The Bee the Connection program started in 2001, when Pat Ingelse identified a problem at Corporate.

“What I noticed was that folks were communicating so much via email or messaging, yet they wouldn’t recognize the other person if they met in the hallway,” said Pat, who worked in Information Systems as application development manager at the time. (She retired last year.) So she approached Dean Trout and chief operating officer Dick Brophy with an idea.

“My intent was to have a week of small activities to get people meeting others in the building face to face, have some interaction, and improve support and communication,” she said. The idea was approved, and Pat, training and development head Marjorie Treu, and Kate Knox spearheaded a committee made up of representatives from other departments, organizing lunch-and-learns and other activities to foster stronger relationships and greater camaraderie at North Shore Bank headquarters.

“When I started in December of 1998, I had no banking background, so it was helpful to be able to gain a better understanding of what each department and their teams did at the bank,” recalled Kate, whose title was marketing communications specialist at the time. “It also gave me insight as to what the bank offered.”

Along with the week of activities — which included “little surprises to support each day’s theme with a treat and motivational quotes,” Kate said — each department put together a handout that featured a photo of its employees and descriptions of what they did.

A screenshot of the “Bee the Connection” Week schedule.

“We did this to get to know each other better and know who to connect with for what,” Kate said. “It was also in response to our recent growth spurt, which brought on new people who would benefit from understanding what the bank offered and who to reach out to in those areas. Pat was fun to work with on the committee and I was able to get to know people in other areas of the bank.”

“I don’t recall the specific activities, but do remember quite a few folks participating and getting to know each other,” Pat said. “It was a great deal of work, but fun.”