In retirement, Peters is excited to explore outdoors
Julia Peters and husband Dale plan to travel the country in their RV and on their motorcycles after she retires on March 31.
When Shorelines spoke with accounting supervisor Julia Peters last June for her 25th anniversary with the bank, she mentioned that she and her husband had been making retirement plans. Those plans have come to fruition, and Julia’s last day with North Shore Bank will be March 31. She talked to us about the career that’s coming to a close and what the future looks like. Read that now!
Promoting financial literacy has always been vital for us
Milwaukee Capitol’s Ruthie McDowell (who retired in 2014) and Carol Herrman (who retired in 2013) speak to a classroom of students about financial literacy.
Though we haven’t always identified as “The Bank of You,” North Shore Bank has been committed to delivering personalized service to our customers and communities throughout our history. One reflection of this is our long-standing mission to promote financial literacy — not just offering products and services, but also giving people the knowledge and resources to improve their financial well-being. Learn all about our history of financial literacy education here.
Throwback Thursday: Celebrating our shenanigans
With St. Patrick’s Day closing out this week, we thought it would be fun to look back at North Shore Bank employees’ many years of shenanigans — a word long associated with the Irish, though its specific origins are obscure. Check out these fun photos!
Race for the Hungry pulls in almost $4K
The caped crusaders in Kenosha.
North Shore Bank’s 14th annual Race for the Hungry brought in over $2,000 in groceries for Wisconsin food pantries on Wednesday, March 15, with events in Appleton, Kenosha, and Milwaukee.
Racers at El Rey Foodmart.
At El Rey Foodmart, racers collected $912.52 worth of groceries for the Milwaukee Christian Center.
Heroic representatives from Kenosha’s Grace Welcome Center donned capes and masks and gathered up $709.58 in groceries at Festival Foods for their pantry.
The racers gather with Seymour Savings and the Piggly Wiggly mascot in Menasha.
And at the Menasha Piggly Wiggly, racers picked up $815.19 of groceries for the St. Joseph Food Program.
North Shore Bank also donated another $500 to each of the pantries, for a grand total of nearly $4,000 to help fight hunger in our communities. Many thanks to Kenosha Central’s Mary Benz, Northland’s Lacee Kalepp, Mitchell Street’s Alfredo Martin, and other employees for making these exciting events happen. •••
Bankers attend Muskego gala
Sara and Stephanie at the Muskego chamber gala.
Muskego community engagement manager AVP Stephanie Ruiz and universal banker Sara Speich attended the Muskego Area Chamber of Commerce 2023 Awards Gala on Thursday, March 9, at Muskego Lakes Country Club. This year’s theme was “Local Business, Future Investments.”
Along with presenting awards to members, the chamber gave scholarships to two Muskego High School students. Our Muskego branch was also nominated for the Business of Year award. “It was a complete shock and honor to be recognized for something like this,” Stephanie said. The branch contributed a zoo visit package to the gala raffle. •••
Cudahy customer “saved” by mortgage insurance
The customer and Kathleen, and the customer leaving with her smiley balloon. “I’ve been keeping balloons that I purchased from the dollar store in individual bags under my desk,” Kathleen says. “I try to put a smile on a special customer daily.”
Earlier this month, a customer came into the Cudahy branch in tears, telling branch manager Kathleen White that her husband had injured himself and would be unable to work for some time. The customer recalled that, on Kathleen’s advice, they’d included joint life and joint disability coverage when they took out their mortgage. Kathleen verified that was the case.
“She said, ‘So when my husband goes back to work, we then start to pay you back the money for paying our loan?'” Kathleen said. “I replied, ‘Nope — you do not pay the money back. The insurance company will continue to pay the loan minus the insurance premium, which you must continue to pay till he goes back to work.’”
Obviously, the customer was incredibly relieved and very grateful Kathleen had nudged them to take out that coverage. “She was so happy, and said we are saving them financially,” Kathleen said. She walked out with a smile on her face — and on the balloon Kathleen gave her. •••
Instagram scams target artists on internet
North Shore Bank’s CrimeBusters for February 2023 are: Shorewood teller supervisor David Holada, debit card/ATM processing specialist Kelly LaBonte, senior checking services rep Renee Machado, and Cudahy teller Jody Perron.
Security Saves: This Month’s Highlights
A customer received a $2,500 check from someone on Instagram. She had recently posted some art she hoped to sell and received a message from a prospective buyer. The “buyer” emailed her the check, which was for more than her asking price. The customer thought the whole situation was odd, looking back at it all, and appreciated North Shore Bank keeping her account safe.
Security says: All the different social media platforms today — such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok — allow us to connect with people all over the globe. Many influencers and others use these platforms to share content, attract followers, and make money. But for others, these sites and apps have led to financial heartache.
We are seeing more cases in which a customer receives a private message on social media from someone saying they want to buy the customer’s artwork or photos. The “buyer” then emails our customer a check, but the check is for too much. At that point, our customer is told they need to send gift cards to the “buyer” to repay the difference, or even send them money though Zelle. By the time the check is returned — which it usually is — the money is already gone. These checks are usually counterfeit, altered, or washed and made payable to the victim.
Find more useful information on these sites:
Fraud Prevention Unit: Instagram artist scams
PetaPixel: Photographer is scammed by ‘art buyer’ on Instagram
Remind your customers to be vigilant online, as we don’t always know who we are really talking to, and that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. As always, trust your instincts! If something feels off, contact Security immediately for guidance on how to proceed.
Started by former security officer Peggy Theisen in 2013, the CrimeBuster Awards recognize bank employees who identify security risks and take action to protect North Shore Bank and our customers. •••
Service Anniversaries for March 2023
The following employees celebrate a milestone anniversary with North Shore Bank this month.
40 years
Lyneen Fischer, VP, Security and Payments Manager — read more here!
20 years
Karen Jarnigo, Commercial Portfolio Manager
5 years
Kerryann Goetsch, Teller, Brookfield Square
Tisha Kenfield, Assistant Branch Manager, Northland
Bryan Peters, Application Development Team Leader
Leave a comment to congratulate them!
New Hires for March 16
It’s always exciting to add new members to our team. Here are some of the fresh faces at North Shore Bank.
Kenosha Central personal banker Yolanda Montes is from Medford and previously worked as a recruiter for cheese packager Marathon Cheese. Before that, she had been in banking for four and a half years. She just relocated across the state. “The move was interesting, especially with an infant baby, but not impossible! Everything is settling into place,” she says. “It has been a change, especially moving from the rural part of the state to the city. I am enjoying it, and thankfully, my husband is from the area and we have family here to guide us.” •••
Jackson Park hosting seminar on financial goals
What’s going on with you? If you or someone in your family has a special event — a concert, show, sporting or charity event, or another important moment — send the details to shorelines@northshorebank.com. We’ll include information about select events to let your colleagues know about all the cool stuff happening with the North Shore Bank team.
Looking for more to do? Here are suggestions from the bank’s event calendar:
The next installment of our Path to Wealth seminar series takes place the evening of Wednesday, March 29, at our Jackson Park branch. Area manager Alfredo Martin and community lending manager Miguel Pesqueira will cover the topic of financial goals and how to achieve them. More info here.
The next Milwaukee Business Journal Power Breakfast Presented by North Shore Bank will be Thursday, March 30, at the Pfister Hotel. Advocate Health co-CEOs Eugene Woods and Jim Skogsbergh will appear together for the first time since the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health made them the fifth-largest U.S. health system. More info here. •••