Kim Dane
“If I could be a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, I’d be in heaven,” says Kimberly Dane. “When I’m dancing, I’m happy.”
In fact, Kim loves to dance so much that she sometimes gets inspired to tap her toes and move to the background music at her Forest Home office — “if there’s no one in the lobby,” she clarifies.
Kim has frequent opportunities to get happy through dance; she is a 25-year member of the Lykkerigan Norwegian Dancers of Milwaukee, who have performed at festivals in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. The group practices weekly.
She also gets her entertainment appetite satisfied in her part-time job with Wisconsin Center District, an organization that provides ushers, ticket-sellers and –takers, and informational staff for events at the US Cellular Arena and Milwaukee Theater as well as the Frontier Airlines Center in downtown Milwaukee.
Kim limits her hours to mostly weekend events, and regardless of the role she has, she gets to view a lot of performances: plays, concerts, circuses, and even auto shows and private parties. A spectacular Janet Jackson performance stands out in her memory as a highlight.
Referral Program brings Kim to North Shore
After spending eight years with a credit union, Kim joined North Shore Bank nine years ago; she was referred by her aunt, Brookfield Square PB Jeanine Wielepski. Her current service banker role includes teller, PB and supervisory duties.
Kim praises the strong Forest Home team. “My favorite part of my job is the ‘girls’ I work directly with, but I also enjoy interacting with employees at many other branches and departments. We have a GREAT staff here at NSB.”
Geography class opens door to world travel
One of Kim’s favorite classes in school, geography, led her to develop a pen-pal relationship with a student in Norway as a class project. They have stayed in touch since 1986, and they have exchanged visits: Heidi was here in 1990, and Kim went to Norway for two weeks in 1996. She loved the mountainous country, and she got to Lillehammer, site of the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Kim has made great professional and personal strides since her first job at McDonald’s, where she learned to handle cash, follow directions and be flexible to work odd hours and a variety of positions.
She also learned that the golden rule of customer service works: Treat others as you would like to be treated. “For the more difficult situations, treat ’em with kindness, and don’t ever let them know they got to you,” she says.
And if all else fails … dance!