Melissa Kloppe’s title on her business card is “Relationship Manager”. While in practice, she is the Bank Manager at the Jenison East branch of Macatawa Bank, she sees her job as being much more than about the numbers. When I asked her what her purpose in life was, is she immediately said, “To help others.” And then she explained further. “I help others, but not just with their money, but by giving them positive reinforcement for their financial and life improvements.”
Melissa did not start out in the banking industry. She went to school for interior design and worked in merchandising, setting up displays for many retail stores. Soon she found herself working as a store manager for Pier One. The long and relentless retail store hours were extremely hard on her family. She was never home for them. So 22 years ago, she decided to change careers and to go into banking. She started as a bank teller and was overwhelmed her first two weeks with the sheer amount of things there were to learn. But she stuck with it and soon was moved into bank management and she started climbing the corporate banking ladder in Holland. When she realized that she was still missing out on her home life with all of the extra corporate duties, she requested to be moved down to work as a simple branch manger closer to home. She doesn’t regret her decision one bit. She now has time for her family, her friends and also to give back to her community. –And if anyone asks her personally for financial advice, she tells them to come down to her office during business hours. Her relationship management skills clearly help others as well as herself!