Employees wear red to promote heart health

North Shore Bank employees across the company put on crimson, scarlet, maroon, and other similar hues on February 3 to mark National Wear Red Day, an event started by the American Heart Association to raise awareness of the dangers of women’s heart disease. Here are photos from around the bank.

Kellman speaks to Wisconsin state senators

SVP Mike Kellman gave testimony to six Wisconsin state senators in Madison on February 28, on behalf of the Wisconsin Mortgage Bankers Associations, which elected him president in June.

The legislators wanted information about how Wisconsin consumers had been affected by federal regulations on mortgages.

“I told the senators how the Wisconsin consumer has been negatively affected by Dodd-Frank legislation, how they will be negatively affected by the upcoming HMDA regulation, and how consumer choice has been limited by the massive and disruptive stream of legislation that has been placed on the mortgage industry,” Mike said. •••

Walk or donate to support March for Babies
North Shore Bank is putting together a team for the annual March of Dimes March for Babies on Saturday, April 29, at Veterans Park in Milwaukee. The march raises money to treat babies in hospital NICUs, or neonatal intensive-care units.

Registration for the two-mile walk will open at 9 a.m. that day, and the walk will start at 10. You can take part in the walk itself and also donate to the team online at:

https://marchforbabies.org/team/northshorebankwi

AVP Jeff Luczak is the captain of our team. His son Jeffrey was born six weeks premature — thanks to the care he received, he’s now a healthy 6-year-old. •••

Eichel earns Cetera honor for third year
Investment Consultant Jeff Eichel recently qualified for the Cetera Investment Services President’s Club for the third year in a row. The honor was announced in January. To receive this honor, a rep needs to earn $575,000 or more in revenue for a calendar year.

Jeff was quick to note that the honor “really is a team award that I share with my assistant, Emily Haskey.” Emily has been Jeff’s assistant for all three years he has qualified for the President’s Club.

As part of the award, Jeff and the other qualifiers just wrapped up a business trip to Cancún. “The conference, which invites only the top 45 Cetera advisors in the country, is a great way to exchange ideas with some very bright people,” he said. Congratulations to Jeff and Emily! •••

Customer back at MLK Drive

In February, we shared how MLK Drive employees made the news after alerting authorities that a regular customer’s life could be in danger. Branch manager Krystynn Taylor wanted to let Shorelines readers know that the customer in question, Sylvester Gorden, is doing well. “He is back up and around making his weekly visits to the office,” she says. •••

Kudos: Greendale and Southridge
Branch manager Debbie Cottone and her team at our Greendale office recently received this compliment from a customer:

I’ve been going to the Layton State Bank (now NSB) in Greendale for many years. Why? Because I’ve seldom seen a more professional group of people — not only willing to help, but having the “know-how” to answer any and all questions. Debbie Cottone is as good as they come, in my opinion! I wouldn’t even consider a going to a different bank. This isn’t like shopping in a store. These people are dealing with the customer’s money, and we depend on them to be knowledgeable and to help us out. But there is another aspect to the Greendale bank. It has always been more like a family — among the customers and those that work there. We know each other and care deeply about each other. Debbie and the tellers not only take excellent care of our money. They take care excellent of us. It’s a two-way road. It’s such a pleasure to go into the bank and see friends — and share a laugh or stories about our families. This is what makes a truly great bank! My dog even loved going there!

Debbie is so knowledgeable and knows just how to talk to customers so their minds can be at ease. She can talk with the customers about their investments and also share stories and laughs. And included in this list should be the tellers.

And VP Jude Lengell received this compliment for our Southridge branch:

I received a call today from one of our customers, John, who wanted to let me know that the Southridge branch location has been going above and beyond to make him feel important. The examples he provided were all ones where the branch employee used his name — whether it was welcoming him, making small talk while processing a transaction, or during the closing. He said it made him feel “special” and it was such a nice touch. He was wondering if all branch locations were providing this nice touch, and I assured him they were.

I thanked him and told him I would pass along his feedback.

Congratulations, Southridge branch team, for getting such awesome feedback from one of our customers. You certainly support our brand with this level of service and made him feel that NSB truly was the “Bank of John.”

Thanks to VP Craig Witz for passing these kudos along! •••

North Shore Shape Up: Spring forward, rewrite your life
Many of us would like to make changes to our lives, and it’s never too late. This month, Aurora EAP offers some advice on how to “rewrite your life”:

Permit yourself to be a beginner. Accept that as you explore new possibilities you will have many stops and starts. Rather than measuring your progress, adapt an attitude of curiosity.

Understand that it is normal to feel anxious about making a change. Some of what you will experience as fear, however, is probably excitement. Fear and anticipation create the same physiological responses in us, and it is often hard to distinguish one from the other.

Recognize the benefits of already having some life experience. Your past will allow you to better appreciate your future, and will put your new life into a more realistic context.

Aurora EAP also has a list of questions to ask yourself, and there’s a useful book recommendation as well. Read on!

Upcoming Events
North Shore Bank will hold Get Smart mortgage seminars at different locations this month. Here’s a list of the seminars currently scheduled:

• Monday, March 6, Brookfield Square — Home staging and more
• Tuesday, March 7, Forest Home — “Better credit = better life” and more
• Wednesday, March 8, Shorewood — “Should I rent or buy?” and more
• Monday, March 13, Burlington — “Better credit = better life” and more
• Tuesday, March 14, Appleton Northland — “Should I rent or buy?” and more
• Wednesday, March 15, Ashwaubenon — “Should I rent or buy?” and more
• Tuesday, March 21, Kenosha — “Better credit = better life” and more

More upcoming events here.

Internal Job Postings •••

• Deposit Operations Rep, Corporate, full time, 40 hours/week. Referral bonus: $400. Internal closing date: March 3.
• Mortgage Loan Originator, Grafton, full time, 40 hours/week. Referral bonus: $500. Internal closing date: March 3.
• Mortgage Loan Originator, Greendale, full time, 40 hours/week. Referral bonus: $500. Internal closing date: March 3.
• Mortgage Loan Originator, Northland, full time, 40 hours/week. Referral bonus: $500. Internal closing date: March 3.
• Teller, Mequon, part time, 25 hours/week. Referral bonus: $300. Internal closing date: March 3.
• Teller, Burlington, full time, 40 hours/week. Referral bonus: $300. Internal closing date: March 6.
• Area Branch Manager, East/Shorewood, full time, 40 hours/week. Referral bonus: $750. Internal closing date: March 8.
• Customer Assistance Rep, CSC, full time, 40 hours/week. Referral bonus: $400. Internal closing date: Ongoing.

For a complete list of internal job postings and to apply for one, go to nsbcareersforyou.silkroad.com and click on “Internal Openings” at the top. To refer an external person to an opening, go to our intranet page. You can earn cash and prizes for a successful referral!