business
january8
2013
Vernonia US Bank Has a New Manager
Matt Stone has done a lot in a
Stone considers himself sort of a as a volunteer, after talking with local
short time during his career at US Bank. “poster boy” for moving around the US firefighters at his bank branch. “ I was
Now he is the new manager of the Ver- Bank system as he has worked himself able to be a volunteer in the community
nonia branch.
up the company ladder. He started out I worked in, which was really great,” he
Stone started working in Verno- as a part time teller and was promoted says.
nia on November 16, 2012 as the new to the position of Universal Banker after
Stone then moved to the Raleigh
branch manager. Stone says he
Hills Branch where he worked as
is happy to be working in Ver-
a Personal Banker, which was a
nonia and wants to try to help
much busier with a different cus-
the community professionally in
tomer base. “I learned a lot about
whatever ways he can.
time management and about be-
A California native from
ing efficient,” says Stone. After
the Bay Area, Stone moved to
a year, Stone was promoted to
Oregon with his wife Natalee in
Customer Service Manager and
2006 settling in Hillsboro. Matt
moved to the Farmington office
and Natalee joined her parents
in Aloha where he learned about
and brother in Forest Grove a
operations and working with
few years ago, where they built
staff. From there Stone went
a home in a new development
back to the Tanasbourne office
just five doors down the street
where he had started and took
from her brother and family.
a position as a Small Business
Natalee’s parents also live close
Specialist. “That was a position I
by.
had applied for before but didn’t
Shortly after moving to
get, but was something I really
Oregon, Stone began interview-
wanted to pursue,” says Stone.
ing for positions in the banking Matt Stone is the new Branch Manger at US Bank in Vernonia. In that position Stone says he
industry. He took a job for a
worked exclusively with small
short time with Wells Fargo before being six months, which combines a Banker business clients, helping them with fi-
offered a position with US Bank. “It and Teller position. “That was my fa- nancing, commercial real estate, budget
was a no brainer for me,” says Stone. vorite position, just because I got to talk management, investments, and business
“US Bank was where I really wanted to with more people and there is so much banking. Stone says he sees that posi-
be. ” Stone started at the Tanasbourne you can do,” says Stone.
tion as good preparation for the Bank
branch working as a teller.
Stone then moved to the Cor- Manager position he now holds because
Stone, who is enthusiastic, ear- nelius office as a Universal Banker and there are so many moving parts to small
nest and personable, quickly moved up Personal Banker where he worked for business management.
through the ranks at US Bank. “A lot of several years. Stone says he enjoyed the
Stone became aware of the Man-
times with US Bank, if you see some- small town feel of working there where ager position in Vernonia and took some
one new often it is because someone has he knew most of the customers by name. time to explore the town, the branch
received a promotion,” explains Stone. Stone, who had taken some junior col- and meet with the District Manager be-
“Often times they can’t do that within lege courses in Fire Service before mov- fore applying for and accepting the job.
the branch you are in because there isn’t ing to Oregon, says he was motivated “I put a lot of thought into this type of
a position available.”
to join the Cornelius fire department move,” says Stone. “Since I didn’t know
from the editor continued from page 3
ranks of the rodeo queen world, from
Miss Rodeo Columbia County to Miss
Rodeo Oregon and all the way to the
top, as Miss Rodeo America.
I would also like to thank all
our other special contributors who have
provided feature articles throughout the
year: to Karen Miller for her work on
our Senior Stars stories which acknowl-
edges and shares the stories those spe-
cial folks in our community-our senior
citizens; to Jill Hult who has stepped
in on numerous occasions over the
years to help us with reporting and fea-
ture stories, to Bill Langmaid who has
shared his passion for our community
on several different subjects; and to our
two student interns during the past two
school years- Nate Izzett and Savannah
Brown, who shared their insight and
perspective into the life of the youth in
our community.
They say it takes a village to
raise a child. The same could be said
for publishing a community newspaper.
It takes a lot of different perspectives,
ideas, and points of view to make this
a well-rounded publication. Thank you
again to all of you who have shared
your time and energy, your art, your
photos, your stories, your thoughts and
ideas and your voices. I couldn’t do it
without you.
anything about the branch, the commu-
nity and the management model here, I
wanted to be sure that I was doing what
was in the best interest for myself and
for the branch. I didn’t want to go some-
where that wasn’t going to be a good
fit.”
Obviously, Stone decided to
take the position here in Vernonia.
Stone and his wife Natalee have
two boys, Dylan who just turned three
and Luke who will be two in March.
“My family is hugely important to me,”
says Stone. “Having my in-laws and
brother in-law close by is great.” Stone
says he likes sports and is a San Francis-
co Giants and 49ers fan. He says when
he moved to Oregon he chose to be a
Beavers fan, only because the team col-
ors matched the Giants-if he had grown
up in Oakland and been an A’s fan, he
would have picked the green and gold
Ducks. He says he also enjoys working
and relaxing in his yard and spending
time gardening and also working in his
garage on his truck and other household
projects.
Stone says he actually enjoys
the commute back and forth from For-
est Grove toVernonia. He has been get-
ting to know his staff, the community,
the people, and the local businesses. “I
want to get to know as many people as
possible,” says Stone.
“Living in Forest Grove, I love
the idea that I know my neighbors and
talk with them and the sense of commu-
nity we have. And I know that that is
here in Vernonia,” says Stone. “At the
end of the day, I’m here to help people
financially, that is my job. I just want to
make a difference.”
Vernonia Health Board
is pleased to announce the opening of
the Vernonia Health Center
February 19, 2013
Scott Laird
Editor and Publisher
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