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“It’s community banking,” Teresa Smith says. “We know our customers and their families. I have multiple customers whose kids I’ve hired. They work here and then transfer to our banking centers in Manhattan or Lawrence to finish college, or they go on to grow their roles within the bank." Teresa, Lauren Taylor, and Jade Johnson lead our two banking centers in El Dorado — a city of approximately 13,000 people about 45 minutes northeast of Wichita in Butler County. Both locations are currently looking to fill open positions. Jade manages El Dorado – West. Lauren, El Dorado – Main. And as the market manager, Teresa oversees operations for all of Butler County, which includes two additional banking centers in Augusta and Andover. Total the amount of time they’ve been with us, and it equals 50 years. “There’s a lot of opportunity,” Lauren says. “I started as a peak-time teller — three hours a day, five days a week and built up from there. Part time. Full time. Assistant manager. Banker center manager. And I did it all here in Butler County. El Dorado is my home.” “The reason I stay is because it's great company," says Teresa. "There are multiple people that have left and come back. They realize they love banking and working for a wonderful company like INTRUST and that makes me feel proud.”
“It’s been a whirlwind of a couple of years; I’ve just been a sponge and tried to soak it all up.” In 2023, 51% of our open roles were filled internally through promotion or transfer of current INTRUST employees. That includes Brandon Franklin, who, over the past five years, has evolved from credit analyst to senior commercial relationship manager at our new Leadership Square location in downtown Oklahoma City. “As a credit analyst and now as a relationship manager, I look for good investments for the bank and ways we can be of service to our community," he says. "Prior to joining our lending team, I knew how to underwrite loans, but I wanted to learn more about the ins and outs of operations, lending, and the sales side of the business." In addition to his passion and work ethic, Brandon credits much of his development to our career mobility program and the trust, support, and knowledge he's received from his mentors at the bank — particularly, Tom O’Keefe, Oklahoma market president, and his previous manager, Kelvin Liebelt, chief risk officer.
“It’s the reason I decided to work here.” For Donna Mollett, deposit quality supervisor, tuition reimbursement is helping her complete a milestone that's been years in the making. “I started my education journey a long time ago and didn’t finish,” she says. “So I had a goal; I have to finish. Previously, when I had reimbursement through a workplace, it was just fall and spring. Here, they split your funding so it’s available for the summer, too.” That mattered to Donna because she could pace herself. Since 2018, she’s worked full time in our deposit quality assurance department, earned a supervisory role, and continued to balance online classes every semester. She started with an associate degree from Butler Community College. In December, she’ll graduate with a bachelor’s in business administration from Emporia State University. “I work with a lot of people who are still wanting to continue their education or wanting to go back,” she says. “I’ll talk to them about the program and encourage them to look into it. When you’re taking classes, you’re not only learning, but you’re bringing that knowledge back and applying it to your job and passing it on to your team.”
Positivity is one of ten character qualities we’ve outlined that define who we are as a company, helping us earn and maintain the trust of our customers and employees. For Llayton Taylor, customer service trainer and quality assurance coordinator, it’s an innate quality you recognize he possesses within the first few minutes of meeting him. It’s why he’s this year’s recipient of our Cultivating Character award, an internal recognition opportunity that invites employees to nominate a co-worker who exemplifies a specific character quality. “I treat people as I’d want to be treated,” he says. “Demonstrating ongoing positivity in my training role keeps my trainees encouraged and engaged throughout the entire process. “Starting in customer service is much like building a house,” he continues. “Proper training should provide an extremely strong foundation, giving employees the essentials needed to do their job effectively. Then, it’s the individual’s responsibility to continue building and improving their house, steadily becoming the most valuable version of themselves. With this mindset, trainees can remain positive remembering it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” Congratulations, Llayton! We’re so glad you’re part of the INTRUST team.
Every year, our Technology team sets aside their normal work for a couple of days to hold an internal competition called Inno-Spark. Employees split into self-formed teams of two to five people and come up with any innovative idea that they believe could be beneficial to internal or external customers. At the end of the two days, the teams present their ideas to their peers and a panel of INTRUST-employee judges, competing for prizes and the chance to bring their idea to life. “This is our third year focusing on developing innovative thinking in a setting purpose-built to foster creativity,” says Steve Castro-Miller, managing director – technology. “We cancel meetings, bring in food, and foster collaborative spaces to intensify focus, and it’s inspiring to see teams at work. I’m amazed how each year the projects get better, and this year we will productize real benefits for our customers faster than ever.”
Congratulations to Jennifer Spiva, treasury relationship manager, and fellow nominees for being selected to take part in the Wichita Business Journal's 2023-2024 Career Women program. The program provides valuable training, education, and connections for Wichita-area women of all career stages, and we’re looking forward to hearing about Jennifer’s experience!
Congratulations to Adam Weller, manager - system solutions, for being recognized in the Wichita Business Journal's 2024 class of Emerging Leaders. Thank you for collaborating with other leaders to improve work and personal life in Wichita!
Congratulations to Khanh Pham, manager - data analytics insights and engineering, for being recognized in the Wichita Business Journal's 2024 class of Emerging Leaders. Thank you for collaborating with other leaders to improve work and personal life in Wichita!
We’re excited to announce our seventh Oklahoma City area location, which we plan to open in the first few months of 2024. The 7,500-square-foot office space in downtown OKC’s Leadership Square will be home to our commercial and treasury management team members serving the Oklahoma market and will also provide area customers with access to personal banking and wealth and retirement services. “Centralizing our commercial and treasury management team in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City will allow us to better serve our customers throughout the metro area,” said Tom O’Keefe, Market President. “INTRUST is proud to have served customers in Oklahoma for more than 30 years, and we’re committed to being part of this community for decades to come.”
Congratulations to Priscilla Richecky, data analyst – reporting, for being recognized among the Wichita Business Journal’s Women Who Lead in Technology. Priscilla joined INTRUST Bank in 2005 as a banker. From there, she gained valuable experience as a lead teller, assistant manager, banking center manager, senior administrative assistant, and system solutions analyst before landing her current role. Her advice for women wanting to enter the technology field? “Be authentic, stay positive, and speak up,” she says. “You are your best champion, and when others know you are ready to step up, opportunities will follow.”
