Salute to Our Military Families: Leigh Deaton, Retail Operations Risk Manager
Married to an active military member for 17 years, Leigh Deaton has heard it all in interviews. “You almost don’t want them to know you are part of a military family,” she says. “I’ve been asked, ‘so how long are you going to be here?’”
Leigh has never felt that way at Synovus, where she’s worked for seven years, several of which saw her husband stationed outside the footprint. “Synovus didn’t blink,” she says. “They made it work, and this was before everyone started working remotely. They made an exception for me for his temporary orders.”
Military family life can be tough, and Leigh’s had to make some hard decisions over the years, but switching jobs because of location has not been one of them.
“We always made decisions based on the length of his orders and where we are as a family. Depending on the age of our kids, who are now grown, we would often stay in one place while he had to move for a temporary assignment.”
Now that her children are grown, Leigh goes with her husband, including moving in 2017, 2019, and 2020. While serving as a Retail Market Manager for Synovus, she moved from Leesburg, GA, to Columbus, GA, in 2017 so her husband could station at Fort Moore. “I couldn’t do the daily commute back to Leesburg,” she explains. “Synovus really tried their best to find me a position in Columbus. I had great partners.”
“Financial services is a very portable industry, and a great path for a military spouse.” - Leigh Deaton
It didn’t work out at first, but not for long—her former coworkers reached out to her when a new position came up in Columbus. “It just speaks so much about how Synovus cares about its people,” she says. “They didn’t want me to leave, but they understood that I couldn’t be in my previous community while living somewhere else. It wouldn’t have been good for the branch, but they were committed to finding me a position.”
While she didn’t get into banking solely because of the flexibility—she holds degrees in finance and accounting—Leigh says that it is a fantastic industry to be in as a military spouse. “I’ve stayed employed since I met my husband. Financial services is a very portable industry and a great path for a military spouse.”
Beyond the formal benefits offered, she’s also grateful for the abundance of resources Synovus team members have, military or otherwise. “Synovus’ support of volunteerism is a huge benefit,” she says. “I’ve been able to volunteer and be active within the units and on post, and I have never been stressed that I had to use time-off to do so. Management has always been supportive of me being active in the military community.”
She also finds support in the Veterans Employee Resource Group, where she feels welcomed despite not being a veteran herself. “It’s so great to be part of the ERG. I love having the opportunity to connect with others based on my personal affiliations and not solely based on my job,” she says.
Synovus values veterans and military families. Find your next career at careers.synovus.com.
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