The start of the school year is exciting – new teachers, new clothes, seeing your friends daily again. It is also a fresh start for the Alliance Bank Junior Board of Directors. As schools were starting, we gathered our 16 members at the First Christian Church of Francesville for an orientation session.
MEMBERS
The Junior Board is comprised of Juniors and Seniors from four area high schools – North White, Twin Lakes, West Central, and Winamac. The students apply to be part of the leadership experience, typically a two-year term – learning the aspects of Board membership while being exposed to businesses and non-profits in their communities. This year’s Junior Board is comprised of the following members.
- Kandace Kroft, Chairperson – Winamac, Senior
- Ethan Need, Vice Chair – Twin Lakes, Senior
- Sydney Mellon, Secretary – West Central, Senior
- Audrey Dickinson, Marketing – Winamac, Senior
- Jacob Ramirez Menjivar – North White, Senior
- Carter Sterrett – North White, Senior
- Brody Koppelmann – Twin Lakes, Senior
- Maddox Gutwein – West Central, Senior
- Olivia Dahlenburg – North White, Junior
- Katelyn Westerhouse – North White, Junior
- Tatem Goyer – Twin Lakes, Junior
- Mary Kate Waikel – Twin Lakes, Junior
- Makylah Holle – West Central, Junior
- Katie Scholz – West Central, Junior
- Jaelyn Huddleston – Winamac, Junior
- Sean Stark – Winamac, Junior
ORIENTATION
Junior Board officers gathered early on Orientation Day to meet with Bank President Shane Pilarski and COO Tanya Burton. They reminded the officers of their responsiblities, discussed changes for the upcoming year, and prepared them for the day ahead. Once the rest of the members had assembled, Pilarski gave an overview of expections and plans for the year. Each month the students visit a local business to learn about industry and career opportunities in their back yard. At each meeting, a Senior member will highlight an area non-profit organization and Juniors will be tasked with providing financial literacy tips. Volunteer opportunites are also sprinkled in throughout the year – selected by the students or alongside bank employees at commuity events.
Alliance Bank leaders use the Junior Board as a sounding board for input on bank direction and decisions. Bank Marketing Director Ashley Bice presented their first opportunity during the orientation session. Bice presented four design options for a new Alliance Bank canned water giveaway. Students had the opportunity to discuss the designs before Chair Kroft led them through Parliamentary Procedures to vote on a final design.
FOOD AND TEAM BUILDING
The best part of Junior Board meetings might be the food! (Just kidding.) The students enjoyed fried chicken from The Patio ahead of their session. The best part is ACTUALLY the opportunity to learn and network with other student leaders in their nearby communities. The students had an opportunity to do just that duing a team building exercise introduced by Pilarski. Provided a sheet of paper, scissors, and tape, the students split into teams and tasked with building the longest chain of links they could in 5 minutes. Long and skinny strips proved to be the winning design!
NEXT SESSION
Junior Board members will gather for their first business visit in September. Students will visit Cives Steel Co. outside of Wolcott.
