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.

What advice would you give yourself if you could travel back in time to when your career at the bank was just starting?
Find a better balance between work life and home life.

What are some big moments or choices that led to where you ended up professionally?
Prior to joining North Shore Bank, I worked in the accounting department of a credit union in Indiana. During my work there, I uncovered an embezzlement scheme that resulted in a federal investigation. That was extremely interesting and eye-opening. Working with federal auditors on that situation really cemented my career in financial institutions. It was fascinating. That is where I got my start writing reports to extract data from various systems.

And once, early in my career, I made a very honest but critical mistake, which affected NSB in a negative way. I was very concerned about the impact it would have on my career. I informed the powers that be about the error and the impact it had on the bank. I also wrote out a plan to correct the error and everything it affected. In the end, I was able to fix the error and continue with my career here. I used it as an example to my children of being honest and up front versus hiding or burying errors or mistakes. It was a huge moment in my career here that I will never forget.

What are you going to miss about working?
All the cool technology available to us. I love exploring and learning new software and putting it through its paces.

What won’t you miss?
The drive to and from work, and being inside all day, every day.

And what are you planning to do with your time now?
Huntin’, fishin’, and lovin’ every day! We have a huge garden, our motor home and motorcycles, fishing and hunting licenses, and family scattered all over the U.S. So we’ll be traveling and spending all our time outdoors — no tech, no fluorescent lights, just sunshine, fresh air, and exploring the country on the bikes or in our RV. We also plan to move to Kentucky or Tennessee in 2025 to get away from the cold weather.