“In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans’ organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose.”
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower,
Veterans Day Proclamation
October 12, 1954

Are you or do you know a veteran now serving the banking industry? Please share your story with the VBA here.

Melanie Wynkoop
Assistant Vice President, Product Manager, Marketing
Chesapeake Bank

Which branch of the military did you serve and for how long?

12 years, dual enlistments in the Navy (active duty) and Air Force Reserve

How long have you been in the banking industry?

22 years

Tell us about your path from military service to becoming a banker. What led you to the industry?

When I was wrapping up my active duty contract, I was transitioning to the Naval Reserves and needed to find a job with flexibility for school and my Naval Reserve commitments. I applied for a part-time drive-thru teller position at my local bank and was hired fairly quickly. I worked in the drive-thru window, which I LOVED, for about a year before my supervisor inquired about my future plans in banking. The bank was eager to send me to additional training so that I could learn more about how to serve our bank customers from an account opening perspective. I spent five years learning and growing in my platform services role before I was recruited to Chevy Chase Bank’s management program. It was during this time I realized that I had caught the “banker bug”; I absolutely loved it! Chevy Chase Bank, FSB had a training program that took a deep dive into how the bank functions and also provided further development in leadership - at the time it was called “Retail Leadership Associate/RLA”. It was a multiple-year training program that allowed me to work across all departments within the bank. This is where I learned first-hand “how” the bank operated as one organization. I found that experience to be so immensely rewarding and truly the best way for me to determine what my path would be in this industry. I deeply enjoyed the interpersonal experiences with customers and co-workers, which fostered strong relationships, as well as the ongoing training that was available to capitalize on, so that I was able to continue growing my career in the industry.

What leadership lessons did you learn during your service that have carried over to your banking career?

How to work with various levels of experience, education and training. Accountability and responsibility for others, along with pride in my quality of workmanship striving for excellence at all times.

What can our industry do to recruit veterans as both customers and employees?

Providing frictionless financial access for our military customers allows them to lead the life that they are used to leading without the hassle of poor or delayed communication. Thanking our military community by offering them something that saves them time, placing a monetary value safe, by waiving fees or reducing their cost on loans…these ways to say thank you for their sacrifice go a long way.

Attempting to attract veteran talent is a space our industry could continue to explore. A special job fair dedicated specifically to veterans or reservists with a knowledgeable benefits coordinator who can speak to what’s important to this particular pool of talent is key. Typically, veterans enjoy fact-based discussions, so showing how working for a bank can benefit them from the standpoint of education, training and benefits will attract those searching for employment.

What is one thing you’d like our readers to know about veterans as we celebrate Veterans Day?

We appreciate our community as much as they may appreciate us. We served because we were called to honor the greater good, something bigger than ourselves. We are thankful for our families, communities and relationships built along the way and we take great pride in all that we’ve learned about our work, our specialty, our education and what it truly means to lead alongside others, and not before. We’re in this together!

Jeff Marsico
President
The Kafafian Group

Which branch of the military did you serve and for how long?

US Navy for seven years

How long have you been in the banking industry?

29 years

Tell us about your path from military service to becoming a banker. What led you to the industry?

Prior to entering the service in 1988, I served a Scranton, Pennsylvania community bank as a computer output operator and tape librarian to help pay for college. My expertise in the Navy was cryptography. I was a spook, which has no relation to banking. When we decided to leave the military, it was natural for me to go back to banking, the only marketable professional experience I had.

What leadership lessons did you learn during your service that have carried over to your banking career?

Total ownership of your situation. Sure, your situation might be 10% circumstance, and maybe 10% luck. But why focus on the 20% that you largely can’t control when the big 80%, i.e. your choices, effort, attitude, actions, and words, are most responsible for where you are. My division officer once told me, “be careful pointing fingers, because the other three are pointing at you.” Our society would be so much better with total ownership.

What can our industry do to recruit veterans as both customers and employees?

We can be intentional. There are plenty of organizations that can help you hunt for veterans entering the workplace. Most vets would look for jobs that are either related to what they did in the service or government contract work because that’s where they think they can make the most impact. They are probably not thinking banking. But wouldn’t we benefit from having our team chock full of people that work well in teams because if they didn’t, people could have died? Wouldn’t we be better if we had team members that were formally trained in how to lead teams for maximum performance and took total ownership for the team’s performance? Vets don’t think banking is an option. It’s our job to let them know we need them.

What is one thing you’d like our readers to know about veterans as we celebrate Veterans Day?

We love our country. We volunteered to be in harm’s way to defend it.