While meaningful work is important in a job, it’s the relationships that are crucial to building a career offering personal fulfillment and daily accomplishment.
Those types of close relationships stand out to the members of the INB staff who celebrated service anniversaries for the first quarter of 2017.
“INB is a great place to work to develop, maintain and foster a very strong relationship with your customers and with your coworkers; I cannot imagine a better place or environment where this could be accomplished as it is at INB,” said Andy Roselle, senior vice president of commercial lending.
Andy celebrated his 10th anniversary as part of the Illinois National Bank team, along with Chris Webb and Betsy Norvell. Valerie Woodrum celebrated 15 years at the bank, while Aaron Sapp, Mark Kuntemeier, Trip James and Melissa Guy commemorated five years.
Home Preservation Officer Melissa said you might not typically think of her field as relationship-based, but she’s found that’s not the case.
“I have so many borrowers that I have helped in the past call me and ask my opinion on things. Sometimes they just call for updates on their accounts or just call to check in and see how I am doing,” she said. “When I start working with someone, I always tell them that ‘life happens,’ and I am here to help them figure it out; we work together to solve the problem. Teamwork at INB is great, too. I interact with so many departments, and whenever I call another department, they are always willing to pitch in and help.”
Working at a branch in a small town has resulted in many close relationships for Betsy Norvell, teller supervisor in Pleasant Plains. When Betsy retired from Bank of America, she started a new career with INB where she gets to interact with many community members on a daily basis.
“I have been in banking since 1981, and I enjoy working in a small-town atmosphere now; I know the customers, their personalities, their accomplishments and downfalls, which helps me give them the customers service that they need,” Betsy said. “Also, I enjoy working with my fellow associates who have become good friends in the past 10 years.”
Valerie Woodrum first started at INB as a teller before applying for other positions throughout the bank as they became available, to grow and challenge herself. Valerie is thrilled to be celebrating her service anniversary along with a recent promotion to retail operations/process improvement officer.
“I love that we are creative, think outside of the box, and look for ways to work smarter to benefit customers and employees. Our team at INB is smart, caring, and enthusiastic – this is who we are and how we work each day!” she said.
Over her 15-year career at INB, Valerie is grateful to have learned continuously from those around her.
“I became committed to learning and advancing in my career at INB,” she said. “I was honored to have my job and work with so many wonderful mentors, learning so much about banking, people, and myself. I am so excited about my new position and look forward to the great things we can accomplish!”
Chris Webb, client services consultant, said INB’s family-oriented and innovative culture is why she has chosen to cultivate her career at the bank.
“My favorite accomplishment here has been being part of starting up the Customer Care Center, because I was able to help create something new and exciting and watch it continue to grow and improve,” she said.
Aaron Sapp has seen tremendous growth from his mortgage team since he joined INB five years ago, nearly doubling their service portfolio in that time. He is quick to credit not only the accomplishment of the entire team, but point to the culture and relationships at the bank that produce those kinds of results.
“Five years ago, our department consisted of 3 sales folks and 3 operations folks in just the Springfield market; now we have 10 lending officers and 12 servicing folks in Springfield, Peoria, Bloomington and Champaign,” he said. “This kind of growth could not have happened without the tremendous culture created here at Illinois National Bank. I know from experience that ideas, thoughts, and goals are very much encouraged, heard, and put into action when possible.”
The culture at INB promotes relationship-building throughout its customer and team base, but also through community involvement and projects, which can be rare in the business community, Andy said.
“We are not only allowed, we are encouraged to give back at INB,” he said. “INB strongly supports the United Way. I personally have been treasurer for Habitat for Humanity, treasurer for my church, and president of The Dana Thomas House Foundation. This is not encouraged at some other employers, as it is felt that you are not giving 100 percent to them. INB has exactly the opposite attitude, and as someone who was raised to help out others, this culture makes INB a great place to work.”
Trip James, vice president of commercial lending in Peoria, was initially interested in seeking a career at INB specifically for solid, long-term business relationships and has been pleased to find equally strong personal ties with many of his customers and fellow staff.
“I actually spent my five-year service anniversary with INB on a Disney Cruise with a commercial customer who has become a good friend, along with his family and mine,” Trip said. “Working at INB has allowed me to grow relationships past the point of business only. We make banking easy at INB because we are encouraged to do what is best for our customers and the communities we serve.”