Work with a local lender, Murphy tells Milwaukee mag

AVP regional mortgage sales manager Mike Murphy participated in a conversation hosted by Milwaukee Magazine about rising real-estate prices in the area. The magazine published an abridged transcription of the highlights, along with the audio, last week.

In the discussion, Mike noted how important it is for homebuyers to work with a local lender — like North Shore Bank — because of how quickly the market can change right now. “If you go with someone without local representation and there’s a curveball in the transaction, you may be calling a 1-800 number to someone who’s not in the state,” he said. “If you have a local lender, you can call them directly or walk into their office and they are going to be responsive because they’re invested in the community.”

He also mentioned that it’s essential for lenders to keep their information current once a buyer is preapproved, because a lot can change now that it’s taking so much longer to find a house. And he cited the rising popularity of cross-collateral loans, which allow buyers to finance new construction or buy an existing home without first selling their current home.

“Mike represented the bank in a great way,” VP consumer lending manager Chris Boland said. “I encourage everyone to check out the discussion, and to seek additional knowledge and ways to help our clients in this market.” •••

Schissler captures striking shot of blood moon
SVP HR/compliance Molly Schissler took this photo of Sunday night’s “blood moon” full lunar eclipse.

A lunar eclipse takes place when the Earth’s orbit places it between the sun and what would normally be a full moon, blocking almost all of the sun’s light from illuminating our natural satellite. As Space.com explains, some sunlight sneaks around the edges of the Earth and falls on the moon. The scattering of this light means that primarily longer — and therefore redder — wavelengths of light are what make it through, giving the blood moon its distinctive hue. (The same scattering phenomenon is responsible for the red light that dominates sunrises and sunsets.) Air pollution and clouds can affect the color as well.

This eclipse also took place during a “super moon” — meaning when the moon was at the closest point to Earth in its orbit, making it look larger than usual.

“I took this picture Sunday night from our living room windows using my iPhone and a pair of binoculars,” Molly said. “Wish I had gotten better info on the three stars I picked up in the photo! The only one I know is the bright star to the left of the moon, which is part of the Libra constellation.”

This eclipse was visible from North and South America, Europe, and Africa. The next blood moon will occur on Tuesday, November 8, and will be visible from the Americas, Asia, and Australia. After that, we won’t see a blood moon again until March 2025 — only regular lunar eclipses. •••

Tennis balls a hit at Greendale’s Pet Palooza

North Shore Bank sponsored the face-painting table at Pet Palooza in downtown Greendale on Saturday, May 7. The event featured food, drink, shopping, and lots of fun for both human attendees and their animal companions.

“We handed out bank-branded tennis balls while mingling with guests,” Southridge area manager Ray Guardiola said. “Everyone loved the tennis balls — we gave out 300 of them! Kids and pets had fun playing with them in the street.”

Among other activities, Pet Palooza offered an agility course and “doggie dash” for pooches, a pet fashion show, and a petting zoo. Dogs and cats in need of adoption were also on site. Visitors to our table could win a cooler and family pack of tickets to the Milwaukee County Zoo.

Along with Ray, video teller Erika Garcia, North End assistant branch manager Breanna Rooney, New Berlin branch manager Sara Swosinski, and branch operations support supervisor Beth Wianecki helped out with the event.

New Berlin personal banker Kevin Esser also stopped by with his two dogs, and Beth brought her dog by as well. •••

Germantown fun run raises $46K for school

The Germantown branch partnered with the village’s MacArthur Elementary School PTA to raise money for students with a fun run on Monday, May 9.

MacArthur’s 475 students and 35 teachers ran together and raised $46,000, crushing their original goal of $35,000. The proceeds will pay for smart TVs in classrooms, new furniture for teachers, and new backboards for basketball hoops.

“This was a fun and healthy way to raise this money, and got both kids and adults moving,” community engagement manager and Germantown branch manager Erica Hughes said. Online fundraising platform Get Movin’ helped ensure the event was successful as well. •••

McHenry rebrand to North Shore Bank under way

We’ve begun rebranding our McHenry branch, sunsetting the Illinois State Bank name. The location will now operate under the North Shore Bank name. Most of the branch’s customer experience has been rebranded over the last several years, and over the next 12 months, we will phase out materials still using the ISB name and replace them with North Shore Bank branding.

Starting Monday, May 23, illinoisstatebank.com will automatically redirect visitors to northshorebank.com. ISB social media accounts will also point users to North Shore’s accounts. By mid-June, new exterior signage will go up at McHenry.

To avoid confusion with other Illinois financial institutions that include “North Shore” in their names, in some instances, the phrasing “Illinois State Bank is a division of North Shore Bank” will be used. No changes will be made to how customer accounts at McHenry function. •••

Go contactless with Mastercard to fight cancer
Through July 15, customers who make contactless purchases using their North Shore Bank–issued Mastercards will help Stand Up to Cancer. Each time a user at North Shore Bank and other participating financial institutions taps their card to make a contactless purchase or to buy something online, Mastercard will donate one cent to the cancer-fighting nonprofit, up to a total of $5 million. More details are here. •••

Magical moments are built on mundane effort

Not every day will be incredibly awesome. Not every day will be crummy. Most days, nothing fantabulous happens. But the great days — the really special days — are built on the momentum of the completely average Thursdays. What you do on the normal, blah days makes the magic happen later. The hard but immeasurably important thing is to keep believing that your efforts make a difference — that not the slightest, tiniest effort goes unrewarded. Every cause has an effect, which means that every good thing you do will — eventually — result in more good things happening.

Try this meditation for one minute today, or longer if you wish:

THINK ABOUT the little things you’ve done today — the mundane stuff, like packing lunches or brushing teeth. What would happen if you hadn’t done them? Notice how even mundane tasks matter, by considering the absence if they were left undone.

Great is the reward of virtue. The vicious suffer. —Sri Sai Baba, Indian spiritual master

How did this meditation go for you? Share your experience with your fellow North Shore Bank employees at shorelines@northshorebank.com and you’ll be entered to win a copy of Mindfulness in Plain English, by Bhante Gunaratana.

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

Green Bay Welcome Party tonight!
Looking for something to do? Here are suggestions from the bank’s event calendar.

North Shore Bank’s next Welcome Party takes place tonight in Green Bay, at Titletown Brewing Company. The Welcome Party brings together new area residents, neighbors, local businesses, and community organizations for an evening of complimentary food, music, and more fun. The party is free, and interested folks can sign up here.

The 2022 Milwaukee Dealmakers Conference, presented by North Shore Bank, will take place Tuesday, May 24, at the Pfister Hotel. This event connects hundreds of local dealmakers and offers sessions on topics covering the breadth of the mergers-and-acquisitions landscape. North Shore Bank VP and senior commercial lender Mike Cornell will be part of a panel on building effective capital stacks for acquisitions, real estate growth, and other expansion. More info here. •••