Creating Connections - February 2012

All of us know how great the Chamber is for encouraging networking in general and member-to-member in particular as part of good biz practice, but hold on to your socks, it's also super for giving you the opportunity to get RE-connected! Just ask Kirk Hutchison, Frontenac Bank's VP and Branch Manager and Wes Villard, HouseMaster, Area Director/Inspection Consultant. Here's the scoop: Kirk and Wes were seated next to each other while enjoying a recent Chamber luncheon. Each thought the other looked familiar but couldn't quite figure out why. Well it turns out they were Triangle Fraternity of Engineers, Scientists and Architects bros at UM at Rolla in the early 1980's! They had lost track of each other and quickly caught up on all the latest in their personal and professional lives as well as updates on other frat bros they know. Since their graduation, they both met and married lovely ladies and are now the proud parents of bright children: Kirk and Ivy, have two sons, Max, 9, and Henry, 6 - Wes and Kara, have two daughters, Madison, aka Madi, 21, and Emerson, aka Eme, 12. The next step may be for these frat bros/Chamber members spreading the word about each other's businesses to potential clients. Wow, that's not just re-connecting, it's also re-juvenating - yet another benefit of getting and staying involved with the Chamber!

Where in the world is Rochelle Niedringhaus? Actually, she's on top of the world and deservedly so 'cause she's been named Vice President of Treasury Management for Carrollton Bank! Officed in the Bank's corporate headquarters in Clayton, this former Vice President and Branch Manager for the Des Peres location is now in charge of running the commercial deposit side from a product perspective as well as customer acquisitions and retention for all branches. Happily, we will still be seeing Rochelle in the Des Peres location a couple of days a week. "The DesPeres branch has been an extremely successful location for Carrollton Bank and has the largest concentration of business customers in the bank network, so I will continue to spend time there," she explains. "We opened the Des Peres branch in 1998. From the beginning, the community has been very supportive of us and seems to appreciate the small-bank personal customer service level we provide." In her spare time, Rochelle is very involved in her parish. She sings with a couple of church groups; is an Eucharistic minister and serves on the finance committee. Rochelle's husband, Jim, is a RN in cardiac ICU at Barnes. They are parents of Dan and Katherine and grandparents to adorable Isabelle, 7, and Jacob, 20 months. Rochelle encourages all Chamber members to introduce themselves to Leslie Peyton, the current Branch Manager at Des Peres. Welcome to Leslie and congratulations to Rochelle on her well-deserved promotion in the wonderful world of banking!

Been wanting to visit the fab Magic House? Well, here's your chance and it's FREE! That's right Sheri Mistretta, exec director of The Walker Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders reports this outstanding, award winning children's museum has been exclusively reserved for friends of the Clinic for "A Night at the Magic House." Thanks to the generosity of The Magic House, admission is free for this fun-filled event, scheduled for Tuesday, Feb 7, from 6 to 8 pm. If you're planning to attend, you'll want to respond quickly - the Clinic and will appreciate your letting them know you are coming at 314.533.7415 or email sheri@srclinic.org by Feb 3.