Title
Assistant Vice President Sunflower Bank NA and Retail Service Officer Ellinwood/Great Bend

What city do you live in?
Ellinwood

How long have you been there?
15 years

Family members
Greg Maxwell, Art Teacher, Mya Maxwell 12 years, Mette Maxwell 5 years.
 
Hobbies
USA Volleyball Certified Coach and Director for Velocity Volleyball Club for Central Kansas.  I enjoy coaching and spending time with my daughters and most evenings and weekends you will find me sitting in the stands of a gym somewhere in Kansas cheering on my girls with their different sporting events they participate in.  
 
What first drew you to this type of work/service?
Sunflower Bank’s mission statement is “Bringing out the Best in the Lives we touch… Creating Possibility.”  With that vision I have been allowed to contribute to the general good of my community.  I saw the need and benefit of creating a fitness center for our community after the establishment of the Ellinwood Recreation Commission and Sunflower Bank had an area/facility that I thought would be perfect for it. After my second pregnancy I was  at risk for type 2 diabetes, so I focused on my diet and exercise and I was able to lose 70 pounds.  With diabetes on the rise and one out of every three children and adolescents in Kansas considered to be either overweight or obese, I knew I wanted to make a difference in my community and take steps to get kids more active and healthy. That, and my own health experiences, instilled in me the desire to create an environment for others to focus on a healthy lifestyle at any age.      

What do you most enjoy about what you do?
Our customers are the reason we are in business today.  My position at the bank allows me to specialize in financial health but I think it is important to also focus on your personal well-being as well.  My job has allowed me to dream big.  I have been given the freedom to conceptualize and invent programs and write grants that are important for our community.  
For  10 years with Sunflower Bank I have had the opportunity to facilitate the Community Ambassador Program in both Ellinwood and Great Bend.  It is a program for High School seniors in our communities in which we educate future leaders in financial and leadership skills, encourage them to learn about the community so after completing their higher education they consider returning home to give back as future or current members of our business community.

How has it changed since you first began/what changes do you anticipate in the next 5-10 years?
At Sunflower Bank, we have embraced the tough times as opportunities to learn, to grow, and to change.  We’ve experienced technology advances and the financial world is a different place now than it was ten, five or even one year ago.  Customers are changing the way they bank – debit cards, e-statements, paying bills online, mobile banking- services that were only a vision 15 years ago.  I anticipate that the next several years will be very similar to what we have experienced with technology, innovation and change in our workplace.