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 employees who have 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 2019 3^rd Quarter are Julia Kollman and Mitchell Sahlfeld!

Julia Kollman

Pictured is Julia with President & CEO Kyle Campbell

In her role as a Loan Operations Specialist, Julia has been an excellent source of support for the lending staff, even in tough circumstances. She doesn’t shy away from work or responsibilities and can be counted on to get the job done. Julia is a proud mom of her 5-month old son, Conor, who keeps her plenty busy at home. Here are the reasons her peers nominated her for the Shining Star Award:

• Julia has gone above and beyond the Bank’s core values in stepping up and taking full ownership in the bank-wide processing of ag/commercial loans;
• While short staffed, Julia has timely and accurately processed approximately 99% of all loan requests for the lending staff (20-30 per week) without issue;
• Julia showed up every day with a positive attitude and did an excellent job in assisting the Loan Officers in closing, funding and maintaining loans;
• She has done a great job of being responsive to requests, asking quality control questions of the Officers and has been an effective set of eyes to look for potential issues;
• Julia has demonstrated the commitment and teamwork needed to allow Astra Bank to provide excellent service for our customers and our staff.

Mitchell Sahlfeld

Pictured is Mitchell with President & CEO Kyle Campbell

Mitchell is in his first year as an IT Support Specialist, and has been grateful to work within a great and knowledgeable IT department. He is excited about working creatively to craft marketing materials for digital advertising. At home, he enjoys drawing, painting, and creating digital artwork. Here are more reasons his peers nominated him for this award:

• Mitchell has been a great team player and an outstanding person;
• Mitchell has stepped up to help train our new hire in loan operations, while keeping up with his IT and Marketing responsibilities;
• Mitchell always has a positive attitude and is willing to take on any task that is asked of him;
• Mitchell has shown loyalty to Astra Bank by building a customized marketing style with his personal creative talent and becomes genuinely excited when his original creations are liked, shared and engaged with the on-line community;
• Mitchell has great integrity and doesn’t take the easy way out when difficult or unfamiliar situations are placed in his path;
• Mitchell is a true team player and has shown extreme loyalty to the Bank.

Congratulations to our 2019 3^rd Quarter Shining Star Award winners!