Andy Flowers
Mr. Flowers joined the organizing Directors in mid-2007 as an organizing executive officer. The Glynn County native graduated from Frederica Academy on St. Simons Island in 1984 and from Presbyterian College in 1988 with a double major in Business Administration and Psychology. In 1994 he graduated from the GBA’s Georgia Banking School, where he returned as the Intermediate Class Advisor for several years. Flowers has experience in all facets of banking but specializes in commercial lending and retail banking administration. He is a Cohen-Brown certified instructor for Extraordinary Sales Leadership, Proactive Relationship Banking, and Breakthrough B2B Banking. He started his banking career while in high school and 2024 marks his fortieth year in banking having served the Middle Georgia region at Synovus, Bank South, Bank of America, SunTrust, and Robins Financial Credit Union.
During his career, Mr. Flowers has been actively involved in the community and has served on the board or in leadership capacities of numerous civic and charitable organizations. He has two grown daughters and has recently learned the joys of grandparenthood with the addition of a granddaughter to the family. In his spare time, he enjoys the beach, travel, movies, music, and cooking.
Rebecca “Becky” P. Bell, CPA
LaQuanda Billingslea
Terry Owens
Erik Bykat
Erik joined American Pride Bank in 2022 as the Market Executive for the Bank’s expansion into the Northern Metro Atlanta market. After graduating from UGA, he began his lending career in 1997, initially focusing on the consumer/mortgage side and then switching to commercial banking in 2001. He has been in commercial lending since then, working with local, privately held business owners primarily within the Atlanta market. Most recently, he was the Senior Lending Officer at a community bank in Atlanta responsible for its lending department. He is experienced in all facets of commercial lending and enjoys helping business owners achieve their goals.
Erik graduated from UGA in 1997 and the earned his MBA from Georgia State University in 2002. He also graduated from the ABA Banking School and has received the NAGGL certification.
He has lived in Sandy Springs, GA since 2003 with his wife and two sons. He enjoys spending his time outside with family and friends and attending all kinds of sporting events, especially UGA football and the Atlanta Braves.
Jessica Bluj
Jessica is a customer-centered mortgage executive who has passionately dedicated her career to building world-class teams and smooth, efficient operations in the mortgage industry. Always prioritizing quality control, accuracy, and compliance, Jessica combines deep regulatory knowledge, long-range strategy, and warm, effective people management skills.
Her extensive career has included working directly with state and federal regulators such as the Office of the Comptroller of Currency and the Federal Reserve Bank. She then spent 26 years as the Chief Operating Officer of the Mortgage Division at Quontic Bank, a top ten Non-QM and CDFI lender in the US. At Quontic, Jessica managed all aspects of the Mortgage Division, with almost 400 employees and a pipeline of 1,500 loans at its peak. She helped increase volume from $300M annually to $2.8B in less than five years. She helped establish a Community Development Loan program to foster homeownership and investment in underserved communities and diverse, underbanked individuals and families.
Jessica is eager to bring this wealth of experience to American Pride Bank, where she will establish and lead the Mortgage Division of the bank as its president.