**EXHIBIT 10.6(e)**

**EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENTWITH LEONARD A. MORELAND, DATED JANUARY 1, 2003**

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

THIS AGREEMENTentered into this 1st day of January, 2003 (“Effective Date”), by and between Heritage Bank (the “Bank”) and Mr. Leonard Moreland (the “Employee”).

WHEREAS, the Employee is experienced in all phases of the management and operations of a insured financial institution and is experienced in all phases of the business of the Bank; and

WHEREAS, the parties desire by this writing to set forth the employment relationship of the Bank and the Employee.

NOW, THEREFORE, it is AGREED as follows:

1. Employment. Upon the Effective Date,the Employee shall be employed in the capacity as the President and Chief Administrative Officer of the Bank reporting directly to the Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank. The Employee shall render such administrative andmanagement services to the Bank and CCF Holding Company (“Parent”) as are customarily performed by persons situated in a similar executive capacity. The Employee shall promote to the extent permitted by law the business of the Bank andParent. The Employee’s other duties shall be such as the President or the Board of Directors for the Bank (the “Board of Directors” or “Board”) may from time to time reasonably direct, including normal duties as an officerof the Bank.

2. Base Compensation. As of the Effective Date, the Bank agrees to pay the Employee during theterm of this Agreement a salary at the rate of $150,000 per annum, payable in cash not less frequently than semi-monthly; provided, that the rate of such base salary and total compensation shall be reviewed by the Board of Directors not less oftenthan annually, and such salary shall be subject to revision from time to time within the sole discretion of the President and the Board upon a determination that the performance of the Employee has met the requirements and standards of the Presidentand the Board, and that such base salary shall be adjusted.

3. Discretionary Bonus. The Employee shall beentitled to participate in an equitable manner with all other senior management employees of the Bank in discretionary bonuses that may be authorized and declared by the Board of Directors to its senior management employees from time to time. Noother compensation provided for in this Agreement shall be deemed a substitute for the Employee’s right to participate in such discretionary bonuses when and as declared by the Board of Directors. 

4. (a) Participation in Retirement and Medical Plans. The Employee shall be entitled to participate in any plan of the Bank relating to pension,profit-sharing, or other retirement benefits and medical coverage or reimbursement plans that the Bank may adopt for the benefit of its employees.

(b)Employee Benefits; Expenses. The Employee shall be eligible to participate in any fringe benefits which may be or may become applicable to the Bank’s senior management employees. The Bank shallreimburse Employee for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses which Employee shall incur in connection with his service for the Bank.

5. Term. The term of employment of Employee under this Agreement shall be for the period commencing on the Effective Date and ending thirty-six months thereafter. Additionally, not later than on each annual anniversarydate from the Effective Date, the term of employment under this Agreement shall be extended for up to an additional one year period beyond the then effective expiration date so that the remaining term of the Agreement shall be for thirty-six monthsthereafter upon a determination and resolution of the Board of Directors that the performance of the Employee has met the requirements and standards of the Board, and that the term of such Agreement shall be extended.

 

6. Loyalty; Noncompetition. 

(a) The Employee shall devote his full time and attention to the performance of his employment under this Agreement. During the term of Employee’s employment under this Agreement, the Employee shall not engage inany business or activity contrary to the business affairs or interests of the Association or Parent.

(b) Nothing contained in this Section 6 shall be deemedto prevent or limit the right of Employee to invest in the capital stock or other securities of any business dissimilar from that of the Bank or Parent, or solely as a passive or minority investor, in any business.

7. Standards. The Employee shall perform his duties under this Agreement in accordance with such reasonable standards expected ofemployees with comparable positions in comparable organizations and as may be established from time to time by the Board of Directors.

8. Vacation and Sick Leave. At such reasonable times as the President or the Board of Directors shall in its discretion permit, the Employee shall be entitled to absent himself voluntarily from the performance of hisemployment under this Agreement as follows:

(a) The Employee shall be entitled to annual vacation leave in accordance with the policies as are periodicallyestablished by the Board of Directors for senior management employees of the Bank.

(b) The Employee shall not be entitled to receive any additionalcompensation from the Bank on account of his failure to take vacation leave and Employee shall not be entitled to accumulate unused vacation from one fiscal year to the next, except in either case to the extent authorized by the Board of Directorsfor senior management employees of the Bank.

(c) In addition, the Employee shall be entitled to an annual sick leave benefit as established by the Board ofDirectors for senior management employees of the Bank.

9.Termination and Termination Pay.

The Employee’s employment under this Agreement shall be terminated upon any of the following occurrences:

(a) The death of the Employee during the term of this Agreement, in which event the Employee’s estate shall be entitled to receive the compensation due the Employee through the last day of the calendar month in which Employee’sdeath shall have occurred.

(b) The Board of Directors may terminate the Employee’s employment at any time, but any termination by the Board of Directorsother than termination for Just Cause, shall not prejudice the Employee’s right to compensation or other benefits under the Agreement. The Employee shall have no right to receive compensation or other benefits for any period after terminationfor Just Cause. Termination for “Just Cause” shall include termination because of the Employee’s personal dishonesty, incompetence, willful misconduct, breach of fiduciary duty involving personal profit, intentional failure to performstated duties, willful violation of any law, rule or regulation (other than traffic violations or similar offenses) or final cease-and-desist order, or material breach of any provision of the Agreement.

(c) Except as provided pursuant to Section 12 herein, in the event Employee’s employment under this Agreement is terminated by the Board of Directors without Just Cause, the Bank shall beobligated to continue to pay the Employee the salary provided pursuant to Section 2 herein in effect for a period of thirty-six months thereafter and the cost of Employee obtaining all health, life, disability, and other benefits which the Employeewould be eligible to participate in through such date based upon the benefit levels substantially equal to those being provided Employee at the date of termination of employment.

(d) If the Employee is removed and/or permanently prohibited from participating in the conduct of the Bank’s affairs by an order issued under Sections 8(e) (4) or 8 (g) (1) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act(“FDIA”)

 

(12 U.S.C. 1818 (e) (4) and (g) (1) ), all obligations of the Bank under this Agreement shall terminate, as of the effective date of the order, but thevested rights of the parties shall not be affected.

(e) If the Bank is in default (as defined in Section 3 (x) (1) of FDIA) all obligations under thisAgreement shall terminate as of the date of default, but this paragraph shall not affect any vested rights of the contracting parties.

(f) All obligationsunder this Agreement shall be terminated, except to the extent determined that continuation of this Agreement is necessary for the continued operation of the Bank: (i) by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, or their designee, at the timethat the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) enters into an agreement to provide assistance to or on behalf of the Bank under the authority contained in Section 13 (c) of FDIA; or (ii) by the Director of the FDIC, or his or herdesignee at the time that Director of the FDIC, or his or her designee approves a supervisory merger to resolve problems related to operation of the Bank or when the Bank is determined by the Director of the FDIC to be in an unsafe or unsoundcondition. Any rights of the parties that have already vested, however, shall not be affected by such action.

(g) The voluntary termination by the Employeeduring the term of this Agreement with the delivery of no less than 60 days written notice to the Board of Directors, other than pursuant to Section 12 (b), in which case the Employee shall be entitled to receive only the compensation, vestedrights, and all employee benefits up to the date of such termination.

(h) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, any payments made to the Employeepursuant to the Agreement, or otherwise, shall be subject to and conditioned upon compliance with 12 USC 1828 (k) and any regulations promulgated thereunder.

10. Suspension of Employment. If the Employee is suspended and/or temporarily prohibited from participating in the conduce of the Bank’s affairs by a notice served under Section 8 (e) (3) or(g) (1) of the FDIA (12 U.S.C. 1818 (e) (3) and (g) (1) ), the Bank’s obligations under the Agreement shall be suspended as of the date of service, unless stayed by appropriate proceedings. If the charges in the notice are dismissed, the Bankmay in its discretion (i) pay the Employee all or part of the compensation withheld while its contract obligations were suspended and (ii) reinstate any of its obligations which were suspended.

11. Disability. If the Employee shall become disabled or incapacitated to the extent that he is unable to perform his duties hereunder, by reason ofmedically determinable physical or mental impairment, as determined by a doctor engaged by the Board of Directors, Employee shall receive the compensation and benefits provided under the provisions of disability insurance coverage in effect for Bankemployees. Upon returning to active full-time employment, the Employee’s full compensation as set forth in this Agreement shall be reinstated as of the date of commencement of such activities. In the event that the Employee returns to activeemployment on other than a full-time basis, then his compensation (as set forth in Section 2 of this Agreement) shall be reduced in proportion to the time spent in said employment, or as shall otherwise be agreed to by the parties.

12. Change in Control.

(a)Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, in the event of the involuntary termination of Employee’s employment under this Agreement, absent Just Cause, in connection with, or within twelve (12) months after, any change in control ofthe Bank or Parent, Employee shall be paid an amount equal to the product of 2.99 times the Employee’s “base amount” as defined in Section 280G (b) (3) of the Internal Revenue code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) andregulations promulgated thereunder. Said sum shall be paid, at the option of Employee, either in one (1) lump sum within thirty (30) days of such termination discounted to the present value of such payment using as the discount rate the “primerate” as published in the Wall Street Journal Eastern Edition as of the date of such payment, or in periodic payments over the next 36 months or the remaining term of this Agreement whichever is less, as if Employee’s employment had notbeen terminated, and such payments shall be in lieu of any other future payments which the Employee would be otherwise entitled to receive under Section 9 of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the forgoing, all sums payable hereunder shall be reducedin such manner and to such extent so that no such payments made hereunder when aggregated with all other payments to be made to the Employee by the Bank or the Parent shall be deemed an “excess parachute payment” in accordance withSection

 

280G of the Code and be subject to the excise tax provided at Section 4999 (a) of the Code. The term “control” shall refer to the ownership,holding or power to vote more than 25% of the Parent’s or Bank’s voting stock, the control of the election of a majority of the Parent’s or Bank’s directors, or the exercise of a controlling influence over the management orpolicies of the Parent or Bank by any person or by persons acting as a group within the meaning of Section 13 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The term “person” means an individual other than the Employee, or a corporation,partnership, trust, association, joint venture, pool, syndicate, sole proprietorship, unincorporated organization or any other form of entity not specifically listed herein.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement to the contrary, Employee may voluntarily terminate his employment under this Agreement within twelve (12) months following a change in control of the Bank orParent, and Employee shall thereupon be entitled to receive the payment described in Section 12 (a) of this Agreement.

(c) In the event any dispute shallarise between the Employee and the Bank as to the terms or interpretation of this Agreement, including this Section 12, whether instituted by formal legal proceedings or otherwise, including any action taken by Employee to enforce the terms of thisSection 12 or in defending against any action taken by the Bank or Parent, the Bank or Parent shall reimburse Employee for all costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising from such dispute, proceedings or actions followingissuance of a legal judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction finding in favor of the Employee or the settlement of the dispute by the parties. Such settlement to be approved by the Board of the Bank or the Parent may include a provision for thereimbursement by the Bank or Parent to the Employee for all costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising from such dispute, proceedings or actions, or the Board of the Bank or the Parent shall authorize such reimbursementof such costs and expenses by separate action upon a written action and determination of the Board that payment of such costs and expenses is not detrimental to the Bank or the Parent. Such reimbursement shall be paid within ten (10) days ofEmployee furnishing to the Bank or Parent evidence, which may be in the form, among other things, of a canceled check or receipt, of any costs or expenses incurred by Employee.

13. Successors and Assigns.

(a) This agreement shall inure to the benefit of andbe binding upon any corporate or other successor of the Bank or Parent which shall acquire, directly or indirectly, by merger, consolidation, purchase or otherwise, all or substantially all of the assets or stock of the Bank or Parent.

(b) Since the Bank is contracting for the unique and personal skills of the Employee, the Employee shall be precluded from assigning or delegating his rights or dutieshereunder without first obtaining the written consent of the Bank.

14. Amendments. No amendments or additionsto this Agreement shall be binding upon the parties hereto unless made in writing and signed by both parties, except as herein otherwise specifically provided.

15. Applicable Law. This agreement shall be governed in all respects whether as to validity, construction, capacity, performance or otherwise, by the laws of the State of Georgia, the extent thatFederal law shall be deemed to apply.

16. Severability. The provisions of this Agreement shall be deemedseverable and the invalidity or unenforceability of any provision shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the other provisions hereof.

17.Entire Agreement. This Agreement together with any understanding or modifications thereof as agreed to in writing by the parties, shall constitute the entire agreement between the partieshereto.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement on the day and first hereinabove written.

  

 

 

Heritage Bank

ATTEST:

 

By: 

/s/ DAVID B. TURNER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

/s/ CHARLES S. TUCKER

 

 

 

 

 

**Secretary**

 

 

 

  

WITNESS:

 

 

 

/s/ LYNN F. WYNN

 

 

/s/ LEONARD MORELAND

 

 

 

 

 

**Leonard Moreland, Employee**