Meet Jack Sides of Vista Bank in North Dallas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jack Sides.

Jack, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Nine years ago, I was unemployable. I was a slave to addiction and a completely broken man. I had enough energy to get out of bed every 2 days to take a shower. Not only was I unemployed, but I was also essentially broke, my marriage was falling apart, my relationship with our three beautiful children was in jeopardy and I was in danger of dying. After many years of darkness and desperation, I was given new life in the summer of 2010.

Today, I am a Vice President / Lender at Vista Bank. I am charged with originating new loans and sourcing new relationships for Vista Bank. The new life I was given is an incredible blessing. My wife says it is a miracle. Whatever you choose to call it, I know it came from God. And I give all glory to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And, trust me, I wasn’t the guy who planned on talking openly about Jesus. I had other plans for my life, but my plans almost killed me. His plans have blessed me and our family with peace, love, joy, and contentment.

I was born in Dallas and I’ve never left. I’ve lived here for almost 50 years. My wife’s grandfather was a former mayor of Dallas (Jack Evans) and I attended both Highland Park High School and S.M.U. My roots run deep in Dallas and it’s my home. I love Dallas.

So, what happened? The short answer is I became addicted to pain pills. I also drank too much alcohol and I was addicted to tobacco. I first experimented with alcohol in the 8th grade at an adult New Year’s Eve party at a friend’s house. As we helped clean up, we sipped leftover champagne from the glasses we carried to the kitchen. I felt a “buzz” for the first time. Until that time, I had been focused on my faith, education, and athletics. However, as I transitioned into high school, my focus changed. And so did my life trajectory.

My high school and college years looked a lot like the T.V. show “Friday Night Lights.” My focus was football, drinking beer, dipping Copenhagen and chasing girls. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I was worshipping false idols and I had strayed from my Christian faith. In addition, circumstances in my life were evolving into the “perfect storm” for active addiction. And I never saw it coming.

June 29, 2010, was the day of my intervention. By that time in my life, I had undergone 7 shoulder surgeries, 1 neck surgery and a back surgery. All related to football injuries sustained in high school and college. In addition to physical pain, I was carrying emotional pain and I had a genetic predisposition to addiction… the perfect storm. I had tried for a decade to “beat” addiction. I tried 12-step, an inpatient program, an outpatient program, psychiatrists, counselors, etc. I tried everything I knew of at the time to overcome addiction and I had zero success. This time, I was headed to Arizona. What would be different in Arizona?

I was experiencing a lot of shoulder pain my first full day at rehab in Arizona so I sat in a “sun heated” chair overlooking the desert and used it as a heating pad to soothe my shoulder. I was deeply broken, lonely, sad, exhausted, shocked and scared. Although I was breathing, I was lifeless. I just started talking to God. “I believe you’re there. My decisions have gotten me here. I’m done with myself. I’m yours. But the problem is I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know how to give my life to you. So, I’m going to start by making one right decision at a time as I think you would see it, I’m going to commit to a daily prayer discipline and I’m never going to deny you in my life journey.”

The man who only had enough energy to get out of bed every two days to take a shower in Dallas awakened the next morning in Arizona a new person. No withdrawals, no withdrawal depression, no cravings, no anxiety, no anger. I had a fantastic experience during my stay in Arizona, and it continued when I returned to Dallas. Inexplicable? No. It happened in that chair. In hindsight, I realize that is where I got to the end of myself, surrendered and gave my life to Jesus Christ for the first time. And that made all the difference.

Upon my return to Dallas, I created an 8-point recovery plan for myself. Spiritual, Physical, Mental, Emotional, Marital, Parental, Vocational and Financial. After a lot of work, I/we were blessed with healing in the areas of the first six steps. Now it was time for steps #7 & #8… Vocational and Financial. Bottom line, I needed to find a job and I needed to make money. Who would hire somebody like me?

I scheduled a networking meeting with a fairly new friend and very successful Dallas businessman, Ray Washburne. I told Ray my story and asked for help finding a job. He immediately offered to call Veritex Bank on my behalf. Kindness and Grace! I did not know it at the time, but Ray was on Veritex’s Board of Directors. At his urging, the bank hired me. After spending 60 days in training, I was told to report to Tony Stephenson and work under him as a Business Development Officer. And that’s where my banking career started! I was tasked with sourcing deposits and I was blessed with success. Although Tony and I both work for Vista Bank now, I will always be grateful for the opportunity Veritex Bank gave me. And I will always be grateful for Ray Washburne for believing in me and for helping me at a very critical time in my life.

Because banking is very much a relationship business, I had a choice to make. When meeting with prospective customers to source deposits, I could be fully transparent and allow people to know the authentic Jack Sides. Or I could omit the “broken” parts and only allow people to know a version of Jack Sides. The choice was easy. The Lord had changed my life and my heart. In fact, He had given me new life. And I had committed to never deny Him. People would be meeting the authentic Jack Sides… brokenness and all.

As it turns out, we all share brokenness. And that common ground proved to be a great relationship builder which translated into business success. It also allowed me to find my passion in banking – PEOPLE.

As our Dallas President, Tony Stephenson is still my boss today at Vista Bank. He is also a very good friend. He took me under his wing 6 years ago and we’ve experienced a lot together. Many great days! I will be forever grateful for Tony Stephenson. When I needed a helping hand to recover vocationally and financially, Tony was there. He never wavered. He is a man of his word and he has always had my back. I’ve learned a lot from Tony. About banking and about life.

And the same is true for our Vice-Chairman and CEO, John Steinmetz. And Toby Cecil, the President of Vista Bank. These men are selfless, they care and they put people first. Some talk it, but these men walk it. I’ll be forever grateful for our Vista Bank family.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My life journey has not been easy. My vocational journey has not been easy. Why? Because of the poor decisions and poor choices I began making early in my life. I set myself on a trajectory for disaster. My biggest obstacle was myself. My biggest challenge was myself. When I got to the end of myself and began living for something greater, for God, everything else became manageable. When I got out of the way the road became much smoother.

Please tell us about Vista Bank.
Vista Bank is a 107-year-old community bank with deep roots in West Texas. Vista is new to Dallas, Austin and Ft. Worth. John Steinmetz, our Vice Chairman and CEO, has recapitalized and repositioned Vista Bank. Under his leadership, we have been blessed with tremendous growth and, more importantly, healthy growth. We are a “bread and butter” community bank… loans and deposits. Our motto, “PEOPLE FIRST”, best captures the ideals and beliefs that guide our company both internally and externally.

I’m a Lender at Vista Bank focused on originating loans for the bank. In addition to being a Lender, I also source deposits for Vista and assist customers with our wide array of Treasury Management Products. I often think of myself as a Banking “generalist”. I’m here to provide commercial real estate loans, C&I loans, Revolving Lines of Credit, Letters-of-Credit, Construction Loans, Consumer Loans, Deposit accounts / services / products, etc. Bottom line, I’m a Community Banker and I’m always available to meet any banking needs our customers might have. Whether it’s a loan or a deposit, or both, I’m always honored and humbled when people allow me the opportunity to be their Banker, or at least one of their Bankers. I value people and I value relationships, both personal and business.

Internally, I’m most proud of Vista Bank’s culture. We prioritize maintaining our positive, friendly and respectful work environment. Vista Bank is a great place to come to work every day and my Vista teammates are fantastic people who I truly enjoy seeing and interacting with on a daily basis! We work hard and we have fun! Lots of laughs! And, as we grow, we are committed to maintaining our culture. It can be done. How? Through strong leadership, an unwavering commitment to character, humility, and accessibility and by always making communication a priority.

At Vista Bank, we set ourselves apart with our accessibility, reliability, dependability, the ability to transact quickly and our responsive customer service.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Although my journey has been anything but a straight line, I’m at peace with my past and I love my life. If I could take anything back it would be the pain that I caused others… particularly, my wife and our three children.

But, without my dark days of addiction, I wouldn’t have the ability or capacity to experience life the way I do today. My heart has been changed and I see life through a different lens. I am a more compassionate, sympathetic and empathetic person. I value life, people and relationships in a way that I would have never known. I have so many incredible people in my life now and my life journey after addiction has allowed me to cross paths with so many wonderful people.

I’m a better husband and father than I ever could have been. Our family is stronger and closer than we ever would have been and our love for each other is deeper. Battling brokenness together and putting Jesus Christ at the center of our lives did that. Our brokenness is our bridge to God. My addiction forced our family to cross that bridge. I encourage everybody to cross that bridge!

And, although I’m not licensed, I get to help people now by sharing my experience with addiction and recovery. And by sharing the good news that is Jesus Christ! I am frequently blessed with the opportunity to speak to various groups and I’ve been a guest on two radio shows. I often meet one-on-one with community members in crisis. I’m humbled that they reach out. And I’m a new Board member for CARE Dallas, which provides education and resources for individuals and families impacted by substance abuse.

I live God’s will for my life now. Not my own. And HE has me at a wonderful place… Vista Bank. And Vista Bank is fully supportive of me and my transparency and Vista Bank values me as a banker. Why? Because Vista Bank puts PEOPLE FIRST.

Contact Info:

• Address: Vista Bank
  5840 W. Northwest Highway
  Dallas, TX 75225

  Vista Bank Drive-Thru Location
  6801 Preston Road
  Dallas, TX 75225

• Website: https://www.vistabank.com/
• Phone: 214-416-8300 (main) / 214-614-2661 (direct)
• Email: jsides@vistabank.com

Image Credit:
Cathy Landtroop, Landtroop Strategies, Danny Campbell Photography

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