Parkside Recognizes 2022 Exceptional Employee Award Winners

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust is fortunate to have high-achieving employees, committed to making Parkside and our community a better place to work. On an annual basis, we recognize truly exceptional employees with the following awards: Making a Difference, The Uncommon Partner, and Rookie of the Year.

We are excited to announce the well-deserved recipients for 2022.



The Making A Difference Award
This award honors an employee making significant contributions to their community through their time, actions, talents, and dedication. Learn more →


Jessica Koch
Executive Administrative Assistant


What employees had to say about Jessica:
"Jessica has worked over the years in volunteering at St. Louis Crisis Nursery. Her involvement is more hands on help versus sitting on structured committees. She has helped with the Crisis Nursery's special events and fundraisers throughout the year. I also know that she does numerous other volunteer events for other one-off fundraisers for other organizations. AND she totally is instrumental in helping with all of Parkside community programs that we put on throughout the year."
The Uncommon Partner Award
This award honors an employee who has played an integral part in implementing a new idea, program, process, or platform designed to enhance or improve one or more areas of our organization. Learn more →


Robert Grunzinger
Senior Vice President
Trust & Family Office
Operations


What employees had to say about Bob:
"Bob is the backbone of TFO. He wears several hats, as an advisor and a manager of our analysts, operations, and coordinators. Because of his involvement in each area, he has a unique perspective when considering and deliberating new ideas, processes, and programs. In 2022, he lead the implementation and conversion from Junxure to XLR8. The project was large in scale and future impact. His due diligence and countless hours of hard work have made the CRM conversion one of the smoothest I have experienced. Above all else, Bob is a well-liked and well-respected colleague."



Ann Yeoh
Vice President
Commercial Banking


What employees had to say about Ann:
"In June 2021, we switched to a new loan processing system. Ann (along with others) has taken a large amount of her time out to train not just us analysts, but also the lenders on how to use the system. This has continued for over a year now, and she continues to make the process and platform as efficient as she can for our entire team. With a new system comes lots of questions and problems to solve. Ann has been extremely patient with each one of us as we work through everything. And on top of training 3 new analysts over the past 18 months and rolling out the new system, she has also dealt with personal battles."
The Rookie of the Year Award
This award recognizes the achievements and professionalism of an employee who has made great contributions in their short tenure and whose enthusiasm and professionalism show strong indications for success in the field, as well as promise for leadership in the organization. Learn more →


Britni Gortner
Commercial Lending Officer


What employees had to say about Britni:
""Britni has exceled through her time at Parkside. Beginning as an intern, Britni outshined her peers and was extended the only offer from her internship class. Her determination and drive to learn more played key factors in her receiving the offer from Parkside. Once she began her career full-time, Britni did not lose those two characteristics. Britni has excelled as an analyst and continued to ask thought provoking questions and wanted more work. Coming up on two years, Britni continued her growth and is ready for the next step of her career. Additionally, Britni has continued her professional growth joining the Risk Management Association St. Louis Chapter Young Professional Board."



Drake Naylor
Trust & Family Office Analyst


What employees had to say about Drake:
"Drake is a FANTASTIC analyst and resource for our team. He is extremely smart, hard working, and efficient. I know that if Drake is working on a project, he will deliver something that is high quality and on time, which is a big deal. He does not need a lot of instruction and is a great example of a self-starter. He often times sends me emails of things he is thinking about or noticed, whether that be in a client account or something for Investment Committee. This is so helpful and it makes me feel better knowing that I have a second set of eyes on things. He is a wizard at Excel and has done a lot to create efficiencies on the analyst team as well as improve the tools that we all use everyday."



Parkside Exceptional Employee Award
The Making a Difference Award
This award honors an employee making significant contributions to their community through their time, actions, talents, and dedication. The honoree selected should serve as a role model for compassion and service and be noticeably striving to make the world a better place. Nominees should have consistently demonstrated qualities of compassion and service to either one organization or a variety of volunteer activities in one year. The charitable activities, events, or service listed cannot be part of the nominee’s job description or duties and the individual cannot receive any monetary or personal benefits from their involvement.
The Uncommon Partner Award
This award honors an employee who has played an integral part in implementing a new idea, program, process, or platform designed to enhance or improve one or more areas of our organization. Nominees must have 1 year of full-time employment at the time of nomination.
The Rookie of the Year Award
This award recognizes the achievements and professionalism of an employee who has made great contributions in their short tenure and whose enthusiasm and professionalism show strong indications for success in the field, as well as promise for leadership in the organization.

The nominee must demonstrate:
  • Enthusiasm for his/her career.
  • Outstanding service and dedication beyond assigned responsibilities.
  • Demonstrated characteristics of having the ability to take the initiative and be self-motivated.
  • This employee should be able to complete assignments and perform job responsibilities with minimum supervision.
  • Interest and involvement in professional associations, with recognition of the important roles these organizations play in professional development, as well as a desire to share talent and expertise with fellow professionals through association work.
  • Indication of a desire to grow professionally by taking advantage of educational opportunities, over and beyond what may be expected from licenses/certifications.
  • Involvement in community activities, indicated by service on local committees, in charitable organizations, or through other civic and professional organizations.
Parkside Careers
There are plenty of jobs out there, but an uncommon career? Those are rare. And it’s what you’ll find at Parkside. Welcome to an organization of thought leaders and go-getters. We are looking for people who are smart, likeable, entrepreneurial, and dependable. If you are on a mission for more, you’ll find it here.


We strive to treat each employee with a resolute commitment to their well-being and success. After all, it's their expertise, passion and loyalty that truly make Parkside uncommon. That is why Parkside is proud to be recognized as a 2019, 2021, and 2022 Top Workplace. 

Learn more →




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