By Alicia Walker, SBA Relationship Manager, Core Bank Loan Production Office
Oh, how I look forward to the office parties during the holidays. I’m so looking forward to enjoying that scrumptious green, jiggly dessert with the nuts in it (I think those are nuts…) that so-n-so makes every year… every year! And, who doesn’t enjoy spending what seems like countless hours looking at the hundreds of photos that will be shared by employees of their pets, not human children. Cats in furry red and white Santa suits (as if they don’t already have fur) and dogs dressed like miniature reindeer… horns and all.
Core Bank Cares Program
Aside from the office holiday shenanigans, I look forward to participating in our company’s holiday season Core Bank Cares program. Core Bank Cares: We Give Where We Live is a program designed to give employees another avenue to support our communities. Each employee is given a $100 stipend to use for charitable giving. That’s right! Core Bank employees get to choose how and where our dollars are used to support those in need.
And, even though I’m right there with most of you enjoying the holiday festivities with my family, friends and co-workers, as a veteran, I can’t help but be mindful of the many men and women who have served our country in foreign lands, away from their families during the holidays.
One such hero is our very own client, Andrew Potter, co-owner of RoKC along with his brother Frank Potter. Andrew Potter served three tours in Afghanistan in combat zones. After his service to our country, he opened RoKC, the world’s most amazing gym (in my opinion). You can climb so high in RoKC you can almost reach the North Pole… well, it feels like it anyway!
In getting to know Andrew, we were introduced to the Warriors’ Ascent program, a 5-day PTSD program for veterans and first responders that provides support and training to develop habits necessary for sustained healing of the mind, body and soul. A program that Andrew says was instrumental in his own healing. Because Andrew is such an awesome guy (and a real expert climber), I was happy and humbled to pool my stipend together with several of my co-workers so we could present a check to Frank Potter (in the red Santa shorts) for Warriors’ Ascent, on behalf of Andrew Potter. Yay!
In addition to supporting local heroes, like Andrew, this cause was important to me because 50% of our SBA/commercial bankers are veterans who have been honored to serve our country. They also understand how challenging life can be after a deployment. All of us at Core Bank know the reason we have the liberties and freedom to eat until we pass out, spoil our kids with more stuff than we ever received as a kid, and are able to watch 24 straight hours of holiday movies (my favorite starts with ‘E’ and stars Will Ferrell) is because of the service and sacrifice of our service men and women.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all, and to all a good (and safe and free) night!