Excellent employees are the key to building a great organization. Without the determined effort of exemplary individuals an organization cannot flourish. Astra Bank seeks to reward these important individuals through our Shining Star Award Program.

The mission of the Shining Star Award Program is to recognize an employee who has significantly contributed to the overall success of Astra Bank.

These employees work hard to display Astra Bank’s core values and were nominated by their peers for the Shining Star Award. Astra Bank is proud to announce the Shining Star Award winners for the 2018 4^th Quarter are Benjamin Fagan, Crystal Freed, and Julia Kollman.

Benjamin Fagan

Pictured is Benjamin Fagan with President & CEO Kyle Campbell

Ben is quick to help out when needed and even willing to literally go (drive) the extra mile(s) to make sure Astra Bank’s customers are being taken care of. He exemplifies the Astra Bank value of “Commitment” with his positive attitude and deep knowledge of Ag Lending. Here are some extra reasons why he is a Shining Star winner:

• Ben is always willing to help out and does it with a smile;
• Ben works at the Plainville location to help with loan customers and was a huge asset in Plainville during the transition to a new Market President;
• Ben never complains about the drive and never says he is too busy to help.He is very positive and gets along well with his co-workers at the Plainville location;
• Ben is very reliable and always takes care of business in a positive way.Customers enjoy working with Ben;

• Ben devotes a lot of time and energy into Astra Bank and our customers.

Crystal Freed

Pictured is Crystal Freed with President & CEO Kyle Campbell

Having been with Astra Bank since August 21, 2000, Crystal knows all the ins and outs of the day to day operations. Her detailed knowledge and hard-working approach to solving the important problems of the bank makes her a vital part of the team. Her peers nominated her for the Shining Star Award for these reasons:

• Crystal was a huge part of the success of the in-house migration from Fiserv;
• Crystal (and her team) worked endless hours to ensure that the migration went smoothly, which will save the Bank approximately $250k per year;
• Although the workload was more than expected, not once did Crystal complain about the extra responsibilities;
• During the migration, Crystal went above and beyond to be available to the Operations staff and Fiserv employees by working long hours, even working through lunch;
• Crystal (and the team) worked relentlessly to plan and prepare for the in-house migration.In doing so, the process went very smoothly and any issues that arose were handled quickly and professionally.

Julia Kollman

Pictured is Julia Kollman with President & CEO Kyle Campbell

Julia has been with Astra Bank for 2 years and is always ready to help out when needed. With her “get it done” mentality, you can be sure the job is taken care of. In her free time, she enjoys playing with her two dogs and her nephew. She was nominated for the Shining Star for the following reasons:

• Julia is always willing to help out on the front line in Hays;
• Julia often stops to help with the drive thru traffic or answers phones;
• She is willing to jump in and help with taking care of customers and does it without complaints;
• When short staffed, Julia has rearranged her schedule to help cover lunches at the North location;
• Julia has been a huge help to the frontline and shows daily that she is a great member of the Hays Team.

Congratulations to our 2018 4^th Quarter Shining Star Award winners!