Barb Toellner

Barb Toellner loves keeping up with the latest trends, whether in computer technology or home decorating styles. A Sturgeon Bay East BOSM celebrating 25 years with North Shore Bank, she loves HGTV, the Home & Garden Television network, and she keeps her husband Bob busy with home-improvement projects, both inside and out.

“I love to garden, and I love to decorate,” she says. “I wish I could have designers from HGTV come and do over a room in my house.”

Meanwhile, she embraces the opportunity to keep pace with all of the technology upgrades that affect her job. “My job keeps me learning. Our branch is in Door County, so we have a lot of snowbirds who come here in the summer. Many of them are retirees who don’t necessarily welcome today’s electronic conveniences,” she says.

“But being around our younger staff members helps me stay abreast of what’s happening. If I weren’t working, I probably would not be as up-to-date as I am,” she adds.

Acquired skills save money, contribute to smooth branch operations
Barb started her banking career in 1987 as a part-time CSR at Sunrise Savings & Loan, which was acquired by North Shore Bank two years later. She eventually went full time, became a certified CSR, then a PB, then a CSR supervisor, and eventually an assistant manager. “The position now is branch operations services manager, but my duties are the same,” she says.

Barb may call herself a “Jack-of-all-trades but master of none,” but she indeed has mastered valuable skills that help both Sturgeon Bay branches run smoothly — and save the bank money.

“If a piece of equipment is not functioning well, I call on my years of experience to maintain what I can before we have to call for repairs,” she says. Noting that there often are added travel costs for service technicians to these “Up North” offices, Barb says, “I sometimes am talked through repair procedures over the phone.”

She has learned how to rekey safe deposit boxes when they change hands, she oversees security operations, she schedules staff for both branches, and she of course can step in any position to serve customers and help with day-to-day branch functions.

Electronic banking, regulation changes and the focus on selling account for the most significant changes Barb has seen in banking. “When I started, there were separate savings and loans, for example. Now almost every financial institution offers everything, so there is a lot of competition. We have to be more aggressive in courting customers. We want their business and their loyalty, so we tweak products and services to add convenience.”

Staff support highlights her time at North Shore
Barb credits Becky Kolstad and former staffer Mary Leist for helping her learn the ropes. “Becky moved on to Algoma, but she returned to the Sturgeon Bay East office when Mary left. It felt like a missing family member had come home,” she says.

And she boasts about how the “great staff” in her branch have come together to meet the challenges of keeping the office operating while two co-workers were out simultaneously for medical reasons. “We all have helped each other get through some busy times,” she says.

Barb and Bob are Star Trek fans, so it’s no surprise that her vision of the future includes the possibility of a society with paperless money. Her vision also includes potential retirement in the next few years.

But for now, Barb says, “I love working with money and helping customers. That’s what has kept me at North Shore Bank for 25 years.”