Over last 20 years, Lang’s high hopes have paid off
When she applied for a job at North Shore Bank in Mortgage Loan Processing 20 years ago this month, Cheryl Lang had a good feeling about it.

“I had worked for mortgage brokerage offices, but this was the first actual bank I’d ever applied to,” recalls Cheryl, who would move to Commercial Loan Processing in 2005 and then to Commercial Loan Servicing in 2006, and took over leading that department in 2010. “I saw the position in Brookfield — which I love — and knew the bank had a great reputation, as my parents had banked here, so I was optimistic about the opportunity.”

Her optimism has paid off. Check out all the great things people have to say about her!

Kalepp, Mason, White, Williams next cohort of CEMs

With the second year of our community engagement manager program coming to a very successful close, the bank is excited to announce that our third cohort of CEMs has begun the program.

This latest group of CEMs includes Northland’s Lacee Kalepp, Mequon’s Farrah Mason, Union Grove’s Jonathan White, and Milwaukee Capitol’s Mike Williams. District manager Lauri Lunde is serving as mentor to the third cohort.

The CEM program is facilitated by our partner NEWaukee and is focused on helping our branch leaders grow deeper relationships in their markets and create more community partnerships. The program has directly led to some of our most exciting signature events over the last few years, such as our “You Can” happy hours; Welcome Party events in Kenosha, Germantown, Muskego, Milwaukee, and Green Bay; and the return of Southside Dining Week.

Current CEMs are Mary Benz, Brian Bozek, Ray Guardiola, Danielle Hansen, Erica Hughes, Katie Longsine, Alfredo Martin,, Stephanie Ruiz, and Shannon Weber. The first cohort of CEMs started the program in December 2020 under DM Kerri Collins as a mentor, and a second cohort began in October 2021, under DM Cristen Baumann. •••

Employees dig in to cupcakes for bank’s 100th birthday

This past Monday, February 20, North Shore Bank celebrated the 100th anniversary of official incorporation of the North Shore Building & Loan Association on February 19, 1923.

You can see our certificate of incorporation, signed by Wisconsin banking commissioner Marshall Cousins, at right. Click the image to enlarge it.

Employees at Corporate and our branches took a few minutes to recognize our “birthday” with cupcakes, party hats, and decorations. Here are photos from all over the bank!

100 Acts of Kindness challenge kicks off!

We’ve been thrilled to see you dive into the 100 Acts of Kindness challenge we announced earlier this month! Here are a few examples of how North Shore Bank employees have been making their colleagues, neighbors, and communities a little happier lately.

Loan servicing specialist Shannan Mahloch brought in doughnuts for her co-workers to celebrate after the offer she and her boyfriend put in on a new house was accepted. “We have been looking for about three months,” she says. Community loan originator Diana Castillo has been helping. “This will be the first house we have bought together, and we are excited to throw a housewarming party in the next couple of months.”

Shannan also took part in last week’s “Wipe Off the White” challenge at Corporate, taking a few minutes to brush the snow off some of her colleagues’ cars while she was out in the parking. Senior loan funding rep Judy Dean caught her on camera.

Residential processing team lead Heidi Becker took the time to jot a complimentary note to her server while dining out the other day. She also made a point of praising an employee she worked with as she gets some new countertops.

And for Valentine’s Day, the team at Allouez — assistant branch manager Aubrey Abrahamson, teller Alexx Stadtlander, and branch manager Mickey Adams — dressed up in red and handed out roses to customers.

As you see, you are allowed (and even encouraged!) to perform and submit multiple acts of kindness for this challenge, which runs through March 31. The more kind acts you submit, the more chances you’ll have to win our prizes: eight hours of PTO, 250 Bucket List (Seymour Salutes) points, or a six-month membership to the car wash of your choice. More info here! •••

Throwback Thursday: Sponsoring a Summerfest stage

Though a lot of our employees are rock stars, North Shore Bank isn’t generally associated with actual rock stars. That wasn’t the case back in 2003, though, when we sponsored the North Shore Bank Landing Stage at that year’s Summerfest at Henry Maier Festival Park.

The artists who appeared on our stage included the Wallflowers, Wilco, Fountains of Wayne, the Boogie Men, and headliner “Weird Al” Yankovic.

As a Shorelines article from that year notes, sponsoring the stage gave the bank “tremendous visibility.” The annual music festival, first held in 1968, attracts hundreds of thousands of attendees each year. (Guinness World Records certified Summerfest’s claim to be “The World’s Largest Music Festival” in 1999, but Germany’s Donauinselfest overtook it in 2015.)

Our sponsorship came with perks for our customers: On one Sunday, the first 3,000 attendees who could show they were North Shore Bank customers got in free if they also made a donation to our school-supply drive. Another promotion offered two free Summerfest tickets to those who opened a new checking account with us; and customers could also register for the chance to win a Summerfest VIP package.

We sponsored the stage for only one year, after which we switched to sponsoring the on-site ATMs at Summerfest and other festivals at the park. Naturally, that meant North Shore Bank customers paid no fees to withdraw cash. •••

Olson wins February trivia game
Our first North Shore Bank Centennial Trivia winner is process risk analyst Ron Olson.

The question this month was:

Name three businesses that housed North Shore Bank before constructing the Shorewood office on the corner of E. Lake Bluff Road and Oakland Avenue.

Ron was the first to reply with correct answers: Perkins Hardware, North Shore Cleaners, and the Shorewood Theatre. His quick wits have earned him some sweet North Shore Bank centennial swag.

The next trivia question will appear in Shorelines and on Ask Seymour the first week of April. There’s more information here. Congratulations, Ron! •••

Muskego team beats escape room with time to spare

Muskego employees honed their cooperative thinking skills with some teambuilding fun at an escape room. “We did the Storm Room, which had a 5/10 difficulty rating, but the game host said he found it to be one of the harder ones,” community engagement manager Stephanie Ruiz said. The experience had them assuming the roles of a supervillain’s new henchmen and henchwomen, who were proving themselves worthy to help take over the world.

“We put our brains together and escaped with almost eight minutes to spare,” Stephanie said. “We had so much fun, we wanted to do another one right after!” The team had dinner at Red Robin before taking on the challenge at 60 to Escape at Milwaukee’s Southridge Mall. “We even managed to get locked inside the mall after and jokingly said, ‘Is this a part of the game?!?’” •••

Fox Point sports heart headbands

Fox Point universal banker Key Miller-Johnson and teller supervisor Roxann Roberts got into the Valentine’s Day spirit, providing headbands featuring hearts for the team. “The customers loved it,” Key said. “We were able to hand out heart-shaped chocolate candies, too, and they were so happy and thankful.” •••

Don’t let fears of a down payment hold you back
Our Mortgage Days event continues through the end of the month, with great deals available for homebuyers. While renting does have some advantages, many would-be homeowners assume they can’t afford the down payment necessary to purchase a house. That’s not necessarily the case! North Shore Bank has multiple financing options for first-time homebuyers, to get them into the home of their dreams. Let your customers and other prospective homebuyers know: They should schedule a meeting with one of our experts to see how we can help. There’s more information for first-time buyers on our website! •••

New Hires for February 23
It’s always exciting to add new members to our team. Here are some of the fresh faces at North Shore Bank.

Pulaski teller Debra Hoida lived and raised a family in Watertown for 26 years and now lives in Krakow. Before joining North Shore Bank, she worked at a Harley-Davidson dealership for seven years and then at the front desk of a small motorcycle repair shop. She says, “I love shopping, home decorating, gardening, the ocean — and of course, riding on our Harley-Davidson.” •••

Advance tickets on sale for Brown County showcase
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:

Advance tickets for the Brown County Home Builders Association Spring Showcase of Homes are available through Friday, March 3, at our Allouez, Ashwaubenon, Green Bay East, Green Bay West, Howard-Suamico, and Pulaski branches. Advance tickets are $12; tickets will go on sale at the full price of $15 on March 4. The showcase will take place Saturday, March 4, Sunday, March 5, and Thursday, March 9, through Sunday, March 12. More info here.

Our Northland branch will host a diaper collection drive for Jake’s Network of Hope from Wednesday, March 1, through Tuesday, March 14. A third of families in the United States struggle to provide clean diapers for their babies. New, unopened diapers and wipes are wanted. There is a special need for size 6 diapers and 4T/5T pull-ups, but any contribution is welcome and appreciated. More info here. •••