30 years in, Hanson keeps busy, finds strength after loss
When she talked to Shorelines in 2017, corporate receptionist Nancy Hanson predicted, “I would say I’m going to make it another five or six years. I’ll probably make it to my 30th anniversary, at least!”

Lo and behold, here we are. Plenty has changed since that last milestone — but not her reputation as a warm and well-loved member of the North Shore Bank team. Read more about the joy and sadness of the last few years for this cornerstone of the Corporate office.

Kindness rocks a big hit at Brady Street Festival

Our sponsorship of the Brady Street Festival on Saturday, July 30, was a sweet success. Visitors to the North Shore Bank table went through hundreds of stones decorating kindness rocks. While many took their rocks home, plenty of folks left theirs to be added to the garden at our North End branch.

Our “Be Kind” tent wall was also filled with incredible messages of kindness by festival-goers. There’s empty space left on it, and there are plans to put up the wall again at Greendale Village Days next weekend.

“I was able to have good conversations with many people,” North End branch manager Heather Somers said. “I handed out my business card to a number of people I had a really good connection with, and had a long discussion with someone about purchasing their first home — I’m hoping they will use us as their lender.” Shorewood assistant branch manager Enrik Braho talked to two people who said they would meet with him this week, as well, she added.

“One couple traveled from Dallas to visit family and told me they have nothing like Brady Street Festival,” district manager Cristen Baumann said. “They said, ‘What a fun bank you get to work at!'”

Other employees who helped out at the festival include Southridge area manager Ray Guardiola, Shorewood teller supervisor David Holada, North End assistant branch manager Breanna Rooney, MLK Drive universal banker Nazirah Tate, Shorewood universal banker Micki Usama, and MLK Drive teller supervisor Aisha Young. •••

National Night Out offers community connections

By all accounts, Franklin’s 17th annual National Night Out kickoff on Monday, August 1, was a smash once again.

“It was amazing seeing how many people are somehow connected to North Shore Bank,” Franklin universal banker Kristen Pawlak said. “There were a lot of conversations like ‘I’ve been with North Shore Bank since I could have my own account’ and ‘We have been with you guys for years and love it,’ as well as people saying they have family members who retired from North Shore Bank and love to see us out in the community like this. This event is always very worthwhile to us, our families, and the community!”

The annual event focuses on community safety and gives attendees the chance to speak with police and other emergency services professionals. At our booth, kids could fish for plastic fish and get fun bank swag. “Seeing the kids’ smiles and excitement when they caught a fish was a big highlight of the event for me,” teller Kristin Derzay said. •••

Patel ensures customer doesn’t miss promotion
McHenry area manager Dee Patel received a really grateful email from a very happy customer, after helping get a student checking account set up:

I wanted to reach out to you about how impressed I am with your employee Dee at the McHenry location.

She went above and beyond for us this Saturday by reaching out to me to remind us about setting up an account for my daughter, so my daughter could benefit from the $50 bonus. Dee is great with the kids. She explains the process of opening an account and how to manage it in a way that they understand. Also, she stayed late to help answer my questions. She was very friendly, patient, and did not make me feel rushed even though I know we were keeping her from leaving at her scheduled time.

We have worked with her in the past, and on every occasion she has always been very helpful and friendly.

My husband and I have been customers of North Shore Bank for several years, and we plan to continue with that due to those types of experiences we have had with your organization.

“What an experience Dee provided to this family,” district manager Brian Bozek said.

The first conversation with this customer took place in June, Dee said. “They were interested, but due to summer activities, they could not find the time to come in. We reminded her a few times between June and July, but were unable to set up an appointment.”

On July 30, the final day of the $50 promotion, Dee called the customer with a final reminder about the promotion, letting her know that even though it was Saturday, North Shore Bank would make time and work around her schedule. The customer said she and her daughter were coming in.

“She was very appreciative that we called her on the final day,” Dee said. “I feel it is very important to go that extra mile — it’s what differentiates us from our competitors. Creating strong bonds with our customers leads to long-term relationships.” •••

Finance high-value renovations with a HELOC
Customers interested in investing in their homes might want to check out this article on renovations that add the most value to a house. The renovations that generally offer high returns are:

• Garage door replacement
• Manufactured stone veneer
• Minor kitchen remodels
• Fiber-cement siding
• Vinyl windows
• Vinyl siding

And of course, a HELOC is a fabulous way to finance renovations, and North Shore Bank is offering no-cost appraisal fee on HELOCs. More information here. •••

There’s no perfect explanation, so ask what might help

Demanding “purity” of our metaphysical beliefs can create beautiful abstract systems of philosophy. But these sterile analyses have little relation to the messiness of life. The best philosophers have, at one time or another, looked to poetry and metaphor to paint a picture of reality. We must accept that analysis can never give us a complete picture of the world. So put down the pen and paper, sit on the porch, rock awhile, drink some lemonade, and listen to the birds in the trees.

Try this meditation for one minute today, or longer if you wish:

LET GO OF THE NEED for a perfect solution and think more about what helps you. How can you incorporate that into your day tomorrow?

There does not have to be a single basic stuff. Materialism and idealism are not the names of warring tribes but the names of half-truths, neither of which can really be swelled into a comprehensive system.
—Mary Midgley, British philosopher

How did this meditation go for you? Share your experience with your fellow North Shore Bank employees at shorelines@northshorebank.com and you’ll be entered to win a copy of Mindfulness in Plain English, by Bhante Gunaratana.

If you’d like a daily email reminder to practice one minute of mindfulness, email us with the subject “Mindfulness reminder.” •••

Northside celebrates 15 years of Brooks with balloons

The Northside team surprised branch manager AVP Lisa Brooks for her 15th anniversary with North Shore Bank last month — filling her office with 320 balloons. She discovered the prank when she arrived in the morning.

Teller supervisor Kelly Elliott masterminded the joke, which was inspired by a comment Lisa had made months ago about such a prank.

“I didn’t want it to be filled with anything that would make a mess or be hard to clean up before it got in the way of business,” Kelly noted. “With the walls being glass, I thought some North Shore Bank–colored balloons would look nice.” An electric pump made filling the balloons (relatively) quick.”We chose a day when Lisa would be in later than the rest of the staff, and I stopped in early to get it arranged. The other ladies in the branch pitched in with banners, cake, flowers, and of course helping to tie all the balloons.”

Lisa’s reaction was perfect, Kelly said. “She barely got through the door and started laughing. She said, ‘I don’t even want to work today — I just want to jump in there!'”

“They took hours to fill the balloons as a team, and it just touched my heart they would put so much effort into showing me so much thanks and making me laugh,” Lisa said. “Cleanup was just as many laughs before customers came in. I am so lucky to work with such an amazing team.”

“Lisa is a very special manager,” Kelly said. “She works hard to make everyone in the branch feel like a family, and she deserves to know how much we appreciate her and everything she does to make our team successful.” •••

Promotions for July 2022
The following employees were promoted last month:

• Rodney Whiteside III was promoted from Personal Banker at Westgate to Video Teller Manager.

Leave a comment to congratulate them!

Greendale Village Days offers music, lots more
What’s going on with you? If you or someone in your family has a special event — a concert, show, sporting or charity event, or another important moment — send the details to shorelines@northshorebank.com. We’ll include information about select events to let your colleagues know about all the cool stuff happening with the North Shore Bank team.

Looking for more to do? Here are suggestions from the bank’s event calendar:

And Greendale Village Days will take place next Thursday, August 11, through Sunday, August 14, in downtown Greendale. There will be music, games, fun, food, and drink — and North Shore Bank will have kindness rocks to decorate on Saturday, August 13. Visitors will also have a chance to win $500 of gift cards for local businesses. More info here. •••