Vote for us in the Top Choice Awards!
Voting for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel‘s 2023 Official Community’s Choice Top Choice Awards is now open! Cast your vote for your favorite local businesses — including North Shore Bank — through April 24.
To vote for North Shore Bank, click here and scroll down to find us listed under “Banks.”
You will need to register with your first and last name and email to submit your vote.
Take a minute and vote for North Shore Bank! Again, the last day of voting is Monday, April 24. •••
Cool bird, hot costume: Seymour teaches kids to save
Deposit operations rep Debra “Jonesy” Jones plays Seymour at opening of the new Grafton branch in 2006, accompanied by daughter Kiley, who was 8 at the time.
Over the course of almost a quarter century, one North Shore Bank representative has taught thousands of children about the power of saving — without ever speaking a single word.
Seymour Savings was introduced in the year 2000, when we rolled out the kids’ saving account that bears his name. Since then, he has appeared at hundreds of events in the communities our branches serve. We have the inside story on this remarkable bird and what it’s like to play him — read it now!
Corporate donates over 2,000 food items to pantry
In celebration of the 100th day of North Shore Bank’s 100th year, Corporate encouraged employees to bring in food donations for the FOOD Pantry Serving Waukesha County. Between April 10 and 17, employees brought in 2,032 items, amounting to 1,550 pounds of food. That crushed our goal of 800 items.
“Wow!” wrote a FOOD Pantry representative. “You did a phenomenal job! Please thank everyone that participated and tell them that their donations are very much appreciated and needed.” Many thanks to everyone who contributed to the drive! •••
Throwback Thursday: Customer uncovers trinket
A Fox Point customer stopped into the branch earlier this month to share an interesting find: a North Shore Savings & Loan Association pocket magnifying lens. “His parents were customers of North Shore Bank and have since passed away,” teller supervisor Roxann Roberts said. “While cleaning out their home, he came across this. He was ecstatic and so excited to share it with us!” The customer told her he’d bring in any more North Shore memorabilia he runs across. •••
Hall wins April’s trivia contest
Our North Shore Bank Centennial Trivia winner for April was Ashwaubenon teller Sam Hall.
The question this month was:
Who was North Shore Bank’s president before Jim McKenna?
Sam replied with the correct answer: Walter Ackeret. He has won some sweet North Shore Bank centennial swag.
The next trivia question will appear in Shorelines and on Ask Seymour the first week of June. There’s more information here. Congratulations, Sam! •••
Making passwords longer was vital to protecting data
As you may know, we recently changed North Shore Bank’s password length requirements for employees. Your Windows password must now be at least 14 characters long. (Previously, it had to be only 8 characters.) Dana Scherff explains why we made this important change.
Branch staffers enjoy Kidz Expo, tulips, tailgating
Jenny Isenhower, Aubrey Abrahamson, Tisha Kenfield, Kari Tuyls and son Max, and Char Schaible at the Kidz Expo.
North Shore Bank was the presenting sponsor at the Fox Cities Kidz Expo on April 15. “The event was a huge success thanks to all of our volunteers!” Northland community engagement manager AVP Lacee Kalepp said. Attendance was pegged at 4,150 kids and grown-ups.
Along with Lacee, employees who helped out included Allouez assistant branch manager Aubrey Abrahamson, mortgage loan originator Michele Cope, Menasha teller Jenny Isenhower, Northland assistant branch manager Tisha Kenfield, teller supervisor Patt Kox, customer care rep Kari Tuyls, Northland teller Char Schaible, and video teller Dan Timko, who played Seymour Savings.
Mariah, universal banker DeDe Krause, and Kari Tuyls with the tulips.
A customer brought flowers in for the staff at Green Bay East earlier this month. “We are excited that spring is in the air!” assistant branch manager Mariah Hintz said. “Our customer said she was very appreciative of all of the help we’ve given her, so she decided to bring us some tulips.”
And teller Don Mahnke broke out the indoor grill to cook a tailgate lunch for his co-workers at Southridge in celebration of the Milwaukee Brewers’ Opening Day a few weeks ago. “It was delicious,” assistant branch manager Marie Cruz reported. •••
Coins for Kids raising funds for Children’s Wisconsin
Starting tomorrow, our Coins for Kids drive will raise money to help Children’s Wisconsin provide the best medical care for throughout the state.
Members of the public can stop in at any North Shore Bank location between Friday, April 21, and Wednesday, May 17, and get their coins counted for free, and then donate all or some of the total to the nonprofit Children’s Wisconsin Foundation. The bank will match up to $2,500 in donations.
This year is also the 25th Miracle Marathon radiothon, which will feature stories of hope and healing broadcast live on Milwaukee’s 96.5 WKLH-FM, on May 18 and 19, while raising money for Children’s. Because it is the radiothon’s 25th anniversary, the Coins for Kids drive is running for the 25 days preceding the broadcast. More information here! •••
Branch customer sad to lose Oatsvall
A Kenosha Central customer was sad to hear Debbie Oatsvall would be leaving in March — sad enough to leave this lovely message: “Debbie took excellent care of us! Always above and beyond. We’ll miss her so very much.” The good news for the rest of us is that Debbie only left the branch and her full-time position there as a personal banker. She’s now a senior customer assistance rep working part time in the Call Center.
We’ve received some other nice feedback as well. “Many years with North Shore, friendly service, thank you,” writes one customer. And another simply says, “Great bank to do business with.” •••
Service Anniversaries for April 2023
The following employees celebrate a milestone anniversary with North Shore Bank this month.
10 years
Brian Bozek, District Manager
Danielle Hansen, Area Manager
Cathy Swanson, Credit Analyst
5 years
Jessica Dalba, Staff Auditor
Erika Garcia, Video Teller
Fabiola Guel, Teller, Jackson Park
Melody Langrick, Universal Banker, Sturgeon Bay East
Kristine Pappa, Online Banking Supervisor
Breanna Rooney, Assistant Branch Manager, North End
Roberta Strazishar, Teller, Howard-Suamico
Angela Trantow, Debit Card/ATM Processing Specialist
Leave a comment to congratulate them!
New Hires for April 20
It’s always exciting to add new members to our team. Here are some of the fresh faces at North Shore Bank.
Sturgeon Bay assistant branch manager Dan Barrett is from Middleton and previously was the general manager with Arby’s in DeForest. He also owns his own photography company, which he’s currently rebranding under the name Devil Dawg Photography. Dan has a daughter who is about to graduate high school and will be majoring in biochemistry at UW-Madison next fall. “I also owe her a trip to Germany due to a lost bet based on her grade point average,” he says.
West Allis teller Matt Gregory is from West Allis and previously worked at PNC Bank for almost two years. He’s a big fan of all of the local professional and college sports teams, and has attended games and events including two Milwaukee Brewers NL Central division championship wins, the the 2001 Milwaukee Bucks Eastern Conference playoff run, two Wisconsin Badger Big Ten football championship-clinching games, and Brett Favre’s 2016 NFL Hall of Fame induction.
Kenosha Main assistant branch manager Marta Micinski Dolan is originally from Poland and has worked for a number of companies, as well as running her own small business. “I love to travel and learn about different cultures,” she says. “My most recent international trip included four days of backpacking on the Inca trail to see the Machu Picchu citadel. It was an absolutely amazing experience.” •••
Somers and family hit road, Mermolia welcomes baby
Left: Heather’s daughters — 11-year-old Alena and 6-year-old Rayna — in the Pink Lady. Right: Son Lincoln, 3, naps on the road.
North End branch manager Heather Somers and her family recently went on their first trip in their new RV, driving to Florida to see her parents. “Most of the interior is pink, so we call it the Pink Lady,” Heather says. “We drove through a tornado in Indiana on the way home. Pretty scary!”
Big brother Aiden with baby sister Aria.
And Franklin branch manager Jason Mermolia and family welcomed new daughter Aria a few weeks ago. She was born 21 inches long and weighing 8 pounds, 10 ounces. Congratulations, Jason! •••
Benefits of positive self-talk, more in Healthy You
The Spring 2023 digital edition of Healthy You magazine from UMR Wellness is out now — read it online or download it as a PDF.
This issue includes valuable information about men’s vitamins, sepsis, how to “exercise snack” your way to better health, the power of positive self-talk, and more. Studies have shown that practicing regular positive self-talk can improve self-esteem, lower stress, reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, improve your body image, make you feel more in control of your life, help with chronic pain, motivate you to overcome obstacles, and help you calm yourself in challenging situations. Read all about it in the new Healthy You! •••
Germantown will offer doughnuts on discount
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:
The next installment of our Path to Wealth seminar series takes place Wednesday, April 26, at our Jackson Park branch. In conjunction with the Latino Entrepreneurial Network, area manager Alfredo Martin and community lending manager Miguel Pesqueira will talk about “The Importance of Saving.” More info here.
It’s Donut Day next Friday, April 28, in the parking lot of our Germantown branch. The Flip’s Mini Donuts food truck will be selling sweet treats, and our customers can show their North Shore Bank debit cards for a discount. More info here.
The fifth Latino Economic Unsummit in Kenosha takes place Friday, May 5, at the Stella Hotel. North Shore Bank is a proud sponsor of the event, put on by the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Southeastern Wisconsin. The Unsummit helps connect Latino and other minority business owners in Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth counties with resources, and helps area organizations better understand the needs of Latino-owned businesses. More info here. •••