Canal Banking Center customers know Beth Bayless as the quick witted banker who is always ready with a kind word and smile. Her coworkers see Beth as a smart cookie who knows her business. All of them will be sad to see her go when she retires on January 15.
Beth joined the VCNB family in 2002 just before the completion of the bank’s new Canal Winchester location. She likes to joke that she came with the building as she remembers tracking the construction progress for months leading up to their opening. “They practically built it around me,” she quipped.
The Canal Winchester native has a total of 35 years in banking after a short stint in education. She went to college in Arizona where she taught Physical Education for three years. She later transitioned in to banking and built a name for herself at two banks in Phoenix.
When she was moving back to Canal Winchester in 2002, her mother told her about a billboard she saw on Route 33. It advertised the new Canal Banking Center and her mom thought it sounded like a good opportunity. “Mom saw the billboard on 33 and picked up an application at E. Main. The rest is history, I guess you would say.”
Beth’s philosophies toward her customers have served her and her customers well over the years. “Ask yourself – how do you want to feel when you go in someplace you’re not familiar? How do you want to feel when you have a question that you’re not sure about or a problem you don’t understand? It’s important to put people at ease and laughter is sometimes the way to do that,” she explained. “You have to be available to listen and to help.”
She also spoke of the benefits of working for a community bank as opposed to a big one. “We still have the opportunity to know everyone in the bank, to know who to call for an answer or to take care of a problem quickly at a critical time in a customer’s life. How cool is it that we can affect a customer’s life in that way? Every one of us has that power within this organization and I really do love that,” she said.
She says she will miss the people but is looking forward to the free time and relaxation that will come with retirement. She has a trip planned and has her eye on some non-profits she would like to help. “Other than that, I’m just going to wait and see what happens,” she said. “It’s been incredible. Working here has been the best over-the-top fun and a good ride but I’m happy for the opportunity to do something else.”
Beth’s last day will be on January 15. Stop by the bank to wish her the best in her retirement!
VCNB Family 