Being a Good Banker Means Caring About People
By Lisa Howard
B
ANKS AND BANKERS SOME-TIMES HAVE A REPUTATION FOR BEING STUFFY, but Tamara Powell, manager of the Berkley branch of Vibe Credit Union, is the opposite. So is the branch itself. Her 20-year anniversary of working at Vibe is just around the corner, and she’s been the manager for the past 12 years. One of her main jobs, she says, is to be the face of Vibe; to get out into the community and meet people. That’s why she also joined the Berkley Area Chamber and loves to volunteer at events around town like the annual Berkley Street Art Fest and the Berkley Art Bash. “Being in Berkley is like being in a big city in a small town – everyone knows everyone,” Powell says. “The average person I meet who lives here has either lived here for 30 years or they were raised here and then moved away and now they’re back in the community with their new family. I feel like no one leaves Berkley.” That kind of neighborly connection makes it all-the-more enjoyable to net-work within her roles as both a credit union manager and a Chamber member. Perhaps not surprisingly, she’s also the Treasurer of the Chamber.
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