In 35 years, Egan most proud of building strong team

Call Center and customer assistance manager and VP Colleen Egan celebrates her 35th work anniversary this month. She began her banking career earlier, joining Tri City Bank in 1978, before signing on at Badger Bank in 1986. Badger, of course, merged with North Shore Bank in 1996.

“The financial industry is always evolving, and I have seen a great deal of change working in the banking industry for 43 years,” says Colleen, whose past titles include supervisor, personal banker, branch manager, and district operations manager. “In my first position, as a teller, I remember counting money out to customers, hand-writing tickets, stamping savings passbooks, and the endless number of Social Security checks customers brought in on the third of each month.” Today, she notes, digital banking makes most of those tasks obsolete.

Since taking over the Call Center and customer care 15 years ago, Colleen has seen that team grow from five to 25 employees. “The most rewarding part of my career has been promoting and building a successful team, full of compassion, knowledge, and exceptional customer service,” she says.

“Colleen has always been a strong ambassador for the bank,” says VP customer support Jude Lengell, who has worked with her for over 25 years. “She brings her high energy, depth of knowledge, and passion for delivering high-touch service to her leadership of the Customer Assistance team every day. I’m grateful for her many years of dedication to our customers and the bank.”

For her part, Colleen says: “Over the past 35 years, I have had the opportunity to work with so many talented, dedicated, kind people. North Shore Bank continues to provide a work atmosphere that is challenging and exciting.” Congratulations, Colleen! •••

Crafts in Pewaukee, mascots to visit Candy Cane Lane

North Shore Bank sponsored the Pewaukee Area Historical Society Christmas tree this year. For the lighting last Saturday at Clark House Museum, families could also meet Santa and enjoy cookies and crafts.

“Had lots of fun helping with crafts!” Pewaukee branch manager Anne Kagerah reported. “The kids were getting very creative with beads and pipe cleaners!”

If you are looking for holiday activities, here are a few ideas in our communities:

Sponsored by North Shore Bank, Candy Cane Lane is going strong in West Allis, raising money to help the MACC Fund fight children’s cancer. Tomorrow, Friday, December 10, will be Mascot Night, featuring our own Seymour Savings and plenty of other fun faces from area organizations. More info here.

The Burlington Ice Festival will take place this Saturday and Sunday, December 11 and 12, at Wehmhoff Square Park. Many of the state’s top ice sculptors will transform 300-pound blocks of ice into frozen masterpieces for the Wisconsin State Ice Carving Championship. Other activities will include Reindeer in the Park, Santa in the Chalet, the Kris Kringle Market, horse and wagon rides, and more. More info here.

Through December 22, our Sturgeon Bay branch is supporting the community by accepting new or slightly used outdoor apparel and nonperishable food items. These donations will stay in the community and be donated to Door County nonprofit Feed and Clothe My People. More info here.

And if you wish to donate to victims of last month’s tragedy in Waukesha, there is more information here. Happy and safe holidays to all of you. •••

The biggest goal can be achieved if you persist

Busy people know how to get things done in small increments of time. Think of your biggest, most exciting goal. Then, start chipping away at it, a few minutes at a time. At first it will seem impossible, but your efforts will begin to make a small dent, and gradually the insurmountable becomes manageable.

Try this meditation for one minute every day, or longer if you want to:

I MAY NOT HAVE a lot of time, but I can use what I have, even a few minutes, to achieve my goals.

How did this meditation go for you? Share your experience at shorelines@northshorebank.com and you’ll be entered to win a copy of A Mindful Day: 365 Ways to Live Life With Peace, Clarity, and an Open Heart, by David Dillard-Wright.

If you’d like a daily email reminder to practice one minute of mindfulness, email us with the subject “Mindfulness reminder.” —Pat Ingelse, AVP and PMP •••

Shop smart online for the holidays
Still shopping for the holidays? Do it the smart and safe way with these tips from the Federal Trade Commission:

• Pay with a credit card Credit cards offer the strongest protections against fraudulent or neglectful merchants. And never purchase from an online seller who requests payment in the form of a gift card or a money transfer from a company like Western Union. Those sellers are always scammers, who use those methods because the payments are next to impossible to trace and reverse.
• Check your URL When you go to check out at an online merchant’s website, make sure the site offers a secure connection. The address in your browser’s location bar should begin with https, not just http. Many browsers make it easy by including a lock icon or similar symbol to indicate that a site is secure:

  

• Keep records It doesn’t have to be complicated, but if you’re ordering a lot, it’s a good idea to keep a list of everything you’ve purchased and to periodically update it as shipments are successfully delivered. If a package gets lost and you don’t realize it until the new year, it may be too late to get a refund.

More tips from the FTC here and here. Share these with family, friends, and of course, customers! If you or someone you know does encounter a fraudulent operation, you can report it at reportfraud.ftc.gov. •••

Promotions for November 2021
The following employees were promoted in November:

• Kayde Czarnecki was promoted from Quality Control Specialist to Senior Quality Control Specialist in Loan Administration.
• Lisa Gagliardi was promoted from Video Teller to Senior Video Teller.
• Emily Glapinski was promoted from Loss Prevention Associate to Loss Prevention Investigator.
• Amber Gruhlke was promoted from Customer Assistance Representative to Customer Assistance Specialist.
• Denis Hostettler was promoted from Customer Care Representative to Customer Care Specialist.
• Jennifer Mooney was promoted from Electronic Banking Specialist to Senior Debit Card and ATM Processing Specialist.
• Rachel Rasmussen was promoted from Secondary Market Specialist to Senior Secondary Market Specialist.
• Claudia Rubio was promoted from Universal Banker at Jackson Park to Personal Banker at El Rey.

Leave a comment to congratulate them!

New Hires for December 9
It’s always exciting to add new members to our team. Here are some of the fresh faces at North Shore Bank.

Shorewood assistant branch manager Enrik Braho was born in Albania and now lives in Sheboygan. He previously worked at Best Buy in Kohler as a sales supervisor, and was there for eight and a half years. He is a photography enthusiast and enjoys exploring the outdoors “with a different perspective from above through drone shots.” Enrik also speaks five languages: Albanian, English, Spanish, Italian, and French. “I’m very excited to have joined the team at Shorewood,” he says. “It’s a completely different environment from what I’m used to, but it will be a great challenge to test my knowledge and skills, and I’m looking forward to it.” •••

Curro welcomes baby daughter

This was not a surprise: Credit analyst Emily Curro and husband Tony had a baby in October. Kinsley is also payroll and benefits manager AVP Cindy Lohrey’s granddaughter (because Cindy is Emily’s mom). Congratulations to the whole family! •••