Amey Sgrignoli, Belco Community Credit Union (PA)

In this month’s episode, Vin, Zach, and DCG Managing Director Mike Mitchell speak with Amey Sgrignoli, CEO of Belco Community Credit Union in Harrisburg, Pa – recently named one of the "Most Powerful Women in Credit Unions" by American Banker.

 Amey chronicles her professional journey, which started in the “trenches” and transitioned into a leadership role at a $900 million credit union. She discusses innovation in the credit union space, how she balances growth with intentionality around safety and soundness, and why Belco will only consider member service in combination with the employee experience when building strategy. Lastly, she shares her perspectives on the current operating environment and what excites her moving forward.

For more insights and ideas, visit DCG at DarlingConsulting.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Transcript

[Vinny, 0:00]:

Welcome to episode two of Season 2 of "On the Balance Sheet." Vinny Clevenger, as always, joined here by co-host Zach Zoia, and Zach this week we have a credit union representative, Amey Sgrignoli, the President and CEO of Belco Community Credit Union.

[Zach, 0:20]:

Vin we're super excited as always, you know, to have Amey on the podcast. We got a full slate, kind of full docket. Here, for the listeners, we're going to go through a lot about her background, per usual, and then talk a lot about her leadership style and the employee experience, the member experience, and I'm really looking forward to digging deep into some of those things with her today and a few of the things that we'll probably throw in to keep the listeners intrigued.

[Vinny, 0:42]:

It's gonna be a great episode. I think our listeners are really gonna love it. So, without further ado, Amey Sgrignoli.

[Zach, 0:54]:

And we are here today with "On the Balance Sheet" with Amey Sgrignoli, President and CEO of Belco Credit Union in Harrisburg, PA. Amey, how are you doing this morning?

[Amey Sgrignoli, 1:07]

I'm doing well. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

[Zach, 1:08]:

Thanks for joining us. And we're joined with Mike Mitchell and my usual, you know, kind of co-host here, Vin Clevenger, and we really just wanted to start like we normally do with just some background, and I know you had a little bit of banking background before jumping over to the credit union space. Could you give our listeners some stories here or some background on how you got started in banking, kind of some of the experiences prior to you joining Belco in 2004?

[Amey Sgrignoli, 1:35]:

Well, I guess it's not a pretty story. I started in the trenches, so doing lending, doing indirect lending, some home improvement financing, FHA title one loans. We also did some mobile home financing, and this was all really in local community banks, and typical in the '90s, a lot of merger activity going on so had been through a couple of mergers and survived. But the larger we got in the regional bank space, when the mergers became more and more prolific, the focus became really evident that they were positioning the institution away from anything that looked like it was heavy on the risk side. So, a lot of that niche marketing niche lending activity that we were doing was a little unpopular. So, I did end up moving over to a commercial bank and doing some time originating mortgages, more loans, doing the mortgage activity collections, and then ultimately found myself moving into a situation where I didn't want to do first mortgages anymore, didn't like that kind of 24/7 that you had to work with with realtors. And down my way over to a credit union, and from there, kind of history. Race itself. I've been with the credit union now since 2004.

[Zach, 3:01]:

Yeah, and. And Amey, was there anything from the banking space that kind of let you say, you know what, I really want to be a part of the credit union movement and drew you to Belco overall, cause you've been there for what, almost 18, 19 years now?

[Amey Sgrignoli, 3:12]]:

Right, right. Well, the shift initially didn't feel much different. It was really a move that took me from consumer lending in a regional bank and got into that commercial bank and then moved over into consumer lending at a credit union. So, we were doing similar things as we have done at the community bank. But I think overtime when I became more familiar with the credit union difference, that's where it was evident that I made the right decision. I was in the right place. Decision making is just very different in a credit union business model, then perhaps it is on the banking side where there's more of a profit motive.

[Zach, 3:53]: 

No, makes perfect sense, and Mike tells me I'll check him on his facts here that in 2004, Belco was, what, about $230 million in total assets? And now you're over 900 million, right? So, some pretty nice growth over your kind of your time there. Can you walk the listeners through kind of the journey of your roles out Belco? Leading up to you kind of leading the organization for the past eight years.

[Amey Sgrignoli, 4:16]: 

Yeah, we have always been a credit union that made our decisions based on providing the best possible, both member and employee experience. So, we're really entrenched in helping people achieve their financial success and I really feel like it's that model that we follow and that process that we use here at Belco that's contributed to our success as an organization, so not the profit model per se, a focus for sure on safety and soundness, sustainability of the credit union is obviously a component of what we look at. But, you know, absent that pure profit motive, the business model is a lot different, and we've seen since 2014 when we really sat down and charted out a pathway that we felt could be sustainable. It was balanced between loan and share growth of the credit union; we had a focus on membership growth of the credit union. And our growth has also been mostly organic, but we've had a few moderate-sized mergers that we've brought in strategically, but it's been that clearly defined pathway that's really entrenched in member service employee experience. You know combining the two of those together really gets the traction that we've needed. To be able to weather any kind of storms that we face but also. To grow the credit union in this nice kind of balanced way and you know our vision is to reach a billion by 2025 and really if things continue as they are. We should achieve and exceed that by 2025, so we're excited about just balanced growth and our intentionality around safety and soundness. But really for the purpose of sustaining the credit union to be here for the long haul.

[Mike Mitchell, 6:15]:

Amey, this is Mike. And from my perspective, you know that's something that I've always admired and just your ability to grow as you noted organically on both sides of the balance sheet. And so, you know, we have, you know, we are talking with all of our clients and trying to figure out the secret sauce or what the keys to success there but twice you just mentioned not just the member experience and the focus on the member but you made a point to say your employee experience as well. So how do you attribute that to some of the success you've seen growing the balance sheet?

[Amey Sgrignoli, 6:44]:

I love talking about this. That is really an important part of Belco of our culture here. We typically always start first with our people. So, improving the employee experience through satisfaction surveys, finding out what's important to them, empowering employees to be leaders at all levels of the organization and trying to encourage them that you know learning and development is really important. And building trust with our employees so that they feel like they're part of something bigger. So, our mission is very altruistic. It's here. We're here to help members achieve financial success, but in order to do that. We have to make sure that we're taking care of our employees and providing a welcoming culture, creating a place where employees feel like they have room to grow and really thrive. And that's really, I feel one of the biggest keys to our success and to being able to fulfill our mission if our employees are happy, they're feeling that they're sharing in the success of the organization. So, both financially and from a career advancement standpoint. They're going to be more likely to provide a pleasant and affirming experience for your members when they come through the door and want to sit down and talk about finances and saving for their children's future, buying a house, buying a car, whatever. So, I feel like the employee experience is really what we're grounded in and what has attributed to a lot of our success here at the credit union.

[Vinny, 8:26]: 

Amey, this is Vin. And thanks so much again for your time and I was fascinated when I was kind of researching you and your organization that you folks and your hyper focus on that employee experience and it makes total sense that you can tell when you walk into any retail shop, whether it's a bank or a hardware store, whether or not the employees are happy and that energy is palpable and clearly makes a difference. I was looking at the numbers since you sort of took the reins and you folks went from about and my numbers might not be perfect here, but 50,000 members to you're in the mid 70s now. And that's a fairly short period of time. So clearly, Mike, that's sort of the secret sauce. So no, I'd like to move in another direction if we could for our listeners. Amey was recently recognized as one of the most powerful women in the credit union space, and that's an award that's given to those who exemplify a number of different qualities, two of which I thought were really important. One is Innovation the other one was inclusion. I'm really curious about your perspectives on innovation in the credit union space at your institution specifically. And then secondarily, the inclusion part I think is also really important, particularly as a female role model. So, I want to hear more about, you know, where you think innovation is going in the credit union space as well as inclusion?

[Amey Sgrignoli, 9:47]: 

Well on innovation, I think that along with that kind of focused member service, that delivery channel enhancement and using online using on mobile, using updated technology like ITM really has become more and more and more important. Everyone talks about it, we all know it, but really being able to put the dollars to investments that have to be made in order to update, you know, a physical branch delivery channel system takes intentionality. It takes planning, it takes budget dollars, and then you've got to have the right people in place to be able to deliver the service at the level that your members are expecting you to, and continue to be able to keep the operation sustainable. So, for example, investing in ITM technology, interactive teller machines, it's really an updated version of an ATM machine. It can take the place of an employee having to sit with a member and do a transaction for them. So, you're enabling the member to have a self-service option. They can come into this ITM machine, do their transactions pretty much on their own. But yet there's a button, the call button if you will, that they can call out to an individual to get help if they need assistance with their transaction and that kind of delivery channel is updated. It's modernized. I think the next generation of our members really appreciate that self-service option, but at the same time, they still want a physical branch. They still want to be able to come in and sit down and talk to someone if they need to talk about a mortgage. They need to talk about their credit report. They want to get educated on a product or a service. They still want to be able to come in and do that. So, you've got to have everything you've got to have a delivery channel that's fast, that's efficient. So, you've got to be... you've got to have a mobile presence, you've got to have an online presence that's able to fulfill the service from start to finish. So, you don't want to have roadblocks in your delivery where you can apply for a loan, but you can't actually get the loan online, you've got to still come into a branch to get it, and we've been able to overcome some of those obstacles by just continuing to chip away at online delivery fulfillment from start to finish. So, you're able to get that loan, you can apply for the loan, you can sign for the loan, and it gets dispersed right into your account so that innovation side of things is critical to being able to attract and keep your next generation of membership at the credit union. Otherwise, they're going to, you know, they're going to go to the place that they can get that service quickly and easily and online and efficiently in the way that they can through fintech or some other competitor that's out there. So that's really, really innovation is a really, really critical part of being sustainable in the future and being able to carry into the future. The second side of that that you mentioned was really again around the employees. I believe we were talking about just being able to continue to invest in your employees, allow them to grow into their careers and find a place that you know they can call home and feel like they're sharing financially in the success of this organization that you're growing and keeping them in mind.

[Zach, 13:09]:

Amey, you mentioned, you know, finding the right people, and we're talking about kind of the employee experience overall. How do you kind of facilitate or undertake, you know, the mentoring and coaching of young folks in, I guess, or out of your organization? You know, overall, because clearly that's a pretty important piece in terms of getting the next generation of bankers ready. You know, I use the word bankers generically because we've had a number of CEOs on this on this podcast talk to that and the challenges there of getting, getting those folks ready to go and with the skill set. So how do you view your role in the terms of mentoring and coaching the next level of bankers coming up the ranks?"

[Amey Sgrignoli, 13:48]:

We're really excited about our people, our, our next generation coming up through the pipeline is very different. So, I think one of the first things you have to do is meet them where they're at. They're passionate, they're curious, they like the idea of inclusivity, but I think the first thing you have to do is really just meet them where they're at and be willing to coach them through and tease out of them that desire to succeed and be successful in a way that builds trust with them in a way that makes them feel like they have a safe place that they can ask questions, they can challenge the status quo, and there's not going to be repercussions back to them for doing that. And then utilizing them as that resource to really tap into the innovation, I think it is a key to success in the future as well. So, kind of to use some of our corporate lingo and language on you, we have some behavioral expectations which really define a. How are we going to behave at work? How are we going to treat each other and then what's expected. So, things like you'll hear us say things like kindness is cool, be curious, learn from all the situations, and that's really that theme around being a lifelong learner. So, some of it sounds a little cliche, but it does really build that culture that we're all in this together and we're truly finding that our employees are motivated when they feel like they're part of something bigger than themselves that we care about who they are. We see them for who they are. And we're here to help them achieve their success. That all really drives the organization and the growth of the credit union. It's like if you take care of the employees and you take care of the members, the growth takes care of itself."

[Vinny, 15:44]:

You know, it's interesting even when you're talking about curiosity, our CEO, Matt Pieniazek, that is literally one of his main talking points every single time we get together. That curious mind, as a matter of fact, he's got a sculpture, a small sculpture in his office that actually we can kind of see through the hallway. It's very visible. But being able to continually ask questions. And I love the idea of meeting folks where they are. I mean, I grew up as an athlete and it's like, you know, this notion that you're a freshman or, you know, you got to fit in and you gotta go through some, some growing pains to be a part of an organization. I think that's crazy. It's like, once you're part of a team, these folks are here to help move your business along, I think those are two tremendous points you just made. And now, thanks for sharing those."

[Mike Mitchell, 16:33]:

Two common denominators of really successful institutions, are leadership and culture, and those are, you know, two things you've touched upon, you know a couple of times here. I'm just curious, have there, you know, been any leaders or mentors that have shaped, you know, really your trajectory and through your life that that you can expand upon."

[Amey Sgrignoli, 16:54]:

Oh yeah, absolutely. I probably didn't realize that as much at the time. But now looking back, just a tremendous number of people that were in the right place at the right time for me, that tapped me on the shoulder that challenged me that, you know, made you maybe want to drive home in the evening crying. But at the end of the day, it made you better. It made you stronger. Sometimes you don't realize the talent that you might have. It's innate that it's just how you do things. Others see that, recognize that, and are willing to tap you on the shoulder, challenge you to do more, be better. I remember one of my mentors saying, you know, hey, Amey, if you're not feeling a little bit sick in your stomach when you're trying to do something or doing something new, then you're not pushing yourself. So, it helped me to get more comfortable with being uncomfortable and in doing that, that's where that curiosity is allowed to kick in. That's where you really grow and learn to lean into yourself. But also, you start to see that as you get further on in your career in other folks, and then you're able to help them as well, maybe overcome some of that, that fear of saying the wrong thing or maybe not. It's not in my place to say or make a comment or to challenge the status quo when in reality that's exactly what you're looking for them to do. So coaching people. Mentoring them. And allowing them to kind of evolve and become themselves and being you know...feeling comfortable just being themselves in the workplace takes a takes a deliberate effort on the part of leaders to get younger people to want to do that, they have to feel safe in doing it and you have to foster this idea of psychological safety in the workplace to get that kind of result and outcome from your people. But at the end of the day, you know how we behave and how we treat each other. Having benevolence just it really goes a long way. And that's where when you come into the workplace, you see people are just engaged, they're happy to be there. They're excited. We spend a lot of time in strength finders too, at our credit. Union, we're finding out what people's strengths are so that we can allow them to be in situations in project work and in assignments that play to their strengths. And that's where you really see things get traction. People really start to develop and grow and do well when you're paying attention to and playing to their strengths rather than conversely focusing to what they're not good at and trying to help them get better at what they're really not good at. So. I think at the end of the day, playing to people's strengths is a big part of what makes our success here."

[Zach, 19:46]:

Yeah, Amey, that's a great, great answer. I think it makes a ton of sense, and I loved the kind of the get more comfortable, you know, being uncomfortable because I think that's the only way that as a leader, you can keep getting better. And we actually had a guest on a few months ago who said something I thought was pretty prescient, which was if he's not getting better, or the leader is not getting better and making that an active part of their role, how can they expect the people that work for them or, work alongside them to want the same? And he wants people who are going to work for him or whoever the leader is, you know, to see that he's trying to get himself better in that way. He just keeps raising that bar. Does that resonate, I guess, with kind of your leadership style and how you see yourself as in running Belco Community Credit Union?

[Amey Sgrignoli, 20:36]:

Yeah, we're absolutely a learning organization. We invest every year in our tuition reimbursement. We invest in both internal and external training for employees. So, there's really something for everyone. A lot of what you can do in the credit union space doesn't require a formal degree, but there are a lot of development opportunities through the Credit Union National Association. And certifications that they can obtain in not only, you know, credit and credit management but also things like compliance certifications, ACH certifications. So, we’re investing in a lot of that type of education for our team, but also even at our senior and executive levels of the organization, we've got people completing master's degrees and we're helping them to do that. We've got people that are continuing to pursue education, even in what I'll call mid to later years of their career, because they recognize that it's important to stay sharp, that it's important to continue to hone your skills, and we're making that possible through tuition reimbursement, through making time available to employees to do that. And I think that's something, for me that my mentors had always done for me, they always made it possible for me to have access to additional training. They always challenged me to throw my hat in the ring when an opportunity presented itself. And that's really what I want for all of our employees. I want for them what I received coming up through where I was given opportunities to jump into something unknown, learn something new, maybe even fail along the way. But to brush yourself off and keep going when you did, and I really want that for employees. And I think that's really baked into a lot of what we're doing here as well.

[Zach, 22:27]:

And I think that's such a critical perspective. And culture, you know to, to kind of make sure that that permeates throughout the organization and kind of in the same vein, you know, a lot of discussion here today on employee experience and satisfaction and training and education etcetera. You know Mike kind of filled us in on your relationship you know with him and Vin and I like to do some more research ourselves too and kind of went digging in a little bit more. I've read something or maybe it was on a podcast you were on talking about picking up the gum wrapper and how you want people in your organization who will, when they walk down the road, will pick up the gum wrapper, right? Can you expand a bit more about that concept where it came from and how, again that kind of fits into your, you know, talent acquisition, workforce development, all kind of the things we've been talking about today, how that might encapsulate how you view that?"

{Amey Sgrignoli, 23:19]:

Yeah, the picking up the gum wrapper is kind of it's a book that we read and it's kind of the underpinning of what I was getting at there earlier about picking up anything that you see around the workplace and actually just that metaphor for doing the right thing at the right time and making the culture where you're at something that everybody feels like we're all working for the same thing. So, that reading that we undertook really helped us to define our behavioral expectations, got us focused on strengths and focusing to each other's strengths, and it's also really just creating this environment where everyone can be successful. So, it's about productivity. That's why we're here. We have to be productive. We have to reach goals, we have to generate revenue and income. But we are doing it in a way that everyone feels a part of it. The environment is such that we're treating each other with dignity and respect. We're responsible and accountable to each other. So hey, do what you say you're going to do, but at the same time, if someone does let you down, give them the benefit of the doubt. You know, maybe it wasn't intentional. Maybe something came up in their personal life. Whatever the case may be. So that picking up a gum wrapper idea is just that you know we're all here. If you see something, something's wrong fix it. If you see something, say something, that kind of thing, and there's definitely that feeling for all, for one and one for all. When you come through the doors here because we've kind of deployed those behavioral expectations and that picking up of the gum wrapper, if you will. So, it's not about picking up trash in the parking lot, although that's a good idea. It's really more about, you know, doing something when you see something and don't worry about whose job it is or whose role it is to be doing it. And then be courageous. Come in here and bring forward that innovation. Bring forward your ideas to make us better and then as a leader, we have to be willing to A, listen and really listen and not talk about well, we already tried that. We did that it. Didn't work or talk about all the reasons why it doesn't fit into the budget but really listen and find a way to deploy some of or all of the ideas we can in a way that people feel like, hey, I made a difference and I'm part of what we're trying to accomplish here today.

[Vinny, 25:47]:

Hey, Amey, this is Vin again and thanks so much for sharing that. I think our listeners would more than likely be remiss if we didn't get your perspective outlook for the credit union moving forward. You know, we're in a really inverted yield curve environment and clearly that it's not generally the friend of you know financial institutions and so forth. So, I'm curious what you as you look ahead into 2023 and even beyond kind of what are the real business issues and challenges and what is, what is your outlook for the credit union, you know for this year?

[Amey Sgrignoli, 26:19]:

Well, you know, coming off of these last several years just being a sleepy flat time, we've really got our eyes opened in 2022 to all those shock models that you guys ran for us that we thought it would never happen actually did happen in a period of a couple of months. So, really balancing out kind of the regulatory burden that comes along with that while staying the course and doing the business. I think that's our biggest, biggest challenge ahead of us. So, we are trying very, very hard to balance things out. So, reining in that lending growth to something that's more sustainable with the share growth that we're experiencing, and finding a way to continuously focus on that net interest margin to make sure that the credit union sustainable at the same time, you know, keeping the regulatory environment in mind and in check, but not letting it overcome what we're trying to do here at the credit union. So yes. Are the risk indicators high? Of course they are, because there was so much. Rate hiking so quickly that caused shock throughout the entire system. We just need time to stay the course, keep doing what we're doing and balance ourselves back to lower risk levels, but not stop doing what we do, which is lending to our members and helping our members buy houses and cars and send their kids off to school, and pay for their retirement. So, it's really about staying the course with doing our business while also you know existing in this kind of in this regulatory burden that comes with so much rate hiking and so much change so quickly.

[Mike Mitchell, 28:03]:

Yeah, if I. If I go ahead and put my regulatory hat on and we're living through a shock up potentially 5% scenario liquidity profiles have changed throughout the industry in a matter of just a few quarters and the credit outlook is getting murkier by the day. So, it's a challenging regulatory environment and we're always talking about those issues. As far as you know, balancing what's right for the business versus, you know, maybe one ratio, you know looking at one ratio in isolation. So, you know that's the reality of what we do and I certainly love to talk to you about it, you know, for as long as, you know, you'll give us time for but those are some great perspectives on the upcoming year.

[Zach, 28:45]:

And Amey, I think from what you said and Mike, you know added on to it's a measured perspective, right. We're not panicking. We're not jumping back and forth. We, you know, we're kind of directing a big ship here and we don't move it around in a second. Right. You know, we move it and we kind of roll this way or that way depending on where the winds are going. But I think overall you manage a very, very strong credit union. We’ll take whatever punches the environment gives us. And I think that's the key with a lot of folks we talked to is, yeah, we're just managing through this, these don't last forever right overall and I think the last question I have. For you, for today, we thank you for your time outside of the inverted yield curve and some of the challenges that are out there. What excites you, whether it's about Belco or just the credit union space in general going forward because? I think a lot of folks get mired in the pessimism of the day and the challenges, but there's a lot to be optimistic about too, and If you don't mind just sharing if anything at the end here of what? What gets you excited, you know kind of coming to work every day. And and looking into the future.

[Amey Sgrignoli, 29:50]:

Well, I got a real shot in the arm yesterday because I spent some time in the branch, and I don't often get to do that. As you can imagine, in my role getting out to spend a day or half a day in the branch doesn't come easily, but what we did is we just planned to sit down and chat with some of our member businesses about tell us about your business. How's it going? How's the credit union been able to help you? And what challenges are you facing in your day-to-day business? So, I love that time to get to just sit down with our members and hear about how the relationships that we've created in our communities are creating success for individuals and small businesses. It's just so rewarding to hear that. So, it gets me excited to see not only my employees thriving because these businesses wouldn't be here if it weren't for the employees on the frontline day in and day out to meet those members where they're at and help them navigate these tough times. But it's also exciting to see the businesses then going out and telling the story of how the credit union up the street is where you need to go if you want to grow your business and you want to, you know, learn how to take your business to the next level. You really need to go up the street and talk to the folks at Belco. So, that's really what's rewarding for me is seeing the difference that we're making in our local community here. You know, the individuals that I was talking to yesterday were, you know, a painter and a plumber and they were sharing their story with me about just how they started their business and how by working with the credit union, they were able to overcome obstacles, weather the storm of the pandemic, weather the storm that they're experiencing now, where the cost of everything is just escalating astronomically. I heard them talk about their difficulties in finding employees to work for them. So, we were kind of able to share some stories with them about how what we've done and how we've made a difference with our employees, but hearing from our members as to how we've been able to help them achieve their success. I think that's just what excites me the most. Because we are making a difference in our local community. That's why we're here. That's what our mission is. And our employees are having fun doing it. They're having a good time and we're all really enjoying the success of the organization, one person, one member, one member business at a time. So that's what really excites me about it’s what we do.

[Zach, 32:16]:

Amey, I think that's a perfect and powerful answer, you know, to kind of end our interview today. And thank you again so much for your time. Vin and I are so appreciative. Mike is as well and thank you so much.

[Amey Sgrignoli, 32:27]:

It was great to spend some time with you guys and I'll look forward to seeing you again soon. Take care.

[Zach, 32:25]:

Great. Thanks so much. We are back on On the Balance Sheet and what a great interview, you know, Vin and Mike, with Amey. I feel like we could have talked to her like most of our guests for a lot longer. Couple takeaways I had, and I think one thing I let the listeners know is I was, I was told in between you know kind of takes here that the ship metaphor I had in the winds, Vinny told me as he's a true nautical man, that ships don't care about the winds because they have motors. So, I do want to apologize for any folks out there who are more nautical inclined, but the real take away I had was kind of the question I asked her about one of our other guests, right, episode nine with Jay Tuli. He had that comment about him having to get better as a leader to make sure his folks want to work for somebody like that. I think Amey truly exemplifies that, and I think in a lot of her talk today, it was all about getting your employees better, more educated learning by the power of 1000 as we say you know here and if those employees are happy and they're working and they're, you know, kind of quote  unquote firing on all cylinders, the members are going to be happy or if you're a banker, the customer is going to be happier and all those things just build on each other and breed success. So, I thought there was some really intelligent points that she made. Vin how about how about you?

[Vinny, 33:53]:

I think the one thing that stood out to me was Amey obviously is a very, very powerful leader. In my research, one of the things she said was we believe in our mission, we believe in every person, every dream, every time. Sometimes words are just words, but as a listener, not personally knowing Amey, I really thought that came through. You can see when she says something like that, my guess is she's absolutely following through on it every day. So, I think our listeners are really gonna enjoy this one, Mike.

[Mike Mitchell, 34:25]:

I think you know we spend all our time talking about balance sheets and numbers and strategies, but you know we have a little theme building so far in the podcast this year, you know, coming off the heels of your discussion with our President, Matt Pieniazek, and that's leadership and culture. And those are just two very powerful things when you talk about the success of an organization.

[Vinny, 34:44]:

Yeah, great point, Mike. And I guess that's a wrap. So, thanks so much to our listeners and we'll see you next month on On the Balance Sheet."

[Outro, 35:01]:

On the Balance Sheet is a podcast produced by Darling Consulting Group, DCG. All views and opinions expressed by hosts and guests are solely their own and may not represent those of DCG. All third parties are independent entities and are not affiliated with DCG. This podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only and is not considered as advice. All views and opinions expressed are based on the information available at the time, it may have changed on current market and other conditions. For more information about DCG; please visit www.darlingconsulting.com or email us at info@darlingconsulting.com. Today’s background music is provided by John Sib at Coma-Media and can be found on pixabay.com.       

The text of this transcript was generated by an artificial intelligence (AI) model, and its organization, grammar, and presentation enhanced by AI, and as such may contain errors or inaccuracies. DCG is not liable for any damages, however caused, that may result from any use of this content.