Branches hand out cards, cash for Bank on Kindness

Our bankers have been spreading goodwill in their branch communities as part of our Bank on Kindness initiative. Here’s some of what they’ve been up to.

Forest Home and Southridge employees got holiday greeting cards for residents at Villa St. Francis assisted living, area branch manager Carolyn Lancour said. The cards were purchased from the Hunger Task Force, and proceeds of the sale went to the food bank. The bankers then delivered the cards to Villa St. Francis. “The staff there was so grateful for the cards, which cheered up the residents who were limited on visiting with family throughout the year,” Carolyn said.

Forest Home teller Samantha Bradford also made three customers’ days by handing out an extra $20 to each of them. “Originally, we were going to try to catch people at the ATM, but due to logistics and the ability to have only one customer in our lobby at a time right now, the team opted for a more personal and heartfelt moment with some of our favorite customers inside,” Carolyn said. Carolyn’s team also dropped off care packages for homeless Milwaukeeans at one of the St. Vincent de Paul locations in Milwaukee.

At our El Rey Foodmart office, branch manager Alfredo Martin, assistant branch manager Maria Castro, and personal banker Vanessa Escobedo shared money that customers could use to buy groceries or anything else.

And at Wauwatosa, branch manager Mary Rose Balzer and her team brought doughnuts from Cranky Al’s to local police, firefighters, and Wauwatosa West High School. The school even asked teller Nicole Ndanda, a West graduate, to come back and speak to graduating seniors this spring about life after high school. The branch also surprised eight customers with an extra $20 and got care packages for delivery people. •••

Customer glad for Maurer’s help in time crunch

Brookfield Square teller supervisor Carmen Maurer was the subject of a highly complimentary and grateful message from a customer this week:

My name is Lisa, and I am writing to let you know about the great customer service I received at your bank today. I wanted to come in to pay off the balance of our RV loan but wasn’t sure how to go about it, since I also needed paperwork showing that the lien is cleared (we sold our camper and need this copy by Saturday). I had the pleasure of working with Carmen Maurer. Carmen explained everything to me and walked me through the process step by step. She made sure I had her direct phone number and said she would see what she could do to get the paperwork to me before Saturday. This email doesn’t cover all of the details, but I have to say that I was frustrated with our bank due to trying to get the money withdrawn (lobby not open to the public, not sure if they would give the cash via teller window, waiting an hour and a half to get a call back to find out this information), but by the time I left North Shore, I felt much better. Carmen truly made me feel like I was a valued customer. We will be purchasing another RV in the near future, and I will be asking the dealer to check into taking the loan through North Shore!

“This goes to show, lobbies open and great employees are the keys to a return customer!” area branch manager Maria Baumer said. Nice work, Carmen! •••

Mindful Minute: Get clear on how you want to feel

How do you want to feel? Once you’ve figured that out, you’ll be able to move forward with much more clarity and effectiveness. Pat Ingelse tells you more.

Burlington celebrates Callis, trees up in Green Bay

Here’s news from our branch offices.

Burlington branch manager Robin Callis’s team surprised her with a birthday celebration on December 18. “My birthday is the following week, but I had scheduled PTO,” she said. Robin was delighted by one present in particular: “Amongst the many gifts and balloons was this very special thermal cup. It reads ‘Is it in R-1? Put it in R-1!.’ I’m thinking that this might be something I say quite often! My DM would be proud!” Happy birthday, Robin!

Green Bay West puts up a Giving Tree every winter holiday season, partnering with local organization Heaven’s Touch to collect gifts for single mothers and their children in the community. This year, the branch took in toys and clothing for 32 kids, from ages 3 months up to 18 years old. “We love doing it every year, and our customers look forward to it as well,” assistant branch manager Hali Thompson said.

Hali also sent in a pic of herself and universal banker Shanna Krause, after they inadvertently showed up at work as twins last month. “It was too funny not to document and share!” she said.

And Green Bay East universal banker Kari Tuyls sent in a photo of that branch’s Christmas tree too. “We wanted to bring the holiday cheer by decorating a tree,” Kari said. “We spruced up the space where we used to serve coffee since we are no longer able to, due to COVID. We each brought our own ornament to hang on the tree, in addition to some that we received from a customer as a gift. We also displayed greeting cards we received from customers.” •••

Track your stimulus payment, watch for scammers
You may be getting, or may have already gotten, a second stimulus payment from the federal government. Funds are being delivered by direct deposit and mail. We’ve got information on stimulus payments and can help North Shore Bank account holders track the status of their payments — there’s more information here.

And both you and our customers should be aware that with another stimulus payment comes the possibility of scams. Keep in mind:

• The government won’t ask you to pay anything up front to get this money. Only a scammer would do that.
• The government won’t call, text, email, or contact you on social media to ask for your Social Security, bank account, or credit card number. Only a scammer would do that.
• There’s no such thing as getting your money early or faster. Anyone who says they can help you do that is both lying and a scammer.

You can find more information here. Stay safe and stay alert! •••

In our communities: $5K grant, Candy Cane Lane

$5,000 grant goes to NeighborWorks Green Bay: Last month, the bank announced that we will give a $5,000 grant to NeighborWorks Green Bay. The nonprofit provides people with information and financial assistance to help them buy homes.

The grant money comes from our Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago Targeted Impact Fund. Last summer, North Shore Bank gave FHLB grants to four other Miwaukee-area nonprofits. Like those organizations, NeighborWorks says it plans to use this money to help clients facing financial challenges because of COVID-19. VP community lending manager Chris Boland serves on the NeighborWorks board and recently lent a hand on some of the group’s service projects.

Candy Cane Lane breaks annual fundraising record: Candy Cane Lane in West Allis shattered its previous annual fundraising record in December, bringing in a total $207,512 for the MACC Fund, which fights children’s cancer. The old record was just over $121,000. North Shore Bank is a sponsor of the holiday lights display, and kicked off the event with a donation that brought its total funds raised since 1985 to $3 million. Many thanks once again to the employees who put in time to help make this happen. •••

Promotions for December 2020
The following employees were promoted in December:

• Tiffany Dettmann was promoted from Teller Supervisor at Greendale to Lending Quality Control Specialist.
• Jacquetta Garner was promoted from Universal Banker to Teller Supervisor at Milwaukee Capitol.
• Sanjuana Maqueda was promoted from Universal Banker to Personal Banker at Southwest.
• Kierra Miller-Johnson was promoted from Teller to Universal Banker at Southwest.

Leave a comment to congratulate them!

New Hires for January 7
It’s always exciting to add new members to our team. Here are some of the fresh faces at North Shore Bank.

Senior residential loan specialist Paris Reed is from Milwaukee and previously worked as a human resources coordinator at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “I am a sports fanatic in love with all my Wisconsin home teams,” says Paris, a former high school and college athlete who is passionate about all sports, especially basketball and football. “There is nothing more enjoyable for me than watching, participating in, or coaching sports. In my spare time, I volunteer as an assistant coach for a youth football team that I hope to have the opportunity to teach and coach my son on someday.” •••