Christyne Calvin To Retire From VCNB Board Of Directors
Christyne Calvin likes to say that change is the one constant in life. She has certainly seen enough of it in her 44-year banking career and is about to make another one at the end of this year, when she retires from the bank's Board of Directors.
Christyne came to work at the bank as a management trainee in 1981 and joined the Board in 1985, but continued serving as a Director even after retiring from her bank job a decade ago. Since then, she has moved to North Carolina to be closer to grandchildren, but continued to make the monthly trek to Ohio to attend meetings.
“I have been thinking about retiring from the Board for a while. 40 years is enough for anyone, not to mention the commute and so much has changed! People think of banking as staid and static, but the issues have changed: cybersecurity, AI, identity theft, government regulations. How we do business has had to change to meet these challenges and I'm not as in touch with those areas as I once was.”
The only child of former VCNB President JG Will, Christyne literally grew up in the bank, but started down a different career path as a young adult, working in journalism and social work, before returning to her roots. “I felt an attachment to the bank and had a young family to support, so it made sense to return here and work at the bank. However, I didn't want people think of me as just JG's daughter. I wanted to work hard and make my own contributions.”
So she worked in nearly every job in the bank and in some cases, was tasked with defining the work as she went along and as the bank's needs changed. It is this experience in different areas that gave her a holistic view of banking issues for better decision making and planning.
What has changed in those 40-odd years?
In 1981, her desk had an electric typewriter, a telephone, adding machine, pen and paper. Work was still very manual and took time to produce. Not long after, newer technology began working its way into daily life. There were a few “dumb” computer terminals throughout the bank which employees would use to call up deposit account balances, loan payoff amounts and so on, where before they had relied on daily paper printouts delivered by courier from a data center in Belpre. “When they plunked a PC down on every desk in the late 80's, none of us were sure what to do with them. Then they installed something referred to as “Windows” and all of a sudden we could produce spreadsheets and letters much faster and more accurately than we ever could before, as well as look up balances and build accounts.”
She recalled the bank's first ATM machine, “Tellerall”, which could serve only bank customers and only in that location; the invention of the debit card and cash back at the retailer's cash register; online banking, which caused an explosion of changes including the ability to pay bills and bank from anywhere. All of these new ways to bank required new sets of rules to be written and guardrails to be established, so our customers could use them safely and deter fraud.
“Back in the day, customers had to come into the bank and we knew them all. We didn't have to worry that people weren't who they said they were. That sort of fraud and crime were practically nonexistent, unlike today.”
What hasn't changed?
“The need for knowledgeable, responsive customer service, no matter how the customer wants to come to the bank: in-person, online, phone, mail.”
Though her departure will be bittersweet, Christyne says the bank has many capable, motivated people on the Board, who bring expertise from diverse areas. “I am confident they are more than up to the challenges of leading in these times. The bank has always been a part of my life and I don't see that changing, but I do think it's time for me to step away and make room for others.” She looks forward to spending more time with family and friends and having more free time for new interests.
Christyne, your thoughtful and inquisitive nature has been a great asset to our bank for many years and we are fortunate to have benefited from your leadership for all these years. Best wishes in your retirement!