When Justin Casano came into the gym that day, he was not all right.
The now Regions Bank Market Executive in the Mississippi Golden Triangle recalled that he’d blown off the warnings. “Stubborn me,” he said. “Nothing will ever happen if I work out after giving blood.”
Except that day, as he sat on the weight bench, he began feeling nauseous and light-headed. The fitness instructor – Otis Billups, who would one day become a friend and colleague at Regions – was there, checking on him.
“He said, ‘Man, you don’t look so good; you’re white as a ghost!’” And the next thing Casano knew, Billups told him to lie down. He picked up his feet and elevated them above Casano’s head. “Immediately, I was healed,” he laughs. “He was like a miracle worker!”
Little did either man know at the time that years later, Billups would be known throughout Regions and the area for lifting so many people up and bringing something extra every day to those around him.
Today, Otis Billups is an award-winning Consumer Banking Manager at Regions with responsibilities for branches from Tupelo to Starkville and Columbus. His contributions to Regions are many – helping improve service quality and engagement with associates across all his branches, encouraging and coaching professional growth and advancement with his teams, and much more.
And that would be enough to make Billups extraordinary. But as people often say, that’s just his day job.
By evenings and weekends, he’s a coach for a Caledonia, Miss., under-10 youth football team, which includes his 10-year-old son. On Sundays, he’s the pastor of the Grace Life Church in Winfield, Alabama.
“When you think about him as a coach, pastor or manager, the jobs are very similar,” said Stephen Young, Regions Starkville Main branch manager. “It’s working with you to become better, to be a better person. And that’s what Otis is all about.”
One Percent Better
“My philosophy is really around getting one percent better every day,” Billups said. “I believe that starts with having a positive attitude. I want to be a light that shines bright on someone else’s life.”
And the way it impacts the people he serves? It’s a daily commitment to helping those around him and building their confidence to become better.
“He brings his best self to work every day, and he motivates his team with his positivity,” said Callie Crain, Regions Regional Branch Operations Manager. “He pushes for us to be the best.
“Otis loves people and helping them get better,” Rudy Walker, Consumer Banking Executive, said. “His connection with where you are to where you desire to be is such a great gift. It shows in how he coaches his team, his congregation and in the workplace.”
For Walker, seeing how he works with everyone – colleagues, customers and the community – is proof enough. “When you see that, you feel really good about what Otis is all about.”
Because if there is anything about Billups that shines through everything he does, it’s how much he cares about – and is willing to give – the people he serves.
Latrevia Hicks, branch manager at Columbus Highway 45, relayed a story about Billups. He had left with his wife on a trip, a reward for his accomplishments. But not long after leaving, he received a phone call that an associate had been taken to the hospital with a serious heart episode. Billups immediately came back from the trip and stayed by his teammate’s side in the hospital.
“That’s what makes Otis extraordinary,” she added. “How he always puts other people before himself.”
Helping Other Grow through Positivity
For Billups, doing more and being more begins with a commitment to integrity and helping others grow. It’s a commitment he traces back to his grandmother.
“When I was a kid, we would sit outside under a tree, and she would teach us Bible stories,” he added, connecting his call to the ministry and commitment to helping others to this intentional upbringing. “It stems from the ministry of my grandmother. She was sowing seeds.”
Today, the positive influence is making a difference for the people around him. When he was hired as the Consumer Banking Manager nearly a year and a half ago, he came back to Regions to lead a team that was filled with people who were once his branch manager peers.
“We started seeing results – in engagement, performance and service quality – almost immediately,” Walker said. “Otis is a magnet. He makes you better and that builds confidence that you can do extraordinary things.”
And not surprisingly, Billups defers to his teammates when he thinks about the success that they’ve seen.
“I truly believe in people and our team,” he said. “It’s really not me going the extra mile; it’s my team. They really deserve this credit.”
And maybe, just maybe, some credit should go to the man who seems to have inspired them to give just a little more every day.