Jim Gottemoller

When Southwest branch PB Jim Gottemoller was a student at Illinois State University, a spot opened up to live in the best room in the dorm. “The guy with the prized room who was looking for a roommate said all I had to do to move in was to join the Knights of Columbus,” Jim recalls.

Jim didn’t know anything about the organization at the time, but he agreed to become a member. He ended up with the coveted room — and what has turned out to be an almost 30-year involvement in a Catholic fraternal organization that has been life-enriching for him and for the people who benefit from the charity’s good works.

Although Jim’s participation has fluctuated through the years with his family and job responsibilities as well as his changing locations — he has been a member of seven chapters — he has held almost every KC position from president on down. The only exceptions are board president and financial secretary.

Knights of Columbus ‘working for common good’
Founded in 1881 in New Hampshire, the worldwide group describes its general mission as “working for the common good.” Jim belongs to the Menomonee Falls chapter, which has a strong record of community involvement.

Fundraisers such as an annual Tootsie Roll sale and summer Door County-style fish boils held every third Wednesday generate money to help Menomonee Falls KCs support their charitable operations.

A former convent next to Good Shepherd Church now is home to mentally and physically challenged men of all ages who hold jobs in the community. Hartfelt House is sustained in part by financial support from Jim’s Menomonee Falls KC group.

“We provide funds to an organization in Germantown that holds a Christmas dinner for handicapped adults as well as several other programs,” Jim says. His chapter sponsors a Little League team for kids who have learning and mobility challenges that would bar them from playing on a standard team. The team’s name? The Challengers. The Knights also sponsor a popular Memorial Day Parade, from organizing to execution to cleanup.

Volunteerism provides personal, professional benefits
When Jim joined North Shore Bank in March, he brought over 25 years of financial experience from his multiple roles in banking, largely from First Midwest Bank Illinois and a conglomerate of bank mergers starting with First Chicago through Bank One/JP Morgan Chase.

Jim is grateful to be affiliated with North Shore. “Relationship banking is my style of banking,” he says.

He also is grateful that his college roommate introduced him to Knights of Columbus 30 years ago. KC has been a unifying thread through Jim’s career relocations. “You develop instant friendships in a new community,” he says, along with what he describes as “a feeling of satisfaction in helping others without expectation of something in return.”

“You also gain trust — and business — from others because of the tight-knit KC affiliation,” he adds.