Janice Smits celebrates 25 years with North Shore Bank today, March 27.
“I’m old-fashioned,” claims Sturgeon Bay East Universal Banker Janice Smits. “Put me in a long dress sitting next to an open fire, and I’d be happy.”
After a full day at her computer, Janice likes to go home and read or sew for relaxation. “I could live without a television or a computer,” she says. “The last thing I want to do when I go home is spend time on emails.”
Don’t take that to mean Janice doesn’t appreciate technology. Although she admits, “I sometimes struggle with it,” she has kept up with its many changes. And she counts on technology to help her assist her customers in managing their funds, including trusts, investments, and setting up legal documents for POAs and PODs — power of attorney and payable-on-death arrangements.
“A lot of our customers are elderly and seasonal,” she explains. “They spend summers here in Door County, the Cape Cod of the Midwest, and then go to Arizona or Florida for the winter. A temporary POA lets their kids be in charge of their account during their absence.”
The payable-on-death arrangement ensures funds remaining in an account bypass the courts and probate, saving attorney fees and taxes.
“A lot of our older customers don’t know about these features,” Janice says. She points out that she not only is assisting them, she’s also learning a great deal that will be helpful to her when she retires, which she says is not imminent, but is on her mind nonetheless.
Chance encounter opened door to banking
Although she has always liked math and working with numbers, Janice didn’t plan on a banking career. A job change for her husband brought her from De Pere, where she worked in a bridal salon and fishery, to Sturgeon Bay 25 years ago.
One day when Janice was in the Sturgeon Bay North Shore Savings and Loan office, she noticed a sign for a job opening. She wanted to apply and was told the position was no longer available, but that she could submit an application anyway.
“Supervisor Mary Leist called me the next day to come in for an interview,” Janice remembers. She started right away and has held positions as a part-time and full-time teller, personal banker, personal banker II for investments, service banker, and now universal banker. Although Sturgeon Bay East is her home branch, she has helped out at other North Region offices.
Janice credits Mary for “seeing great potential in me and helping me move up the ladder.” She also appreciated the support of Bill Moeller, “who believed in people and was willing to give them a chance.”
Taking classes enhanced career, self-awareness
Janice greatly appreciates that North Shore Bank supports continuing education, providing tuition reimbursement for employees who choose to take classes that make them more well-rounded, knowledgeable staffers. Janice has added to her skills and career development through multiple night classes.
A supervision course she took was enlightening, but not necessarily a boon to advancement. “I learned that I did not want to be a supervisor,” she says. “I do have some supervisory capacity and have had opportunities, but I recognized that I’m a follower, not a leader. Tell me what you need, and I’ll get it done.”
There might be a kernel of advice there for new staffers: You can gain great satisfaction from a job you like that is suited to your personality.
“I love working with the elderly,” Janice says. “They have so much interesting knowledge to share; they’re like a walking history book.”
“Listen to your customers,” she counsels. “There is a lot you can learn from them. I have been here for 25 years, and not a day goes by that I don’t learn something new.”