Kelly Wagner, VP & Marketing Director, First Clover Leaf Bank

   The creativity and enthusiasm that Kelly Wagner brings to her position as marketing director at First Clover Leaf Bank is contagious. She established the bank’s in-house marketing department in 2007 and since then has created marketing campaigns that she says have met with much success in the community.
   Wagner’s entrée into the banking world dates back to her senior year in high school when she was hired as a local bank teller through her school’s co-op program. She then accepted a position at the Bank & Trust of Litchfield while attending Southern Illinois University Edwardsville to earn a degree in finance. Wagner moved to Firstar Bank, now US Bank, as a business development officer and commercial lender for 10 years. She began her career with First Clover Leaf Bank, known as The Cloverleaf Family Bank at that time, when she accepted the position of business banking officer, assistant vice president.  After three years, her contributions to the bank’s marketing efforts propelled her to the position of marketing director as the need for an in-house marketing department arose.  
   Wagner enjoys her position because she can contribute to the management of the bank and express her creativity at the same time. Her goal is to show the personal side of banking – the faces and the emotions of the bank personnel that clients don’t normally see.
   Wagner works with her marketing team member, Rachel Case, on projects such as writing, recording and scheduling campaigns for television, radio and print media; branding and advertising; producing marketing collateral; updating social media and the bank Web site; managing public relations; and planning internal and external events.
   In 2012, Wagner and her department launched the “Reasons Campaign,” which she says provided a fun and meaningful way for the bank to connect with its clients and the community as a whole. The campaign listed reasons why people should bank with First Clover Leaf and sent community members on a scavenger hunt to discover those reasons. The winner of the scavenger hunt and the $1,000 prize was a 9-year-old boy who chose to donate the prize money to his neighbor who had been diagnosed with cancer. Wagner says the bank could not have imagined a more fulfilling and beneficial conclusion to the campaign.
   The marketing team is preparing to launch part two of the “Reasons Campaign” this summer, presenting 20 new reasons to bank with First Clover Leaf.
   Wagner says she has witnessed women in management roles at every bank where she has worked. In the past 10 years, she has noticed a progressive shift in both the type and number of jobs offered to women. She has also observed bank management embracing women’s perspectives, such as the need to emphasize the personal side of banking.
   Wagner is a gold member of the First Clover Leaf Green Team due to the considerable amount of time she donates to volunteering each year. She is particularly involved with the bank’s annual Health Fair, its Halloween Parade float and Santa’s Workshop. Wagner is a past president of the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce and served on the board for 10 years. She is currently on the board of Father McGivney Catholic High School in Maryville and president of the parent-teacher club for St. Michael’s School in Staunton.
   She lives in Staunton with her husband, Brandon, and their three children.