Posted on April 23, 2020
In the 1st Quarter of 2020, the Coronavirus has taken us all into uncharted territory and, as a result, Citizens has been thrust onto the front lines to deliver the most significant small business relief program in the history of our nation through the SBA Paycheck Protection Program. Thankfully for the bank and our business customers, a few months earlier, we had named Jake as our bank’s SBA Specialist. When this program was first coming together, Jake spent countless hours, including evenings and weekends, to lead the charge in getting Citizens prepared for this massive undertaking. Without his exceptional efforts, we wouldn’t be well on our way to providing desperately needed relief to a couple hundred of our business customers who employ several thousand of our community members. Talk about a WOW!
Choosing to go above and beyond is not anything new for Jake! In his desire to improve himself personally and professionally, he accepted the challenge of completing the rigorous Dale Carnegie course over 8 sessions of 3 ½ hours each on his own time. He pushed himself way out of his comfort zone to improve his interpersonal communication and public speaking skills.
Jake has expanded his comfort zone by helping promote our Facebook page, even though he’s not a big social media user personally. Pre-Coronavirus, he also helped with a couple coffee deliveries and manned our Director of First Impression's desk while she was out for surgery recovery.
Jake’s “Yes I Can” attitude is frequently on display as he’s been given additional responsibilities and taken on numerous projects for different employees. He continues to think like a boss and has had a couple of recommendations implemented to add some big efficiencies to the bank.
You’ll find Jake involved with nearly all of Citizen's extra activities like 5:06 clubs, brown bag lunches, fantasy football league, and dress-up days. He volunteered with Salvation Army’s bell ringing, Bowl for Kids’ Sake, and Hunger Task Force warehouse sorting within the past year. Thanks, Jake, for being emotionally committed to the success of the bank and actively contributing to our culture!
