Connecting to the Community LibertyBank Style

by TOM HAMILTON, CBN Senior Editor

Each week, assistant vice president and office manager Linda Smith of LibertyBank in Redmond clips several “people features” from the local newspaper and sends the good news recipients a greeting card with an invitation to come into her bank and get acquainted.

There’s never a free checking come-on, home equity loan package, interest-free credit card offer or the other pieces of banking propaganda that seems to routinely find its way to our mailboxes but rather a hand-written note applauding a good citizen’s efforts and the invitation to get acquainted.

The simple gesture is one of Linda Smith’s ways of connecting to the Redmond community where she has lived and worked in the banking industry for the past 16 years and has come to symbolize the service and attention offered by the privately-held community bank.

Smith, who also serves as an ambassador for the Redmond Chamber of Commerce, doesn’t hesitate when asked what she has enjoyed most during her 25-year career in banking that began in Arizona in 1982.

“Oh, it’s definitely the people,” she said. “I enjoy becoming part of our customers’ families . . . getting to know their grandchildren or even their pets. We constantly talk about our customers in staff meetings and share information such as where they are going on vacation, kids in school or relatives coming to town.

“We are trained professionals in the banking industry, but at the same time, I want every customer to feel like we have a very friendly staff that genuinely cares about our customers.”

So, it’s no coincidence that Smith is the perfect fit as office manager for LibertyBank’s new 5,000 square foot branch and retail center on south Highway 97. Area manager Paul Stednitz calls the bank branch “the new generation of offices for LibertyBank” with its gleaming glass front, lounge, market section and flat-screen plasma TV that offers national news, stock reports and local weather.

Chambers Construction of Eugene served as the general contractor and teamed with Robertson/Sherwood Architects for the project in which the aging Top Banana produce building was demolished to make way for the bank that borrows the Statute of Liberty crown as its logo.

LibertyBank offers the customary banking services such as checking, savings, CDs, safety deposit boxes and convenient drive-up ATM plus consumer lending, investment and insurance and commercial lending with Mark Tompkins serving as the financial consultant and Dennis Heman as the commercial banking officer.

Tompkins, who serves small businesses and individuals, can help set up a 401K program for a small business or provide guidance to a customer for virtually any investment.

Heman can offer loans for subdivisions, small retail centers or condo projects and works fulltime at the branch. Tompkins is available by appointment. Dianne Guthrie serves as the senior personal banker with tellers Stacey Davies and Donna Venter eager to help anyone with their banking needs.

Smith oversees the staff from a small office where her south wall is solid glass with a direct view of the front doorway. Again, it’s no coincidence that she has an eye pealed for anyone that walks into the branch and is usually ready to greet them.

What makes the new branch different from other LibertyBank offices is the market section, customer lounge and personal banking office.

The market section includes LibertyBank’s popular collectible coins ranging from proof sets to silver Eagles and its array of financial information and software. The bookshelf includes Rich Woman and Bank of Dad that Smith personally selected and software tax programs and accounting information.

The client lounge is a comfortable sitting area where a customer can watch national news, sip on a cup of coffee and munch on free cookies with a backdrop mural of Lake Billy Chinook creating a local ambience. There’s also an Internet banking station.

The new accounts office offers privacy from the lobby and minimizes any threat of identity theft with an emphasis on security and a client’s financial safety.

The lobby area is spacious and open, the interior colors warm and inviting and the LibertyBank trademark crown in the center of the carpeting is a nice, familiar face.

Local pictures of Monkey Face at Smith Rock State Park, the Maple Street Bridge, Redmond High School and a PCRA rodeo event at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds reminds any customer that the branch is firmly entrenched in the Redmond community with Smith adding, “We’re proud of Redmond and want to show it.”

Stednitz has also launched a new sponsorship campaign in the Redmond community with LibertyBank now presenting the Deschutes County Fair Parade and hosting the annual Women’s Expo.

When asked what she likes best about the new branch, Smith says, “I just love it all, the whole look, the name, our logo, our employees, and most of all, our customers. I think we have a very strong professional look with new building, a great staff and we couldn’t be happier to be doing business in Redmond.”  

LibertyBank

Vice President/Area Manager: Paul Stednitz

Assistant Vice President/Office Manager: Linda Smith

Contractor: Chambers Construction, Eugene

Project Manager: Dave Bakke

Architect: Robertson/Sherwood Architects

Principal Architect: Scott Stolarczyk

Sitework: Lindsay Development

Square Footage: 5,000

Services: Commercial lending, investments, checking, savings, CDs, safety deposit boxes and two-lane drive-up ATM.

Hours: 9am-5pm Mon-Thurs; 9am-6pm Friday.

Subcontractors & Suppliers: B & R Gardens & Landscaping, Roger Langeliers Construction, Deschutes Concrete Construction, R & B Masonry, Metal-Some Fabrication, Redmond Building Company, Advance Cabinet Designs, Weyerhaeuser, McKenzie Waterproofing, Stedman Sheetmetal, Eagle Roofing Co., Bell Hardware, Capitol City Glass, WhiteStar Enterprises, Insulation by Davis, Rubenstein’s Contract Carpet, Jackson Ceiling Systems, Solid Painting, WH Cress Company, Twin Rivers Plumbing, CityScapes Incorporated, Comfort Flow Heating and Tomco Electric.