Astra Bank is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2017 “Shining Star” of the Year Award. Join us in congratulating Brent Reith, Senior Network Administrator!  The mission of the Shining Star program is to recognize an employee who has significantly contributed to the overall success of Astra Bank.

Let’s get to know a little more about our Shining Star of the Year, shall we? Brent is originally from Linn, KS and has an Associate Degree from Manhattan Area Technical College. Although IT is his passion, Brent enjoys watching K-State sports, playing golf, and watching Nascar. Although his favorite driver (Jeff Gordon #24) has retired and moved on, he remains a loyal follower of the sport.

Brent has thoroughly enjoyed his four plus years at Astra Bank. When asked about what his favorite part of the job was, he was very quick to say the people. “I like interacting with the employees and fixing issues. There isn’t anything much better than the satisfaction of helping someone with an issue and ultimately getting that issue fixed,” Brent stated. “I also enjoy the family-like feeling of Astra Bank where everyone cares about each other.”

Brent started working for Astra Bank on January 27, 2014.  Since then, he has accomplished the following:

• Promoted to Senior Network Administrator on July 1, 2017;
• Completed VMware vSphere 6.0 Datacenter Operations in 2016;
• SBS Certified Banking Security Technology Profession;
• SBS Certified Banking Vulnerability Assessor;
• Received a certificate for Incident Response & Reporting: First Responder;
• Created Tech Talk monthly emails to keep employees engaged and informed of what is going on in IT and what can benefit them;
• Sending phishing emails to staff.

Co-workers have nominated Brent for the Shining Star Award and cited the following:

• Shows dedication to Astra Bank and the employees by the way he conducts himself on the job and how he relates to others;
• Constantly works on ways to improve employee support by implementing IT tools to assist with issues as soon as they happen;
• Comes to work early, will leave work late and will answer calls on the weekend to ensure all staff is covered during operational hours and for those working at home;
• Kind and courteous and is always willing to help out;
• Treats you with respect and never makes you feel like you are bothering him when asking an IT question;
• Takes care of issues quickly and will explain things so that you understand the issue;
• Always has a positive attitude and is very efficient; 
• Goes “above and beyond” in helping the Astra Bank staff;
• Not afraid to help in areas that are outside of his functional area;
• Takes time to analyze tasks and tackle them in the best, most efficient way;
• Listens to any issue and almost always comes back with a solution, no matter how big or small the issue;
• Spent endless hours, including weekends, in Plainville to ensure we were ready during the acquisition;
• Well-known and liked throughout the Bank ;
• Astra Bank employees are grateful for his knowledge, his willingness to help and his obvious dedication to the Bank and the Core Values.

For these reasons, Brent is an asset to the Astra Bank team!  Congratulations Brent Reith for receiving the Shining Star of the Year Award for 2017!

Pictured is Brent Reith, Senior Network Administrator with President & CEO Kyle Campbell