We are featuring some of The Bank of Tioga's great employees here on the blog so that you can learn a little bit more about the faces you might see in the bank and in the community. We would first like to introduce Joy Sparks. Joy is the Financial Literacy Coordinator for The Bank of Tioga. Joy is something of a jack-of-all-trades, and is sharing a little bit about her career and life outside of work.
Tell us about your experience and education before joining the TBOT team?
My first career was in pharmaceutical sales. I am a salesman by nature. I worked for a couple of different companies during my time in sales, AstraZeneca being the one I was with the longest. I was fortunate for the opportunity to train and present at conferences all over the United States. When we had our daughter in 2009, I stepped away from sales and stayed home with her. It was great! When we moved back to North Dakota I started substitute teaching in the school, this lead to me becoming a paraprofessional, which lead to my current role with The Bank of Tioga.
Tell us a little about your role at TBOT?
I feel I have the best job in the entire company! I get to teach young and old about financial literacy. My favorite is classroom time at the schools, but I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I provide tools to teachers to help them teach our youth to make wise choices. Our team is also working on spreading financial literacy awareness through social media.
How are you involved with the community outside of work?
I am the president of Families and Teachers for Central, Tioga elementary school’s parent group. We are a busy bunch – bringing Missoula Children’s Theater to town, creating family reading events, helping with open gym during the winter and volunteering in the classrooms. I also teach Sunday school at First Lutheran, and I am on the board for the Tioga Theater.
Can you tell us about your family and what you like to do in your free time?
My husband Owen, daughter Kiya, and I like to camp, hike, and fish. Kiya and I are big readers; there are books stacked all over the house. We all love animals and have a very spoiled puppy to illustrate that point.
We are very proud of employees like Joy, who work to make the community a better place both in and outside of the work place. Want to know more? Comment below with what else you’d like to know in our employee feature blogs!
To learn more about The Bank of Tioga, visit our website!