level for property tax revenue demand combined with the rising cost of providing municipal services, led me to the conclusion that there were going to be more community associations in the future – which meant there were going to be more loan requests. I also quickly realized associations were going to need more than loans, and the opportunity for cross-selling various other banking services was just the beginning. Now all I had to do was convince the Senior Loan Committee that we should offer this new loan type. So about a year after the first association treasurer walked into the bank, I was walking into a meeting with the Senior Lenders of the Bank Group. I don’t remember where I was on the meeting agenda but I remember thinking, I know I am right. And they agreed.
2. What did you like best about the industry?
It goes without saying there are some very special people in this industry both locally and nationally. Professionals in many areas (property managers, accountants, attorneys, consultants, insurance agents, reserve study providers, contractors, vendors, publishers, educators, bankers and more) who actually care about their clients. Many work long hours, miss time away from their families, and make other sacrifices to meet associations’ needs. However, what I liked BEST about this industry was the opportunity to make a REAL DIFFERENCE in people’s lives –their homes. Where people buy their first home or their last; where they hear the news about expecting their first baby or grandbaby; where their children do homework at the kitchen table and learn to make scrambled eggs; where they come home from work, turn on the TV and relax; where life happens. Over the years, I have met with boards at a kitchen table in a unit where the roof was leaking; where the elevators were all original and not in a good way; where the lobby still had orange shag carpet; where the pool was closed for a few years; where balconies were unsafe; where most of the unit owners were on fixed incomes; where during rain storms the windows leaked and even a few where the new landscaping actually made people smile. Yes, associations are businesses and there is absolutely business to do. But this business is also about people’s homes. There are few bankers who have had the opportunity to serve others in this way. I am honored to have made just a little difference in thousands of peoples’ lives and it will always be what I like best about the industry.
3. What were your challenges? How did you overcome them?
All industries have life cycles and when I was getting started the community association industry was really in its infancy. The good news was “It’s never been done before.” The bad news was the same. Everything had to be invented, created and then produced - everything from documentation; to policies and procedures; to hiring and training team members; to educating internally within the
bank, externally in the industry and even educating the regulators; to developing marketing materials, seminars and more. It all takes time and money. Fortunately, I eventually found (actually, they found me) a bank, Wintrust, that not only encouraged market niches, but thrived on them.
Another major challenge was me. I was a rather unique banker. Not just because I was a young woman (in an otherwise male-dominated industry) but also because I produced on both sides of the balance sheet and the income statement. In laymen’s terms that means I made loans, gathered deposits and fee income. The management team of banks generally climbs the corporate ladder in one of the three areas, not all three. Therefore most managers did not really know what to do with me. When you add in the fire in my gut to get things done now, my high level of energy and my then recently acquired MBA in Marketing Management, it was difficult for me to live in the financial services world of “crawl, walk, run.” Nevertheless, I did. Sometimes tires spinning. Customers also did not know really what to do with me. One gentleman on the board of a large high-rise in Chicago explained to me that the multi-million dollar loan request was like a “big car loan.” I remembering smiling and thanking him for helping me understand. Fortunately, the rest of the board voted in my favor. And that “car” got some really nice new windows.
There is a saying that “Imitation is the best form of flattery.” Yeah right. It was truly challenging for me to see the exact same wording (my words) in documents, proposal letters, and marketing materials of the many competitors that came and went during this time. COMMUNITY ADVANTAGE was (and still is) the market leader, and that meant many looked to us for the “next thing.” The next educational seminar, the next product introduction, the next best practice… It was a lot of pressure, but the good kind – the kind that not only keeps you on your toes but also engaged, interested and looking forward to coming to work each day. When I finally embraced this “compliment,” I realized if I really wanted to be the best and make the most difference, I had to share the best practices. So I became the Founding Chair of the National Banking Committee of the Community Associations Institute and also worked on various Best Practice Reports. I learned that innovation is not only found in products or services, but also in how you do business…
While each challenge at the time was a large mountain to climb, one of the last challenges was having the courage to jump off the cliff when I retired from COMMUNITY ADVANTAGE. I knew it was coming. I saw the future. I saw my Dad’s health deteriorating; my children moving into two different schools (and therefore different school schedules); my Mom moving and needing help finding a place to live, renovating it, finding a job and more; my husband taking a job further away from home; my sister-in-law also needing to find a new place to live, helping her sell her old condo; my church needing volunteers for many things I knew I could do; and even the local high school needed founding members of the academic boosters. But how do I walk away
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