BROKEN BOW – Hardly any bank branch, upon opening, receives a celebration attended by hundreds of community members. The Indians Savings Bank, however, is hardly any bank branch.
The bank is the first of its kind in central Nebraska, that is, specifically for elementary students, and to celebrate its arrival at North Park Elementary on Tuesday, nearly the entirety of the school’s 347 students, from kindergarteners to fifth graders, packed the gym to learn about saving money, grabbing cash, and just how the bank will work.
Nebraska State Bank President and CEO Stuart Fox was on hand to lay down the rules for the bank, and Cash the Eagle tossed out a few t-shirts, as well as introduced the bank branch’s staff.
Made up entirely of North Park fifth graders, the Indians Savings Bank tellers will handle all transactions at the bank, which will be open every Wednesday morning for about a half hour from 8:05 a.m. until roughly 8:30. The Indians Savings Bank tellers went through an interview process before being hired by the bank and have undergone training by Nebraska State Bank employees regarding proper money handling procedures and customer service etiquette.
The bank will employ 16 North Park fifth graders, all told: Krayten Cook, Kanon Tobey, Anahi Diaz Vargas, Makenna Woodward, Owen Houser, Adrian Fama, Christoffer Brown, Ashton Longfellow, Paislee Oeltjen, Caleb Ortiz-Loya, Lily Swanson, Cole Nelson, Hollyn Adams, Evan Sughayar, Ashlyn Wardyn, and Easton Spanel will be the first to don the red vest of the Indians Savings Bank.
The celebration also included the opportunity for one student from each grade to snatch a few bucks for themselves from inside the money booth. Dollar bills were whipped around while the chosen students, one at a time, had ten seconds to grab as many as they could.
The Indians Savings Bank will officially open on January 11; once the bank at North Park is running smoothly, Nebraska State Bank plans to open similar branches for elementary students in surrounding communities.
