May 4 - 10

Bankers in the News

Baily Batenhorst, Midwest Bank | Lincoln, celebrated her fifth anniversary of service with the bank this month. She is a mortgage loan officer. (pictured)

Wende Kotouc, American National Bank | Omaha, was recently appointed to the Salvation Army of Omaha's advisory board. She is the executive co-chairman/CEO of the bank and has served on numerous boards for local organizations.

Bailey Batenhorst

Photo: Bailey Batenhorst

---

Banks in the News

Arbor Bank | Omaha, recently helped sponsor the latest installment in the EmpowHER series, titled Negotiating Skills for Women - Redefining Negotiation to Self-Advocacy, with Bland & Associates and Goosmann Law Firm. The EmpowHER series was created to empower women in Nebraska and Iowa to start, grow and protect their own businesses. (pictured)

First National Bank of Omaha | Fremont, donated $5,000 to the Fremont Area Community Foundation (FACF) during the town's Big Give day on May 10. The Fremont Area Big Give is a 24-hour giving challenge to raise money for area nonprofits. (pictured)

First National Bank of Omaha | Lincoln, recently donated $10,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln to help fund four new homes this year. (pictured)

Homestead Bank | Chadron, hosted about 80 second-grade students at the bank last month. The bank's Ainsworth and Chadron locations are sponsoring the "Saving with Mandy and Randy" program that teaches calculating the value of mixed coins, differences between "wants vs. needs" and the importance of saving.

i3 Bank | Bennington, visited fifth-grade students at Bennington Elementary and Pine Lake Elementary last week to share lessons on saving money. (pictured)

NebraskaLand Bank | North Platte, held a graduation ceremony on April 25 for 41 students who completed the bank's six-month NebraskaLand University Financial Literacy Scholarship Program. Each graduate received a certificate and a $250 academic scholarship. Additionally, students were required to write an essay to be judged by a bank committee; the top three students with the highest scores received $1,000, $750 and $500. Since the program's inception in 2014, the bank has awarded close to $74,000 in academic scholarships.

State Nebraska Bank & Trust | Wayne, awarded two FFA scholarships worth $1,000 each to Wayne High School (WHS) students. Additionally, the bank awarded three full freshman year tuition scholarships to WHS students who will attend Wayne State College. The bank also took 18 student tellers from the Wayne Elementary School in-school savings bank branch on a field trip to Lincoln on May 2; the trip included a tour of the State Capitol, a counterfeiting session taught by the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance, and a presentation of certificates to the students for their hard work. (pictured)

Washington County Bank | Blair, Fort Calhoun and Tekamah, recently hosted their annual shred days. This year, over 15,000 pounds of paper was shredded at the free community events. (pictured)

West Gate Bank | Lincoln, helped the Friendship Home of Lincoln with the "Un-Stuff the Bus" event last week. Friendship Home helps domestic violence survivors find physical and emotional safety. (pictured)

Left: Arbor Bank helped sponsor the latest "EmpowHER" series about negotiating.

Right: First National Bank of Omaha gave a $5,000 donation to the FACF for Big Give.

Left: First National Bank of Omaha in Lincoln presented a check to the local Habitat for Humanity chapter.

Right: Recently, i3 bank staff went to Pine Lake Elementary and Bennington Elementary to present a money savings lesson to fifth-graders.

Left: Student tellers from the Wayne Elementary School Blue Devil in-school savings bank branch visited Lincoln on May 2.

Right: Three Washington County Bank branches recently hosted free shred days for their communities.

Left: Volunteers from West Gate Bank branches around Lincoln helped with the "Un-Stuff the Bus" event last week.

---

Promotions & Appointments

Ryan Groteluschen, Flatwater Bank | Gothenburg, vice president

Mark Ellerbeck, First Westroads Bank | Omaha, president and CEO (pictured)

Renee Zacharia, Frontier Bank | Omaha, vice president-residential lending (pictured)

Denise Callihan, Nebraska State Bank | Oshkosh, operations

Hannah Rockafellow, Nebraska State Bank | Oshkosh, general operations

Robert Eller, Cornerstone Bank | York, vice president and farm manager (pictured)

Jeramy Fowler, Cornerstone Bank | York, vice president of network administration (pictured)

Denise Gruber, Cornerstone Bank | York, vice president of customer service (pictured)

Pepper Papineau, Cornerstone Bank | York, vice president and assistant manager of the trust department (pictured)

Kelly Sinsel, Cornerstone Bank | York, board of directors

Lynn Vodvarka, Cornerstone Bank | York, senior vice president and manager of human resources and training (pictured)

Mark Ellerbeck

Renee Zacharia

Robert Eller

Jeramy Fowler

Denise Gruber

Pepper Papineau

Lynn Vodvarka

Photos: Mark Ellerbeck, Renee Zacharia, Robert Eller, Jeramy Fowler, Denise Gruber, Pepper Papineau and Lynn Vodvarka

---

Retirements

Craig Barta, Nebraska State Bank & Trust Co. | Callaway, retired last month after eight years with the bank. He most recently served as a loan officer. The bank held an open house on April 19 to celebrate his retirement.

Julie Kielty, Cornerstone Bank | Tilden, retired on May 6 after 20 years with the bank. She served as a teller; the bank held an open house on May 6 and requested a card shower in her honor. (pictured)

Julie Kielty

Photo: Julie Kielty