Member Highlights August 2012

On July 25th I had the pleasure of talking with Cheryl Dorman, Tualatin-Sherwood Branch Manager and Vice President at West Coast Bank.

Laurie: Tell me a little about your business.

Cheryl: We are a locally owned community bank headquartered in Lake Oswego. We received our first charter in 1925 in Newport Oregon, so we’re definitely home-grown. We have 60 branches in Oregon and Washington, in the Willamette Valley all the way up to Vancouver and the Puget Sound region and along the Oregon Coast. We have 25 branches in the Portland metro area. I opened the Tualatin branch in 2004.

Laurie: What is the most important thing you want people to know about your business?

Cheryl: We’re a financial institution so we offer a lot of the same products and services as other banks. However, what holds us apart is that we’re locally owned and have local decision making. We have the flavor of a small community bank, so customer service is a very high priority for us.

Laurie: What makes your products and/or services unique?

Cheryl: Our customer service. We want to get to know you and your whole situation. We’re high touch and we want to make sure that we take care of your needs. You will be greeted when you come in the door and our employees get to know you. What I always say is that all of my customers are my favorite customers. I want everybody to feel like they are important.

The bank gives us autonomy, so another thing that is unique about West Coast Bank is that as branch manager it’s like I have my own store. I have my own financials, I help create my own financials, I manage my own financials, and if a customer needs something a lot of times I have the ability to make that decision. You don’t see that in a lot of places, and it’s very important to me. I have a high respect for our management and the bank, obviously, since I’ve been here for 17 years.

Laurie: Can you give an example of your focus on customer service?

Cheryl: I was recently able to land a new large client because a friend at Rotary called me on my cell phone on a Saturday when I was out shopping. He said that he had a client with him who was looking for a bank, preferably a community bank, and asked if I had time to talk. So while I was out shopping I talked with this potential client, and I was able to land a substantial, nice new business relationship as a result of answering my phone on a Saturday. Once in a while a client will be concerned about a banking problem and they’ll text, call or email me. I value being able to deliver in that kind of relationship.

Laurie: What do you perceive as the benefits you receive from Chamber membership?

Cheryl: When I first opened the Tualatin branch I had never been a branch manager, and I was asked to get involved in the community because banks like to be visible and give back to the communities where they live, work and play. So the first thing I did when I opened my branch was get in touch with the Chamber. That was literally the first contact, to make that connection. I asked for a list of sponsorship opportunities and things I could get involved in. I learned about volunteering and community service. I also took a leadership class through the Chamber which taught me about the resources in the community. I’ve been able to meet the most fantastic people. You get to know people at the city level and at the business level, and it helps to build that list of contacts that you wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

Laurie: What were some of the early successes and/or challenges in the business?

Cheryl: When I first opened my branch I started from ground zero. I didn’t have a previous book of business that bankers will sometimes bring along with them. We’ve been here almost eight years now and everything has grown organically and within the community. So the challenge was, how do you get the word out about West Coast Bank in a new city? This is where the Chamber came in really handy, because that’s how I gained my contacts and visibility.

Laurie: What advice would you give to a new business owner or someone who is considering starting a business of their own?

Cheryl: Do your homework and check out the city. Tualatin is a great city because the people here are so fantastic, at the community level, the business level, and the city government level. The Chamber is a great resource to help start a business. Also, get involved. There’s a variety of ways to do this. You can join the Chamber, join a committee, or volunteer at the food pantry or the library. There’s also a new Citizen Involvement Organization you can join.

Laurie: How do you see your business evolving over the next few years?

Cheryl: The financial industry has had its challenges in the last five years, which are projected to continue for the near future. Times have changed, and banks have had to adapt to those changes. We have more compliance and regulation than ever before. It has really changed the way banks do business, so we have to be flexible. That’s where you see the shifts in banking today; we’ve had to shift to those changes.

Laurie: On a more personal note, what is your favorite blog, podcast or website?

Cheryl: I call it my business bible, because I really rely on the Portland Business Journal daily email updates. I’m not one to sit down and read the newspaper anymore, but I want to know what’s going on, and the Portland Business Journal gives me good, unbiased newsfeed of what’s going on in the business community, and that’s important to me. It’s just a quick, easy read and I can pick and choose what I’m interested in reading.

Laurie: How do you give back to the community?

Cheryl: In addition to being involved with the Chamber, I’m a member of Tualatin Rotary and I’ve been the president for the last year. Rotary does a lot of community service. I sit on a board at Portland State University in the business outreach program that helps micro-entrepreneurs, which is really cool. I’m the Chamber of Commerce liaison for the Tualatin Transportation System Plan (TSP), and I’ve been working on that for eight or nine months, because transportation is an important part of our region.

I also belong to the Tualatin Food Pantry, and the food pantry to me is just the epitome of the community taking care of itself. It is such an impressive food pantry and it is run so well. There are no subsidies other than through the Oregon Food Bank, but the amount of money that is donated directly out of Tualatin is amazing. Just the amount of food that is donated shows that it is truly a community that takes care of itself.

Laurie: How does West Coast Bank give back to the community?

Cheryl: That’s a really good question because the bank has a strong philosophy about giving back to the communities where we do business. We’re the major presenting sponsor for the Tualatin Crawfish Festival and I chair that committee. The Crawfish Festival is the thing I’m more proud of than anything because it is such a community involved event. We have a strong belief in giving back to the community because we’re a community bank, and if we don’t have community, we don’t have customers.

Laurie Fredsall,  Life Story Consultant

Capella Memoirs, LLC Phone: 503.577.7269 www.capellamemoirs.com

“Capturing life stories in fun and innovative ways.”