The pandemic has shaped Kim Turk’s perspective on life and work.
She explains: “I’m taking more of one-day-at-a-time approach. I try not to stress over the things out of my control. A ‘Hakuna Matata’ approach to life.”
Kim explains that she used to be driven by her to-do list, and she would feel discouraged when she didn’t get to something on the list. Now, she makes her lists, but doesn’t lose sleep over not completing something. She notes nothing has gone as planned during the pandemic, and we’ve all just rolled with it.
Kim “rolled” by stepping up to make sure our Peoria customers got INB’s customary, excellent service. While she’s typically counted on others to make some decisions, she found herself making decisions for virtually every facet of the operation. “And we made it through,” she says in retrospect. “We’ve even made some changes for the better, and I gained more confidence in myself. I had to make decisions that I normally wouldn’t be making. I just knew we had customers who depended on us being open.”
Since joining INB in 2007, Kim has always stepped up when we needed her. Thanks to her commitment and excellent work, INB recently promoted Kim to the position of assistant vice president, commercial lending.
Central Illinois Always Home
Kim grew up in Canton, a 45-minute drive west of Peoria. So she says, “Coming to Peoria was second nature. Peoria has always offered more opportunities for jobs, shopping, restaurants, and entertainment but without the hectic traffic that major cities have. I now live in Washington, a 20-minute drive to Peoria, which is a great place to raise a family, but still close to work, shopping, restaurants, and entertainment. It’s not that far of a drive if I need to run an errand after work.”
Again, the pandemic has shown her how to be flexible. “The hardest thing about being a working mom is being there for our son when he needs me . . . for the important moments. I appreciated working from home two days a week when he was remote learning. It allowed me to be more involved.” But like many parents, she says the experience was challenging, “I am not a teacher,” she points out.
She notes it’s this type of versatility that makes her job a good one for her personality. “In the last 14 years, my job has always been versatile, and I’ve embraced the changes as a new learning experience.” She also appreciates that every loan she works on is different from the last. Along the way of working on these loans, she’s made some very good friends. “Most of my customers that I deal with on a daily basis become more than just a customer; they become like family. I’ve known some of them for 20 years.”
Kim Recommends a Banking Career
Kim started in banking when going to school at Bradley University. She graduated in 2003 and took part in a management trainee program. She says, “This allowed me to get a feel for the different departments and the job opportunities within each department. I finally decided on the commercial loan department where I became a loan processor/administrator. From there I was shown how to do construction inspections, property evaluations, and approval memos. When Al Covington (retired commercial lender) would be on vacation or semi-retired, I would attend his closing and do more of the loan approval process before officially being a commercial lender. I have enjoyed working in the banking industry and the knowledge I have learned along the way.”
Based on her experiences, Kim doesn’t hesitate to recommend a career in banking to others.