As I hugged Kelli, the manager, and saw the tears in the eyes of the smiling tellers at First Bank of Idaho in Bellevue, it became clear to me why our family chose this as our bank when it first opened. Drawn by the phrase "We live here, too," we felt that they would understand the unique challenges faced by regular middle-class families trying to live the American dream in a place filled with economic challenges.
Not only did they make it possible for us to own a home, but their employees have cared about us and our accounts unlike any other national bank ever has. Without fail, everyone knew your name, asked about your family, bought your daughter's Girl Scout cookies without challenging you for "soliciting" and listened to your money-related concerns, helping you find solutions to problems that sometimes felt overwhelming.
To the staff of the Bellevue branch, I say thank you for your caring attention, your ability to work so well with us, for counting our daughter's piggy bank change, for the laughter, the cookies, the suckers, the genuine concern we felt you felt for our family and our own personal challenges. To Brian Furlong, blessings to you for your compassion and understanding. To everyone at First Bank, thank you for your philanthropy to our local non-profits—simply amazing.
And finally, to US Bank I say, without these people, there is simply no reason to return. You must do everything you can to show these amazing employees that "You live here, too" and retain their employment so they can continue to support their families as they have so fervently supported ours. We truly have a lost a local treasure.
Wendy, Gary and Kami Norbom
Bellevue
