Shannon is our new Branch Manager at the Godwin office in Suffolk and has been with Bronco since 2000.
When did you take over as Branch Manager at the Godwin office?
I began my new adventure on March 1, 2024.
What is your vision for your new role?
As Branch Manager I will lead the Godwin team as we serve Suffolk and the surrounding areas. When the position became available, I was excited to apply for the challenge. My goal was to become a leader for Bronco, leading and guiding my coworkers where everyone wins—not just Bronco, but the members, too.
Why were you interested in applying for the position?
I wanted to see the smiles of the Bronco members. In my previous role, I worked behind the scenes of making dreams come true. I missed hearing the members’ stories and goals firsthand. I went through the interview process and was hoping I had what Bronco was looking for to fill the role. I would be joining a great team and was very excited when Bronco made the choice of bringing my past Bronco experiences alive at Godwin.
What do you think made you qualified to be the Branch Manager?
I have been employed at Bronco Federal Credit Union since August of 2000. I started as a Teller, then quickly moved into the Vault Teller role until 2005 when I started working in the Call Center and crossed trained as a Member Service Representative in our Franklin locations. In 2010, I continued working in the Call Center doing loans by phone and internet loans while being cross trained with our Indirect Department and as a backup Loan Officer. In 2020, I moved into the Loan Officer role until now, where I am growing in my career as Branch Manager.
What is different about the Godwin office?
The Godwin office is unique in many ways. One unique feature is it offers Shared Branching. Shared Branching allows credit union members to get service at other credit unions, giving credit union members more than 5,000 locations across the United States to make deposits, withdrawals and even loan payments. Our members can find the nearest Shared Branch at co-opcreditunions.org.
What else is unique?
We also have virtual teller stations in our lobby, which may seem different at first, but they’re very easy to use, and it keeps our members’ information more secure and transactions confidential. The tellers do a fantastic job running the drive thru and lobby stations effectively and quickly. Monica Clarke and I are in the lobby to welcome people with a hometown feel when our members and shared branch affiliates visit.
Tell us more about yourself. What do you like to do with your spare time?
There is no spare time…LOL! My alone time is my commute to work and home, where the music is loud, my singing is louder and I’m most likely making my own words up. If my windows are up and you hear me singing, I apologize in advance.
We understand you’re also very active in the community.
I do try to be involved in the community in my spare time, as much as possible, in hopes to make better tomorrows. I’m currently on the Board at the James L. Camp Jr. Family YMCA in Franklin, serving as the Board Chair. I have served on the YMCA Board going on three years. Serving on the Board at the YMCA has been very rewarding—being involved with such a strong provider to the Franklin community.
And you still have time for family?
Since 2016, the Hopko Family has been participating in the Adopt-A-Highway Program. We try to get together as a family to clean our adopted road at least two times a year. I also host, with my sister and sister-in-law, blood drives with the Red Cross twice a year. We have hosted drives since 2016 in honor of our dad, Brian Spivey. We have helped collect a total of 481 units of blood, potentially impacting 1,443 lives.
Other than that, I am trying to be the best role model for my kids. My son is a senior in high school this year, graduating in a few short months and doing a lot of “last time for” this and that. And my daughter is keeping her dad and I busy with sports. Her dad volunteers as coach for her softball team, and I am a loud and proud softball and baseball mom.