meyer said when asked what he loves most about Knox County. "You can't go to the grocery store or the ball game without running into someone who knows you."
It is precisely this warm nature that continues to drive folks to Knox County. Further, the community's insistence on looking out for those less fortunate is an integral part of what drives both the KMHA and Meyer.
The KMHA is dedicated to finding safe, affordable and high-quality housing for eligible applicants. A core component of its mission is to 'encourage and promote' family self-sufficiency in an affordable-housing environment. The organization was created in 1976 in order to administrate the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program for residents of Knox County. On an annual basis, the KMHA receives approximately $2.6 million in federal funding.
