BY JEFF BACON
Mountain West Bank’s Heather Parton likes the fact that her job is about helping people.
“When I went to college in Moscow, I never intended that I’d make a career in banking,” Heather said during a recent interview. “Just out of school, I took a job as a teller and found that I enjoyed the personal connections I was able to make with people in my community and that’s still the main reason I like what I do every day.”
Today, Mountain West Bank is owned by Glacier Bank, headquartered in Montana.
“In the ’90s, our current branch went through a series of ownership changes,” Heather notes. “In 1998, Mountain West Bank was purchased by Glacier Bank, which is consistently one of the top-rated banking institutions in the country. My team in Hailey has been with this branch for a long time. When you work for a company that values its employees and their input, that translates to a happy, loyal team that likes where they work.”
Heather notes that banking in the Wood River Valley sometimes looks a little different than banking in other cities.
“We appreciate that our management understands that our clients view the branches in Hailey and Ketchum as community partners,” Heather explains. “Having a bit of autonomy from a specific ‘corporate way’ helps us better serve our clients and our community.”
In 1999 Heather served as president of the Chamber’s board.
“I’m really happy to see the great strides the Chamber is making in helping our business community in the Wood River Valley,” she adds. “The current home in the Visitor Center in Hailey is a great fit for the Chamber and a great resource for visitors to our Valley. The Chamber has come a long way with its business development programs, and it’s good to see more of our membership taking advantage of those benefits.”
For Mountain West Bank, the connections to the community are a vital part of their day-to-day business.
“I like that we’re able to utilize some of our corporate resources to help organizations in the Valley,” Heather notes. “We like working with Kiwanis for the work they’re doing for our local kids, we’re happy to be a part of Camp Rainbow Gold’s Share Your Heart Ball and our Ketchum branch works with the Sun Valley Wellness Festival.” Additionally, Mountain West Bank will be a major sponsor of this year’s Turkey Trot in Hailey as event management is being taken over by The Chamber.
Heather invites Chamber members and clients to join Mountain West Bank for its annual Business After Hours, Thursday, June 23 from 5–7 p.m. at the branch in Hailey.
“We look forward to seeing everyone here for our Business After Hours,” Heather adds. “This is always a great event and a chance for us to say thank you for letting us serve our community.”
Jeff Bacon is the Hailey Chamber of Commerce’s membership director. For more information, visit www.haileyidaho.com or call the Chamber at (208) 788-3484.