TwinStar prides itself on providing unparalleled customer service to every one of its members. At the heart of that success are our employees. They are committed to building strong, lasting relationships with every member they work with.
We aren’t kidding when we say TwinStar employees believe in being on a first-name basis with our members.
To help celebrate our 85th anniversary, we wanted to highlight a handful of TwinStar employees who have helped us get to where we are today — serving more than 150,000 members across Southwest Washington and the Portland metro area.
Diane Sokolik
Years at TwinStar: 20
Job title: VP of Consumer Lending
What is the best thing about working at TwinStar?
TwinStar not only provides for the communities it serves, but its employees as well. They invest in their employees, whether it is education, health or the benefits they offer. TwinStar sticks to their core values of service excellence, integrity, rewarding work, and open two-way communication. I see my fellow co-workers embrace these values every day, which is the best part of working here.
What is your favorite TwinStar memory?
Halloween and Christmas are a toss-up for my favorite memory. Departments have dressed up and decorated their cubicles and common spaces for employees’ children to trick-or-treat. At Christmas time, there was a big fir tree where employees could pop down and add an ornament or two, drink hot apple cider, and enjoy platters of cookies. Then about a week or two later, employees would gather by the tree and sing festive carols.
How has being a part of the TwinStar family and community impacted your life?
I have lost a lot of family and friends to cancer. When I heard TwinStar had a Relay for Life team since its inception in Thurston County, that resonated with me. I knew I had chosen the right employer to continue my career with.
I have been the captain of our Relay for Life team the past 15 years and witnessed the support of my TwinStar family in reaching our fundraising goals — we are making a difference. One of my favorite fundraisers we had was an employee chili and cornbread cook off that featured local judges: Jeff Kennedy (TwinStar’s CEO), Dick Pust (local radio host), and Nicole Woolsey (American Cancer Society).The competition was fierce and seeing how the employees embraced the event left a lasting footprint.
Anthony “Tony” Koecke
Years at TwinStar: 22
Job title: Network Operations Center Supervisor
What is the best thing about working at TwinStar?
My coworkers, 100 percent. I have gotten to know so many of them throughout the years — and have had the pleasure of sharing forever memories with them.
Why are TwinStar members so great?
I am big on community and TwinStar members really support their communities. It has been a pleasure to serve such a great membership and I look forward to many more years of doing so.
How has being a part of the TwinStar family and community impacted your life?
When I started at TwinStar, I was just a kid starting to get life experience. The generation of employees before me really took me under their wings and helped me grow. I grew in a business sense as well as a human being. I worked with a bunch of selfless people who guided me to be a better person, inside and outside. I am now the generation taking the new generation under my wing and guiding them to success. How has the TwinStar family and community impacted my life? I would not be the kind of person I am today without them.
Janey Hanson
Years at TwinStar: Almost 26.
Job title: Procurement and Asset Manager
What is your favorite TwinStar memory?
The annual meeting themes and having to dress up. It always becomes a great memory.
What makes TwinStar such a special place to work?
My coworkers — they are like a family. We don’t see everyone as much now being a remote workforce, but the friendships I’ve made throughout the years have remained.
How has being a part of the TwinStar family and community impacted your life?
I’ve been able to volunteer for so many great events and causes over the years that helped support our local community.
Douglas Guitar
Years at TwinStar: 36 years
Job title: Administration Services/Mail
What is the best part about working at TwinStar?
Working with great people — and the work I do.
What is your favorite TwinStar memory?
It’s difficult to remember everything but I would say the fun times during the holidays and summer activities we do like camping and BBQs.
How has being a part of the TwinStar family and community impacted your life?
From personal experience and from other people I know, I have a much better work environment. I love my job and enjoy coming into work.
Tracy Williams
Years at TwinStar: 30 years in May.
Job title: Digital Banking Program Analyst
What is your favorite TwinStar memory?
This one is hard as there are so many great memories. I have one memory that spans over 29 years. In the late 90s, we entered the world of online banking. Our first venture required a modem and a phone line. Believe it or not, we were ahead of the game back in those days. Because of modem dial up, we eliminated the need for a dial-up product, which we followed a few years later with the launching of mobile banking, business online banking, and mobile remote deposit capture.
Around 2014, we set out to make our online channels better, leading us to a new and improved online channel. This allowed us to consolidate all online channels to a single vendor. With the speed of technology, we again needed to revisit our online channels and found a new vendor that would grow at the pace we required. We launched that new platform in the fall of 2021. I love that I was able to participate in every transition.
What makes TwinStar such a special place to work?
TwinStar my extended family. The camaraderie of every employee is what makes TwinStar a special place. It doesn’t matter if you are a board member, CEO, on the senior team, or any other employee — we all are treated with the same importance.
How has being a part of the TwinStar family and community impacted your life?
TwinStar has impacted every part of my life. They’ve provided me opportunities to grow in my positions, excellent training, and other learning opportunities. This shows the trust TwinStar has had in me. Most importantly, TwinStar has provided financial security for my family. All of this keeps me coming back every day.
Devin Boyd
Years at TwinStar: 19
Job title: VP of Organizational Services
What is the best part about working at TwinStar — and what makes it such a special place?
Throughout my 19 years with TwinStar, they have always gone above and beyond to ensure employees are seen and heard. TwinStar has a great culture where employees feel respected, valued for their contributions and people come first.
There have always been plenty of opportunities for employees to learn and grow as individuals — and that is an investment TwinStar made a long time ago. TwinStar fosters a culture of cooperation and produces a work environment where employees win together when times are good and stick together when times are tough.
How has being a part of the TwinStar family and community impacted your life?
TwinStar has impacted my life in many ways. I joined Twin County Credit Union as a member when I was roughly 10 years old, so I like to think I’ve been with the TwinStar family since the early 90s. Many of my family members were teachers and since TwinStar started as a teachers credit union, it was the only financial institution we knew. Later in my teenage years, I did not have any established credit and was not sure where to get started.
TwinStar provided me with a $250 Visa card, which allowed me to slowly establish credit. After a few years, I was approved for a small auto loan without a co-signer. Having built such a strong personal connection with TwinStar early on in life, one can only imagine how excited I was to begin working at our downtown Olympia branch in 2003. This presented me with the opportunity to assist our members with their financial needs and hopefully create the same lasting impression.
I learned early in my career TwinStar promotes the financial well-being of every member and the cooperative values are the foundation. I recognized that credit unions have a unique role to empowering communities and individuals — as well as giving back. Ultimately, this made me want to do better, do more and give back to the community in different ways. So, I started volunteering early in my career and never looked back. In addition, I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve on the TwinStar Community Foundation Board, which supports our communities in various ways. TwinStar emphasizes the importance of volunteering and giving back, and I’m happy to be carrying it forward today.
Thank you for all your support. We wouldn’t have made it 85 years and counting without our members, past and present. Here’s to another 85 years of realizing financial dreams together!