Hard Work Pays Off
ZELIENOPLE — After wrangling two boys as a stay-at-home mom for 10 years, overseeing the business of seven bank branches and dozens of employees must seem like child's play to Deborah Goehring.
Goehring, 65, is nearing retirement after 36 years at a job she initially thought would be temporary.
In that time, she has worked her way up from a secretary in the mortgage department of Ellwood Federal Savings and Loan Association, where she was hired in 1977, to the corner office at ESB Bank's Zelienople branch, where she is vice president and assistant regional services manager.
Born and raised in Ellwood City with two older brothers and one younger brother, Goehring previously had worked as a bank secretary after graduating from Lincoln High School in 1965.
“My husband, Barry, had been laid off from his job as a tour bus driver. I was going to work for a few years, then find something fun to do,” she said.
“Naturally, when you go back to work, you look for familiarity. It's been a great place to work, very family oriented for me at that time. The hours were good and I didn't have a long commute (about a mile from home).”
But Goehring quickly worked her way up to a customer service representative job, primarily opening new accounts, a position she held for about 10 years. She became a bank manager when the company went public in 1990.
As a manager, she worked at locations in Ellwood City, Franklin Township and Chippewa Township, both in Beaver County, as well as Neshannock Township in Lawrence County.
Goehring finally landed at the Zelienople office in Northgate Plaza and was elated to hear a new branch would be opening on Main Street in Zelienople.
“When they said they were going to build this new branch, I said I'd like to finish my career here. It seemed too good to be true,” she said.
Goehring's current position, which she ascended to in 2004, gives her the opportunity to mentor younger employees and make hiring decisions, in addition to her normal duties of taking loan applications and reviewing monthly reports regarding accounts. She also supervises the managers of seven ESB Banks in the area.
Still, Goehring is not above opening new accounts behind the teller window, if need be.
“We've always been involved, active managers here,” she said.
“Leadership takes determination, it takes dedication and it takes not taking yourself too seriously. You can't lose sight of the smaller details in trying to view the bigger picture.”
Goehring added that it's important as a leader to be a good employee, inspiring confidence in one's own supervisors and allowing them to perform better because of your work.
“I think leadership goes upward, as well as downward,” she said.
A desire to sharpen her leadership skills and become more established in the community led Goehring to join Leadership Butler County's Class of 2012. She completed a similar program in Lawrence County while working there.“It helps create knowledge about the community you serve. Plus, I got to meet 23 wonderful people that I likely would not have otherwise met,” Goehring said.“It also gives you a whole new perspective, from other people's point of view, as well as a look at how they conduct their business. Maybe you have a management problem or an issue with an employee, you see how others would handle it. The networking part was vital to me. I knew almost nothing about Butler County (before participating in LBC).”In addition to networking opportunities, Goehring said she was excited by the prospect of the class' group project, a clothing drive for First Impressions, a nonprofit organization that provides free used clothing to children in Butler County.“The bank is a very strong supporter of its employees being involved in the community,” she said.In fact, ESB Bank has an annual luncheon honoring employees who have dedicated time and effort to volunteerism and service in the community.But even before participating in the leadership program, Goehring was a community volunteer.She chairs the Junior Achievement Bowl-A-Thon, which is held each March at Freeway Lanes in Zelienople to benefit the charity that educates students about work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.Goehring also has spent about 10 years in various roles with the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, where she is secretary, and another 10 years as co-coordinator of the Junior Achievement/Chamber joint golf outing each June.“Banking 25 or 30 years ago was completely different from what it is today. If you managed before, you used to just sit at your desk in your office and wait for people to come to you,” she said.“Now, there's too much competition to just sit back. You have to reach out and be engaged in to community.”On March 1, Goehring celebrated 36 years with the company. She plans to retire in June.Retirement, though, will bring Goehring full circle. She plans to return to secretarial work, part time, in the lending department of the ESB Ellwood City branch near her home.“It's like fate, like it was meant to be,” she said.
<B>Age: </B>65<B>Address: </B>Ellwood City<B>Family: </B>Husband, Barry, and two adult sons, Brian and Bradley<B>Employment: </B>Vice president/assistant regional services manager<B>Company: </B>ESB Bank, 600 Lawrence Ave., Ellwood City<B>Business:</B> Personal and business banking<B>Employees: </B>About 280<B>Community leadership: </B>Chairman of Junior Achievement Bowl-A-Thon<B>LEADERSHIP IS:</B>“Leadership is the ability to multitask. It’s the ability to realize you don’t know everything, and the ability to use the talents of those you supervise to the best purpose of the job.”<B>INSPIRATION:</B>“(ESB Bank President Charlotte Zuschlag) exemplifies the role in that there is very little that goes on she doesn’t know about. Her guidance, along with the entire management team, has brought the bank its successes. I have great respect for her.”
