Jody Baehr’s career trajectory from teller to assistant vice president is a familiar story within Alpine Bank, where people who shine in customer service, communication and relationships are the core of the organization. Since she started at the bank in 1998, she’s also been a customer service representative and an operations officer. Now she’s the assistant vice president at Alpine Bank Glenwood Springs and she runs operations for the busy branch, a demanding role that Jody performs with uncommon poise and grace.
Jody has too many fond memories of her time with Alpine Bank to count them.
“If I had to pick one or two, it would be the employees and customers that I have had the pleasure of working with and getting to know over the years,” says Jody. “One special person to me was Beverly Zanella. I learned what excellent customer service looked like by watching Bev. She made work so much fun, and she could always tell when you needed a hug. I can tell you with 100-percent confidence that Bev gave the best hugs in the world!”
What does she think has changed over time and what has stayed the same?
“Our mechanics have changed with respect to operations,” she says. “But we’ve stayed consistent with our values. The type of people who work here and our integrity remain the same even though we’re bigger.”
There are five core values at Alpine Bank. They include Compassion, Integrity, Independence, Loyalty and Community. Of these, Independence resonates most with Jody. She sees it as foundational to the Alpine Bank system.
“Without our Independence, it would be very hard to encompass the other four core values,” she says.