Meet Wright from Leadership Coshocton County
Karen Wright is a native Coshoctonian. A River View graduate, she was active in band, playing percussion and in the flag corps and remembers with esteem Band Director JP Branham. She said she looked up to his style and dedication to his students, and because of her experience in band, all her children were in band. She remains passionate about the arts, music and theater and considers the arts to be important.Wright also was in 4-H, showing sheep, and said she loved that world. In addition to showing at the Coshocton County Fair, she also showed at the Ohio State Fair. 4-H was an important family activity she instilled in her children, all of whom showed at the state and national level. This passion led to Wright being a 35-year 4-H adviser.
“(Following graduation), the only thing I ever wanted to do was work in a bank. Going to the bank with my mom, I looked up to the tellers. That’s what I want to do,” Wright said.
She took business classes in high school, and that was enough to get her foot in the door. Her first banking position was with First National Bank, which later became BancOhio, followed by National City Bank, where she said she did all jobs, starting in bookkeeping, and worked her way up, finally becoming a teller, lead teller, new accounts and trainer.
Once she started a family, having work/life balance became important, so she left the financial world. When her kids started school, she worked as a paraprofessional one on one with a child with autism. This position required lots of continuing education focused on autism, and the school district wanted her to go into teaching.
Wright said it was her passion and she loved every moment with the students. Because of her experience in the classroom, she was inspired to start a special needs ministry at Roscoe UMC that provided respite for families and ministry for parents to enable them to attend worship. As director of children’s ministry, she did two children’s musicals a year and Vacation Bible School.
In 2010 she returned to working full-time in the banking world. She was a licensed personal banker for Chase Bank in Coshocton and took lots of classes. All this continuing education led to a promotion to manager and a change of locations to the West Lafayette branch. When West Lafayette closed, she was moved to Newcomerstown and eventually to manage a large Chase branch in Wooster. She was with Chase for 11 years with four of them commuting to Wooster.
She said she enjoyed working there and liked being able to help people do their best and feel successful about their jobs. She said she learned a lot, but in the end the drive proved to be difficult.
Given the opportunity to manage a new branch of CES Credit Union in Coshocton, Wright didn’t hesitate and said it’s a blessing to be there. She said she loves working at CES Credit Union and being given the chance to connect with her roots.
As manager she is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the facility and provides services related to all types of lending including mortgages and home equity lines. She provides all types of banking services including checking and savings. What she finds the most rewarding is providing financial counseling and advice to members.
“I care about the members and listen to their concerns,” Wright said.
Wright said she looks for solutions to problems and provides advice to get members on the right track. She also said she appreciates the staff.
“The team in Coshocton is amazing. They are always willing to help, and I love working with them every day. Our growth has been great and more than expected. We have lots of years of collective experience within our team; all of them came from other banks,” Wright said.
Wright said she looks forward to continued growth and expansion. She said she appreciates CES Credit Union encourages community involvement and wants employees to support their communities. CES provides financial education and support for the community, and Wright said she values the opportunities CES provides to do this for the community.
“It’s a gift,” she said, and she considers it a blessing to be in her hometown, working and serving her community.
Wright has served on multiple boards over the years including as treasurer for both the local March of Dimes board and Conesville Elementary PTO, Music Boosters at RVHS, American Red Cross lifeguard and water safety instructor, and 4-H adviser and Adaptive Skillathon. She is currently providing educational opportunities in local school districts but said she misses volunteering and wants to find her niche.
Wright said she is fortunate to have a financial community that encourages community involvement, which has enabled her to participate in Leadership Coshocton County. She said she really wanted to connect with the community again and knew this program would give her the opportunity to reconnect and learn about areas to give back.
She said, “I’ve made new friends and connections with people I can work with in the future. I want to know what opportunities are available. I’m so glad CES supports and encourages its managers to attend local leadership programs. I believe Leadership Coshocton County has a program that way exceeds others out there.”
When asked her view of the community, Wright said, “I’m really excited to go down Main Street and see the new businesses, the growth in the community. I think the chamber and port authority are doing a great job — Our Town Coshocton with its summer concert series. Main Street looks alive for the first time in a long time. We’re headed in the right direction. We have leaders that care about Coshocton and the community. The Coshocton Foundation is doing an amazing job and really makes a difference in the community too.”
When asked what will make the county stronger, Wright stressed the importance of investing in the future through the schools.
“Without children and a strong education, how can the community thrive? How can the community support the teachers, schools and funding? If children don’t have a strong education, we have nothing for the future of the county. We also need to support the career center for jobs in the trades,” Wright said. “These young adults are the future and will help the community thrive. This will provide new businesses with a workforce that is trained and prepared for the future.
“We are making progress and changes on Main Street that bring people together. There are lots of positives, but we need to continue our focus on activities that encourage families to stay in the community. It’s an awesome community, and I want everyone to know the hometown feeling.”
Wright would recommend Leadership Coshocton for others. “It’s a great opportunity to learn about the community and make new connections. There is more to it than I thought, much more than I expected. Not only do you learn about the community, but you learn how to be a better leader and a better resource for others. You become an advocate for your community and learn about resources to help others.”
Category: Clubs & Organizations
