Wednesday, March 2, 2022
First Merchants held our 2022 Gold Shield Awards on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 at the Embassy Suites Conference Center, Noblesville, Indiana. The day was focused on recognizing our best and brightest, providing 40 awards in the areas of Sales Excellence, Service Excellence, Cornerstone Excellence and Community Excellence.
The Gold Shield Awards Celebration was created in 2007 to encourage top performance and recognize those who excel and serve as role models to all of us. As we strive for excellence, some among us stand out as exceptional professionals who combine this critical blend of performance and attitude.
The Gold Shield Awards honor employees based on performance in any of these three main categories:
Service Excellence:
Recognizes employees that have an unwavering focus on their customers – internal or external.
Cornerstone Excellence:
Recognizes employees on our administrative support teams that demonstrate commitment to service and efficiency.
Community Excellence:
Recognizes employees who demonstrate commitment to our community heritage through volunteer leadership service.
Sales Excellence awards are also given to honor employees. In 2022, the Sales Excellence awards will be presented at our annual Retail Rally, Commercial and Private Wealth Advisors conferences. Recipients are selected by the managers in each of the following lines of business:
- Mortgage
- Commercial Banking
- Consumer Banking
- Private Wealth Advisors
Congratulations to our 2022 Winners!
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| Jess Hopkins, Market Leader | Fort Wayne | Stephanie Madison, Team Lead | Corporate Social Responsibility |
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| Autumn Self, Client Relationship Rep | Lambertville | Jelissa Oquendo, Banking Center Manager | Hammond |
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Deborah Rynearson |
Samantha Humbert |
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Dixie Mullins |
Sarah A. McKenzie |
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Heather Gigliotti |
Sherry Holtzclaw |
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Kathleen Elliott |
Stephanie Clark |
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Jane Smith |
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| Brian Ramsey, Digital Marketing Specialist | Eric Segal, Manager| Learning, Dev, & Performance |
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| Michelle Cohee, Operations Analyst | Cathy Whitesel, Manager | Commercial Administration |
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| Mike Gates, Site Support Analyst | Kimberly Compton, Lead | Commercial Administration |
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| Jason Ricker, Senior Software Business Analyst | Katie Christianson, Assistant Director | Operations |
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| Angie Thomas, Manager | HR Shared Services | Brian Means, Senior Business Intelligence Analyst |
NOT PICTURED: Bianca Mirisola , Manager | Commercial Administration
2021 PPP Credit Origination Team
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Aaron Moneyhun |
Holly Hickman |
Kyndall P. Spears |
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Alyssa N. Block |
John Hiatt |
Lori L. Bollock |
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Amber Lockridge |
John Teshima |
Michelle Zimmerman |
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Chad Speedy |
Jonathan M. Tripp |
Morris Franklin |
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Courtney K. Thompson |
Jonathan Thornburg |
Rebecca Newell |
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Danielle Gibson |
Julia M. Prien |
Scott McAnaul |
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Darren Bridge |
Karen L. Ross |
Stephen Diamantos |
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Elaine McCarthy |
Kathleen Bulthuis |
Stephen McLaughlin |
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Elizabeth Doogs |
Kathy Carter |
Todd A. Burklow |
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Garrett J. Leeper |
Kevin Smith |
William Ruzich |
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Gayle Williams |
Kristin McDermott |
CSR Marketing Activation Team
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Julian Broggio |
Susan Conyers |
Debbie Smith | Banking Center Manager, Monticello
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| Adam Stiener, Mortgage Consultant | Lakeshore | Anne Curran, Commercial Administrator | Indianapolis |
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| Chelsea Hundley, Private Wealth Admin Specialist | Eva Kreps, Retirement Plan Advisor |
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Not Pictured: Autumn Green, Merchant Sales Associate Clay McIntosh, Client Relationship Representative |
| Morgan Ganka, Treasury Management Sales Associate |
Commercial Fulfillment Group
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Aaron J. Hutchinson |
Jerry Smith |
Matthew Perry |
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Amanda Smith |
Jessica L Evans |
Michelle Wiley |
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Christie Ford |
Kaitlan Marie Morris |
Misty King |
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Christopher Wright |
Kaylee D. Beaty |
Pierson Quinn |
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Haley J. Knox |
Lucinda Bowen |
Suzanne Kleifgen |
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Heather Nunley |
Sawmill Courier Operations | Commercial Deposits / Ohio Virtual Branch
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Beverly Stanley |
Darryl Warner |
Debra Kinderman |
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Dennis D. Smith |
Keith Brewster |
Larry Reichley |
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Mylinda Armitage |
Randall Yoakum |
Richard Alexander |
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Savannah Norris |
Tina L. Smith |
William Rackett |
