O Bee recently celebrated 15 years of The Man, The Myth, The Legend, Brent Walz! Brent is our E-Lending and Underwriting Manager. “From my first day at O Bee, I knew Brent would be my right-hand person. His knowledge, lending experience, and overall positivity have been a blessing for me,” says Shawna Gasak, Vice President of Consumer Lending. “Brent is always smiling and jumps in to help in any situation, I'm not sure what we would do without him!"
We asked Brent to share a little about himself and his time at O Bee.
What were you doing before you joined O Bee?
Prior to joining O Bee, I had 10 years of experience in banking. I was a lender, branch manager, business banking trainer, and business banker.
What do you like most about your job?
The position I have right now allows me to help members by supporting our O Bee employees. It is very rewarding to find solutions to our members’ needs, and I am a part of that.
How has O Bee changed since you joined the team?
O Bee has really grown!! When I started, there were only a few branches. Financial services technology has also improved by leaps and bounds. We are now able to help more members and help them more quickly than when I started.
What is your favorite memory at O Bee?
I have too many good memories to narrow that down to just one. The reason I have stayed so long is that O Bee continues to hire great people. I stay because I enjoy working with my coworkers.
What is your favorite place in the world?
I know this sounds made up, but Olympia! I moved here over 20 years ago after visiting the area. It has everything I love. Great people, great climate, great scenery…. on and on.
What do you like to do when you aren’t working?
I spend as much time as I can with my family. I enjoy relaxing with friends, along with camping and biking when I can.
Here's to the past 15 years of incredible achievements and many more. Cheers!