Spotlight on Leadership: Wendy Griffin

Meet Wendy Griffin, member of the IBAT Leadership Board of Directors.  Wendy is Cashier at the Schertz Bank & Trust.

What music do you listen to on your way to work?  I flip between talk radio and country music mostly on my way to work in the mornings.

How did you earn your first dollar?  My parents always told me you had to work for what you want in life.  My first dollars were made at babysitting.  And, boy do you learn a few things when you take care of family and friends’ children.

Who is one of your mentors?  RK Jones Lemaire taught me a lot about the principles of banking.  She was the cashier at San Pedro Bank and did not realize what she was teaching me.  I was so intimidated by her being senior management then and I was a customer service representative but I use her wisdom often!

How did you get into the community banking industry?  I worked in retail and a co-worker who was working retail for a second job suggested that I apply for the switchboard position at the bank where she worked.  Oddly enough, she was moving up from that position, and I moved in and 26 years later here I am!

Outside of family and work, what is your passion?  Work was a passion for many years trying to excel and move up the corporate latter.  I finally figured out that family is an essential part of my stability and affords me to have the passions such as the ability to help people when I can, be a good parent, relax with family at the coast and friends around town, and go fishing with my husband (yeah that one was for him).

Advice you would give a new employee in your bank?  Get involved in the bank and the community, learn as much as you can, ask questions, be respectful and read your manual.

What is something people may not know about you?  What people would be surprised to know about me might be that I like to iron.  It reminds me of when I was a child and my mother would let me iron the pillowcases and my Dad’s handkerchiefs.

What is one of the important lessons you’ve learned as a member of the Leadership Division?  The IBAT Leadership Division has opened Schertz Bank & Trust and me to an abundance of contacts, education and friendships.  Leadership Division is truly devoted to making our livelihood in community banking prosper and I am grateful to Schertz Bank & Trust for allowing me to be a part of the process.

What motivates you?  The ability to stand on my own two feet!

If you could sit down one-on-one with your Congressman, what is the one thing you’d tell him about community banking?  I have been fortunate to be able to attend the IBAT Annual Washington DC Trip and have listened to Congressman Lamar Smith speak about Community Banking and his concerns.  I believe one-on-one is good, however when you have representation from 200 community banks, it makes a much bigger impact on the issues you bring to the table.