Your BCP Committee: Get set for spring, summer storms
Warmer weather is definitely due one of these days. But with it come April showers, summer thunderstorms, and the occasional tornado! It is never too late to start talking through the action plan for spring storms at work and at home.
Pat Ingelse has a couple of reminders for the months to come, so go ahead and read them now!
2019 SOAR Awards recognize six for excellence
The SOAR Awards are now in their third year, and we had so many great nominees to choose from that the review committee decided to recognize two employees in each of the three categories. We are pleased to announce our 2019 award winners:
For Community Service: Robin Callis and Alfredo Martin
For Outstanding Service: Cheryl Fregoso and Barb Wisneski
And our Legacy Leaders: Kerri Collins and Lyneen Fischer
Read on to learn more about why these North Shore Bank employees were nominated by their colleagues!
Latest TV ad plugs new HELOCs
North Shore Bank’s new home equity line of credit options offer homeowners the flexibility to address the financial needs of their choosing, whether that means funding home renovations, taking care of essential medical expenses, paying off higher-interest debt, or anything else.
Our latest TV spot, “The Choice,” gets the message out there. You can do the same! Let your friends and family know that even if they don’t need a HELOC now, getting one means vital access to credit if an emergency does pop up. And North Shore Bank offers competitive rates along with the quality service that has defined us for almost a century. •••
Vote for NSB in the Top Choice Awards by Sunday
Voting for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “Best of Greater Milwaukee” 2019 Top Choice Awards is now open! Cast your vote for your favorite local businesses — including North Shore Bank — through April 14.
To vote for North Shore Bank, click here and then select “Services” followed by “Bank or Credit Union”:
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 this Sunday, April 14. •••
Greendale sponsors hockey event for Children’s Hospital
Greendale branch employees helped out with the “Skate With Heart/Athletes for Adam” event at the Milwaukee Admirals hockey game on April 5. Sponsored by North Shore Bank, the event benefited the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin’s Herma Heart Institute and included a figure skating show between periods. The Admirals donated funds from ticket sales to the institute.
Teller supervisor Valerie Kochanski (pictured up top) and personal banker Samantha Damman set up and worked our table at the game. We gave away a corporate pass to the Milwaukee Public Museum; the winner, pictured above, brought a furry buddy because it was Dog Day at the arena. “She was very excited to win,” Samantha reported. “She told me she works with some kids with autism, so she is going to take them to the museum for a day!” •••
Families learn about finances at Kids & Family Expo
North Shore Bank sponsored the Kids & Family Expo at the RecPlex in Pleasant Prairie on March 30. Kids got to play a memory game and the “Every Last Cent” financial game at our booth, while their parents learned about how to teach them good financial habits throughout life. We gave away four tickets to a Kenosha Kingfish baseball game and a tailgating fold-up chair, too. “Parents were very excited! It was a great time,” reported Kenosha Central branch manager Merissa Modory.
Along with Merissa, district manager Brian Bozek, his son Cameron, teller Lulu Escobedo, personal banker Debbie Oatsvall, and teller supervisor Wanda Pillizzi helped out at the expo. Above, Seymour Savings (played by Cameron) made a royally awesome connection with these princesses there as part of the event. •••
Colleagues, customers celebrate Oatsvall’s 15th
Kenosha Central celebrated personal banker Debbie Oatsvall’s 15th anniversary last month with food and fun. “We invited customers to come say happy anniversary to her, since many of our customers have been with NSB that long!” said branch manager Merissa Modory. “We also had them leave her messages in a notebook.”
“Hi Debbie. YOUR’RE AMAZING! Thanks for always smiling and helping us out. Happy 15,” read one message. Another said, “Just wanted to say congrats on 15 years. You have always been so great to us! Thank you for all of your help throughout the years! You are more than a banker to all of us — you are a friend! Again, thanks for everything!”
“Debbie is a genuine, knowledgeable, kindhearted person,” Merissa said. “She truly is here to help anyone, whether it be something small or big, and she creates real connections with customers. All of our customers know Debbie, and because of the rapport she has established with them, they keep coming back! The running joke in the branch is that when Debbie retires, there is going to be a riot outside our branch protesting it!” •••
Kudos: Howland impresses clients
A customer shared this compliment after working with New Berlin universal banker Ava Howland:
I am amazed at the level of customer service you provide. In the day of giant banks, your bank makes the customer feel important. This is the difference between a giant bank looking only at profits and a bank that will succeed because of top customer service. Thank you to all at the New Berlin branch. Ava has been great!
Branch manager Sara Swosinski shared the comment with district manager Lauri Lunde and Craig Witz, VP, branch sales, saying, “Every time I’ve opened an Allegiance item in the past few months, they are all recognizing Ava as an outstanding employee. I think this comment nicely sums up her commitment to the bank and the service she provides to her clients in New Berlin. I’m so grateful to have her on my team and working for North Shore!” •••
Service Anniversaries for April 2019
The following employees celebrate a milestone anniversary with North Shore Bank this month.
25 years
Jude Lengell, VP, Customer Support
Brent Neumann, Sales & Marketing Analyst
15 years
Denine Johnston, Loss Prevention Manager
Leave a comment to congratulate them!
North Shore Shape Up: Fixing tension headaches
Often appearing later in the day, tension headaches aren’t the most painful kind of headache — just the most common. And they’re still no fun, often feeling as if a tight band is wound around your head, creating pain and pressure all around your head and tenderness in the scalp, neck, and shoulders. For people who suffer from regular tension headaches, Harvard Health has some advice:
- Pay attention to the basics. Get enough sleep, don’t skip meals, and be sure to pace yourself to avoid stress and fatigue.
- Relaxation techniques. Physical approaches include applying a heating pad to your neck and shoulders to relax the muscles. Exercising these muscles also helps. Guided imagery exercises that help you focus your attention on various parts of your body can also help.
- Biofeedback. A therapist attaches electrodes to your skin to detect electrical signals from your neck and shoulder muscles. You then learn to recognize when you are becoming tense and practice ways to relax the muscles before they tighten so much.
- Medical approaches. Some people with tension headaches have very sensitive areas, known as trigger points, at the back of the neck or in the shoulders. Injecting a local anesthetic into these areas may eliminate the pain and prevent the headache from occurring again. There are also a number of medications that can help keep tension headaches at bay.
If the first three tips don’t get you anywhere, talk to your doctor right away about medical next steps. •••
Upcoming Events
The St. Francis Children’s Center Wine, Beer & Chocolate Tasting takes place Saturday, April 13, at Milwaukee’s Sprecher Brewing Company. This fundraiser supports children with special needs or developmental disabilities. More upcoming events here.
Internal Job Postings •••
Closing TODAY
- Assistant Branch Manager–Sales, Brookfield Square, full time (40 hrs/wk). Pay grade: N08. Referral bonus: $500.
Closing Tuesday, April 16
- Branch Manager I, Sussex, full time (40 hrs/wk). Pay grade: E11. Referral bonus: $750.
- Teller Supervisor – Bilingual/Spanish, El Rey, full time (40 hrs/wk). Pay grade: N03. Referral bonus: $400.
Ongoing
- Customer Assistance Rep, Corporate, full time (40 hrs/wk). Pay grade: N12. Referral bonus: $400.
- Video Teller and Video Teller Supervisor, Brookfield Square, full (40 hrs/wk) or part time (20). Pay grade: N03. Referral bonus: $400.
For complete information regarding internal job postings, application procedures, and our referral program, click on the Job Postings tile found on the home page in Ask Seymour.