Look, Listen, Jump In!

By Gita Smith, Senior Administration Officer, Core Bank Loan Production Office
My team recently invited my husband and I to go with them to Omaha as guests of the bank to attend their annual summer event. It was being held at the Henry Doorly Zoo on July 16th. We couldn’t say no to such an offer, especially since that’s one of our favorite zoos!

An SUV was rented, and five of us jumped in bright and early that Sunday morning. Off to Omaha we went! This crew has known each other for a while now, so the atmosphere was relaxed and fun. The “girls” (Michele Walters, Alicia Walker and I) sat in the back and the two “boys” sat up front (Floyd Walters and Larry Smith). We chatted, and laughed, and chatted some more about the past, the present and the future. Both on professional and personal levels. You would have thought we hadn’t seen each other in years with the amount of talking and teasing that went on!

Timing is everything; we arrived at the zoo just in time for lunch at the Core Bank tent.
I didn’t get a chance to really take a look around the tent until after we got in line, fixed our plates, and sat down to eat. First thing I noticed was the sense of camaraderie that was in the air. It didn’t feel like a “corporate” event, rather it was more of a “family picnic” atmosphere. Several people came up and thanked us for making the drive from Kansas City to Omaha to attend the event.
President & CEO, John Sorrell, sat and ate lunch with us. He also thanked us for making the trip and gave us pointers on some “don’t miss seeing” items around the zoo.
It was a sweltering hot day. But after a three hour drive, the heat was not going to stop us from seeing as much as we could! So we walked and walked some more. The day sped by until finally it was time to jump back into the SUV to head home to KC.
It was all fun and games until Michele and Larry entered into a song playlist war. They kept flipping between their devices trying to trip the other one up. “Who sings this?” “Bet you don’t know this one.” It was like watching two siblings trying to one up the other.
What is a road trip without a stop at a rest area? Well, if you ever travel with this crew it turns into an opportunity to be pranksters. I came out of the rest area and walked to where Michele had parked the SUV. If Larry hadn’t said anything I would still be at the rest stop looking for the SUV. You guessed it, just as soon as we stepped into the building the remaining three moved the SUV to the other side of the rest area.
A month later, August 17th, I joined Core Bank as a full time employee. While that trip was not the only reason I accepted a position with Core Bank, it was a big part of the decision. When I took a “Look” around, I saw the way employees spoke to each other, smiled at each other, and were relaxed in each other’s company. When I “Listened” I heard pride in their voices. Pride in the company, and pride in their community. Knowing more about the current employees of Core Bank made it easy to “Jump In.”
I am grateful every day to be a part of such a dynamic, committed, caring and close team!