Broadway Banker proves it’s never too late, graduates and takes home service award

BroadwayBank_Logo_tagIt takes a savvy, confident and fearless leader to run the Broadway Bank Care Corps, a boots-on-the-ground volunteer battalion, which sets the standard for community service in San Antonio. It takes Jeannette Flores Westbrook, Broadway Bank senior vice president, community reinvestment. Under her leadership Care Corps has already served in 45 charitable projects for 2014, setting the pace for topping the 130 served in all of 2013. With grit and determination, Flores Westbrook does as she says. She serves on the board of Dress for Success, Communities In Schools, Project Quest and volunteers regularly with Habitat for Humanity and the United Way VITA program. Above all, it is her leadership at Broadway Bank that is improving the quality of life for so many people in the local communities.

Jeannette Flores Westbrook General R. L. Herring Award“It takes all of us in San Antonio and even our outlying communities to make a difference. The Care Corps proves this every time they take on a project,” said Flores Westbrook. “Our employees who make up the Care Corps are community-spirited and very generous with their time and talent,” she added.

The Care Corps is her brainchild—an idea she made a reality in 2004 as another way to achieve the goals of the Broadway Bank community reinvestment office which she heads. It has grown ever since, with almost 60 percent of Broadway Bank employees serving on the Care Corps and frequently bringing along family members and friends in accomplishing the mission.

“Jeannette has taken a brilliant idea and put it into action to accomplish so much good for our community and in the process has fostered the culture of dignity, respect and love of neighbor that permeates the Broadway Bank experience,” said Jim Goudge, chairman and CEO of Broadway Bank. “We know that the Broadway Bank founding principles of giving back to our community are in the right hands.”

In 1974, at age nineteen, Flores Westbrook accepted a job as a teller for Broadway Bank and has her own unique story that is only possible because of an organization and environment that empowers and develops human capital with extreme premeditation. She stepped in as a secretary for an employee who had gone on maternity leave and from there she shot up in the organization taking advantage of training opportunities and graduating from banking schools.

“I have been blessed to be part of the Broadway Bank family who has a genuine commitment to the community,” she said.

Celebrating 40 years at Broadway Bank represents a major milestone only a select few attain. It is a testament to her loyalty and perseverance and it’s these characteristics that propelled Flores Westbrook to achieve one other life-changing milestone in 2014. On June 27, she walked the stage, graduating with honors, at Wayland Baptist University and while she never considered herself an ordinary student, the university considered her an extraordinary student. Along with her coveted college diploma, Flores Westbrook was awarded the General R. L. Herring Award as the outstanding graduate majoring in human services who has demonstrated a dedication to advancement in their career, education, faith and helping their fellow man—all values that embodied the life of Herring.

“I hope that through finishing my degree, I can really encourage and inspire young girls and other women. It is never too late,” said Flores Westbrook. “The value a college education adds to your life is immeasurable,” she added.

With tears in her eyes, she reflects on the meaning of this accomplishment, “My 89-year-old mother, along with the rest of my family and friends, was there to see me graduate.”

About Broadway Bank
Headquartered in San Antonio, Broadway Bank was founded in 1941. It has evolved from a small neighborhood bank into one of the largest independently owned banks in Texas. Today, Broadway Bank continues to function as a family-owned and operated financial institution. Broadway Bank offers a full- range of sophisticated financial services, including personal banking, private banking, military banking, business banking and wealth management. With more than $2.9 billion in total assets, the highly rated Bank operates 40 locations in San Antonio, Austin and the surrounding areas. Visit the Broadway Bank website at broadwaybank.com for more information.