IN OUR COMMUNITIES

From loans to ladders: Employees volunteer with Habitat for Humanity

As mortgage loan originators, Robin Tegel and Susan Liedel certainly understand the importance of having a safe and secure place to call home. Recently, they had the opportunity to assist families in need with their homeownership dreams by volunteering for Women Build Week with Habitat for Humanity of Racine.

Women Build Week focused on building and installing sheds at home sites. Habitat homes do not have garages, so sheds are needed to store lawn equipment, bicycles, and other items.

Robin and Susan worked alongside the Racine Kenosha Builders Association and future Habit homeowners. Future homeowners are required to put in 300 hours of “sweat equity,” building their homes and homes for neighbors, to qualify to purchase their home at an affordable mortgage. 03170 Those payments then help to fund the construction of additional homes.

Susan was matched with a future homeowner, a single mom of two children. She and her partner cut wood to frame three sheds. Susan said it was an extremely hot day and the work was strenuous, but she found the woman’s story and her dedication to getting a home for her family inspiring. “Her story is one of choosing to move forward,” Susan said.

Robin had a little experience with building tools before volunteering with Habitat, but she picked up a few new skills and some classic building wisdom—measure twice, cut once—on the site. Building skills aren’t necessary to volunteer; others present will provide instruction if someone needs it.

Like Susan, Robin found volunteering with Habitat for Humanity to be rewarding.

“We met the children of the homeowner receiving the shed and they were so excited and very thankful for our service. Working alongside other volunteers, I felt a deep sense of connection to the community and pride in knowing that our efforts are making a tangible difference in the lives of these homeowners,” she said.

What an awesome way to help the community! Great job, Robin and Susan!

 

NORTH SHORE STARS

Customer Support Center awards Olympic-style medals to team members

The Olympic Symbol represents the five continents of Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. For a few days, it also represented the five departments that make up the CSC Team: Checking/ACH Services, Contact Center, Debit Card and ATM Processing, Deposit Services and IRA, and Security and Loss Prevention.

While the world watched Olympic athletes compete on the biggest stage of their lives, CSC, too, held its own Olympics, an idea hatched by Jude Lengell, Vice President of Banking Services and Operations. Each member of the team was awarded points based on being recognized by their peers when caught demonstrating lessons learned from our Do’s and Don’ts training and 101 Ways to Build Customer Loyalty. They also sprinkled in a few fun activities that carried the Olympic theme.

“With North Shore Bank’s focus on Possibility Thinking, we thought this would be a great opportunity to tie this in with an Olympic theme to recognize our team members that overcome hurdles, volley to victory, sprint to the finish line, assist and score for the win!” said Laura Kramer, Vice President and Debit Card and Banking Operations Manager.

Below are the five events in which team members could nominate a co-worker. Over the seven-day Olympic Event, there were more than 140 nomination points!

CATEGORIES

• OVERCOMING HURDLES – team member assists a demanding customer or situation with a solution that meets or exceeds expectations.
• VOLLEY TO VICTORY – team member requests assistance from another team member for a solution that meets or exceeds expectations.
• SPRINTING TO THE FINISH LINE – time-sensitive project, customer interaction/complaint, or task completed on time or before the compressed timeline.
• ASSISTS – team member offers recommendations/solutions to improve:
  • Processes/tasks to gain efficiencies
  • Customer communications for clarity and branding
  • Colleague growth and successes
• SCORE FOR THE WIN – use possibility thinking to assist internal or external customers with resolution to a problem.

Below is the listing of our CSC Olympians who earned medals. Congratulations to each of them, and a special thank you to the entire CSC team for nominating and participating in the 2024 CSC Summer Olympics!

Overcoming Hurdles

• Gold – Kat Grunert, Senior Contact Center Representative
• Silver – Emily Glapinski, Loss Prevention Investigator
• Bronze – Bertha Huerta, Debit Card Supervisor

Volleying to Victory

• Gold – Sara Carter, Contact Center Team Lead
• Silver – Linda Lassa, Checking Services Team Lead
• Bronze – Amber Gruhlke, Contact Center Operations Specialist

Sprinting to the Finish Line

• Gold – Christine Shehow, Deposit Products Application Administrator
• Silver – Carrie Feiker, Senior Deposit Operations Specialist
• Bronze – Sharon Phillips, Consumer Digital Banking Representative

Assists

• Gold – Casey Kopacz, Senior Deposit Operations Specialist
• Silver – Kristin Hoch, Deposit Operations Team Lead
• Bronze – Debra Jones, Deposit Operations Representative

Score for the Win

• Gold – Jorge Guel, Senior Contact Center Representative
• Silver – Adrianna Mendoza, Contact Center Specialist
• Bronze – Nancy Adamski, Senior ACH Specialist

In the area of fun and games, winners were:

Basketball

• Gold – Erica Kuik, ACH Representative
• Silver – Braydn Zomchek, Intern
• Bronze – Shamika Harris, Loss Prevention Representative

Find Seymour

• Gold – Erica Kuik, ACH Representative
• Silver – Shamika Harris, Loss Prevention Representative
• Bronze – Jennifer Mooney, Senior Debit Card/ATM Processing Specialist

Word Scramble

• Gold – Vince Hoch, Debit Card/ATM Processing Specialist
• Silver – Nancy Hanson, Receptionist
• Bronze – Debra Jones, Deposit Operations Representative

Team standings:

• Gold – Deposit Services and IRA
• Silver – Security
• Bronze – Contact Center

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Get ready to dig in: Southside Dining Week returns Sept. 28-Oct. 5

Mark your calendars: North Shore Bank is once again organizing and presenting Southside Dining Week, a celebration of the great dining options on Milwaukee’s south side, from Sept. 28 to Oct. 5. Over 40 restaurants in the area will offer their signature dishes for $20 or less throughout the week.

If there are restaurants you’ve always wanted to try, this is the perfect time to visit!

“We are excited to showcase a range of new restaurants and diverse flavors that the south side has to offer while also bringing family and friends together to enjoy culinary delights and a strong sense of community spirit,” said Alfredo Martin, area branch and community engagement manager. “We encourage everyone to join us to celebrate the week.”

Opening day festivities are from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, with the Live Band Kick Off presented by Mastercard® at the Zocalo Food Truck Park, 636 S. 6th St. In addition to music from Kerensa DeMars, Clayton, and more, the event features more than 20 vendors selling clothes, art, and jewelry, plus food and drinks and family-friendly activities.

During the event, local artist Michael Cerda will paint a mural on Zocalo Food Truck Park’s neighboring building, highlighting Milwaukee’s vibrant community and culture, a nod to North Shore Bank’s mission to spread kindness.

North Shore Bank’s Craft Cochera, new this year, will offer kid-friendly art projects and activities. The first 50 guests will receive a free treat from Scratch Ice Cream and churros from Mazorca Tacos.

Fan-favorite restaurants like Cafe Corazon, La Poncena, Gold Rush Chicken, and Egg & Flour Pasta Bar are participating, along with many more across dozens of south-side neighborhoods.

If you are interested in helping at the kick off event on Saturday, Sept. 28, contact Alfredo Martin. This is a paid opportunity for employees who work bank-sponsored events.

You won’t want to miss it!

 

HEALTHY YOU

Learn relaxation techniques to help when stress hits

We all experience stress, so it’s helpful to have a variety of tools to lessen the impact and move on.

You can use an “energy grid” to examine how important the issue is to you and how much control you have over the situation. Deep breathing exercises, including a technique called “Box Breathing,” can help relieve stress and tension.

Click here to learn more about these stress-releasing techniques. You’ll be happier and healthier for it in the long run.

 

FINANCIAL LITERACY AND EDUCATION

Choose the right life insurance with advice from Elevate

It’s a good idea to have life insurance to protect our loved ones, but with multiple types and various options, knowing which is best for our individual situations can be confusing.

Fortunately, Elevate Wisconsin, a free financial wellness resource for all bank employees, has a series of courses on life insurance options—whole life, term life, and group term life—and a course on choosing the right ones for you.

Learn more about life insurance today with Elevate’s simple, straightforward courses.

 

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

 

Customer Loyalty Tip of the Week

When your customers are upset, let them vent. Interrupting will only make them angrier.

 

COMMUNITY CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Discover events and activities in and around your community

• North Shore Bank Shorewood Feast| Saturday, September 14 (12 PM) | 4200-4400 blocks of Oakland Avenue | Shorewood, WI
• Golf For Gear Supporting First Responders in Door County | Friday, September 20 (12PM) | Idlewild Golf Club | 4146 Golf Valley Drive | Sturgeon Bay, WI

 

Shorelines wants to share news about YOU!

Just a reminder that we’re always looking for fun and exciting things to share in Shorelines.  Whether it’s a special event at your branch or a shout-out to one of your coworkers, a great trip you went on with family or friends, information about a half-marathon you’re running, or even just a fantastic photo you took over the weekend, we’d love to share it! Please email shorelines@northshorebank.com to have your news included in a future issue.