A Monthly E-Newsletter for Bank Star Employees ® EXPRESS April 2015 Hometown: Villa Ridge, MO Married to: Shirley, two children (Heath & Hart) Work History: Meramec Valley School District Superintendent (1988-2003); Presiding Commissioner of Franklin County (2003-2010); Executive Director of East West Gateway Council of Governments (2010-present); Professor at Missouri Baptist University in Educational Administration (1970-present)—in all 45 years of public service. Years as a Bank Director: 15 years (prior served on Advisory Board) Education: B.S. in Political Science from Missouri State University; M.A. in Political Science from the University of Missouri; Specialist in Educational Administration from the University of Missouri; Doctorate of Education in Educational Administration from St. Louis University. Community Service: Kiwanis; Jaycees; Pacific Area Chamber of Commerce (Past President); Lions Club; Senior Citizen Center (Past President of the Board). Served on: the Board of Mid-East Area on Ageing; the St. Louis Area Regional Response System Board (Homeland Security); the Board of the St. Louis Regional Chamber Board of Directors; Regional Transportation Board; Regional Freight Board; Co-chaired March of Dimes for Franklin County; and many boards associated with his various positions. Most Rewarding Aspect of Being a Bank Director: Having a better knowledge of how our banking system works, working with a professional staff, playing a small part of giving back to the community and witnessing how a healthy bank grows. Hobbies: Work and gardening Greatest Accomplishments: Becoming a Christian, married to Shirley, father of Heath and Hart and being recognized as one of the 50 most influential persons in the St. Louis Region by the St. Louis Business Journal. Edward Hillhouse Meet Edward Hillhouse, Director at Bank Star 1 All bank employees are required to complete annual regulatory training as it relates to customer privacy, truth in savings, information security, robbery and fraud detection, and procedures for resolution and more. The banking business has become more complex and subject to more government regulation. As tedious as it may seem, these requirements are for the good of all concerned and help keep our customer information safe, our employees safe, our financial system viable and efficient, and even our country safe from terrorist activity. Our training, through courses like “Recognizing and Preventing UDAAP,” which stands for Unfair, Deceptive or Abusive Act or Practice, helps insure that our customers are getting the best the banking system has to offer. But there is another critical area of knowledge that each of us needs to focus on and that is Product Knowledge. It’s easy to recite the features and benefits of products each of us works with every day. Even then, we might not be aware of special details of those products. When it comes to cross-selling other products, we need to be fully knowledgeable of not only what other products are available, but the features and benefits each product offers. You might work on the retail side of our business and not be fully aware of the various types of loans we offer customers. Conversely, you may work on the lending side and not be knowledgeable of the benefits of our various checking programs, credit card programs, or business services. When you have a spare moment, review our bank literature, particularly those brochures on products in other departments. Make an effort on your next loan closing or your next account opening or your next teller transaction to make our customers aware of at least one other product. It only takes a few minutes and the benefits to the bank—and to you in the form of sales incentives—can be enormous. Knowing your bank regulations and knowing our products allows us to give our customers the best service we can offer and fulfills our mission statement to SPOIL the customer. Joseph C. Stewart III, Chairman & CEO, BancStar, Inc. Training, Product Knowledge Essential to Great Service
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A Monthly E-Newsletter for Bank Star Employees
®
EXPRESS
April 2015
Hometown: Villa Ridge, MO
Married to: Shirley, two children (Heath & Hart)
Work History: Meramec Valley School District Superintendent (1988-2003); Presiding Commissioner of Franklin County (2003-2010); Executive Director of East West Gateway Council of Governments (2010-present); Professor at Missouri Baptist University
in Educational Administration (1970-present)—in all 45 years of public service.
Years as a Bank Director: 15 years (prior served on Advisory Board)
Education: B.S. in Political Science from Missouri State University; M.A. in Political Science from the University of Missouri; Specialist in Educational Administration from the University of Missouri; Doctorate of Education in Educational Administration from St. Louis University.
Community Service: Kiwanis; Jaycees; Pacific Area Chamber of Commerce (Past President); Lions Club; Senior Citizen Center (Past President of the Board). Served on: the Board of Mid-East Area on Ageing; the St. Louis Area Regional Response System Board (Homeland Security); the Board of the St. Louis Regional Chamber Board of Directors; Regional Transportation Board; Regional Freight Board; Co-chaired March of Dimes for Franklin County; and many boards associated with his various positions.
Most Rewarding Aspect of Being a Bank Director: Having a better knowledge of how our banking system works, working with a professional staff, playing a small part of giving back to the community and witnessing how a healthy bank grows.
Hobbies: Work and gardening
Greatest Accomplishments: Becoming a Christian, married to Shirley, father of Heath and Hart and being recognized as one of the 50 most influential persons in the St. Louis Region by the St. Louis Business Journal.
Edward Hillhouse
Meet Edward Hillhouse, Director at Bank Star
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All bank employees are required to complete annual regulatory training as it relates to customer privacy, truth in savings, information security, robbery and fraud detection, and procedures for resolution and more. The banking business has become more complex and subject to more government regulation.
As tedious as it may seem, these requirements are for the good of all concerned and help keep our customer information safe, our employees safe, our financial system viable and efficient,
and even our country safe from terrorist activity. Our training, through courses like “Recognizing and Preventing UDAAP, ” which stands for Unfair, Deceptive or Abusive Act or Practice, helps insure that our customers are getting the best the banking system has to offer.
But there is another critical area of knowledge that each of us needs to focus on and that is Product Knowledge.
It’s easy to recite the features and benefits of products each of us works with every day. Even then, we might not be aware of special details of those products. When it comes to cross-selling other products, we need to be fully knowledgeable of not only what other products are available, but the features and benefits each product offers.
You might work on the retail side of our business and not be fully aware of the various types of loans we offer customers. Conversely, you may work on the lending side and not be knowledgeable of the benefits of our various checking programs, credit card programs, or business services.
When you have a spare moment, review our bank literature, particularly those brochures on products in other departments. Make an effort on your next loan closing or your next account opening or your next teller transaction to make our customers aware of at least one other product. It only takes a few minutes and the benefits to the bank—and to you in the form of sales incentives—can be enormous.
Knowing your bank regulations and knowing our products allows us to give our customers the best service we can offer and fulfills our mission statement to SPOIL the customer.
Joseph C. Stewart III, Chairman & CEO, BancStar, Inc.
Training, Product Knowledge Essential to Great Service
Branch News . . .
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Fulton participated in the 3rd Annual Beer, Brats, and Burgers event benefitting the Fulton Brick District Association.
Sandy Martin (Accounting Clerk), Tim Wilkerson (Assistant Vice President/Loan and Security Officer) and Dori Shirley (Branch Manager)—all of Fulton—ham it up at the recent YMCA Annual Dinner at Beks Restaurant.
Dori Shirley, Branch Manager, and Rodney Bax, President participated in the annual Career Day at Fulton High School sponsored by the Future Business Leaders of America.
Victoria Frazier, Loan Department, Fulton, is the proud grandma of new grandson Brantley.
Mary Catherine Baragary, Loan Officer with Bank Star One Mortgage, prepares another of her painted wine glasses embellished with the Bank Star logo for one of her closings.
No, that’s not cotton at the Steele branch of Bank Star of the BootHeel! And Steele is 500+ miles south of Chicago. Southern Missouri was hit hard with snow at the beginning of March.
Jo Knipe (left), Vice President/Loan Operations Manager at Bank Star Pacific, was the top bidder for a Dooney & Bourke Cardinal Purse with 4 Cardinal Tickets at the recent Power to the Purse (United Way Franklin County) fundraiser. With Jo is Andrew Reidt, who was headed to Cardinals Spring Training, and daughter in law Heather Knipe.
Service Awards...Al Baldwin President, presents a gift card to Tabitha Storie, Universal Banker at Bank Star Pacific whom was recently honored for 5 years of service.
Al Baldwin President, presents a gift card to Lauren Barnard, Universal Banker at Bank Star Pacific whom was recently honored for 5 years of service.
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Monthly Star Gram ChallengeWhat does the “O” in our Mission Statement to SPOIL the customer stand for?
The first 10 employees to respond correctly will be entered in a drawing for a $25 gift card.
Stories:Extraordinary Experiences and Tales from the Front Lines
Lake Ozark from a recent Bank Star One Mortgage Presentation: “Gary, I just wanted to say that you truly impressed me again this year. You definitely did [an] incredible job and were very informative and wish all the agents could have been there.”
Lake Ozark, bitter sweet ending to account relationship from couple moving to Texas: “Thanks for the wonderful services in the past. The staff has been nothing less than being the greatest.” —Bill & Irene Blackwell.
Monthly Quote“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity; the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” ~ Winston Churchill
Product PrimerThe new offering of American Express Cards in our credit card portfolio has two options: A Cash Rewards Card and a Travel Rewards Card.
The American Express Cash Rewards Card has these features:• 3% cash back on gas on the first $6000 in annual fuel spend.• 2% cash back on supermarket purchases.• 1% cash back on all other purchases. • 2500 bonus reward points awarded after the first purchase.• 0% introductory APR for the first 6 billings cycles.• No Annual Fee.
The American Express Travel Rewards Card has these features:• 3 points for every $1 spent on airline purchases.• 2 points for every $1 spent on hotel and restaurant purchases.• 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases.• 7500 bonus points awarded after the first purchase.• No foreign transaction fees.• $95 annual fee. • 0% introductory APR for the first 6 billing cycles.
ABA’s Teach Children to Save Day set for Friday, April 24
All three Bank Star banks will be participating in this year’s Teach Children to Save program. The program is a national program that organizes banker volunteers to help young people develop a savings habit early in life. Since the program started in 1997, more than 177,000 bankers have taught savings skills to some 6 million students.
Bank Star One will be teaching 8 classes at Heritage Elementary School in Lake Ozark. Bank Star of the BootHeel will be teaching at Cooter, Steele, and Delta C-7. Bank Star Pacific will be teaching at Coleman Elementary in Pacific.
Stephanie Redington, Loan Processor, Steele, teaching at the R3 Elementary School in Caruthersville last year.
