Wisconsin Bankers Association

WBA President and CEO Rose Oswald Poels was proud to present Thomas Bilot, assistant vice president, senior bank manager at Associated Bank, with a Lifetime Service Award plaque and thank him for his impressive work history and years of dedication to Wisconsin banking at a celebration at the bank last month.

Tom has been in the banking industry for 48 years, as he started his career with Bank One as a vault teller when he was 19 years old. Bilot stayed with Bank One for 20 years until they were acquired by Chase Bank in 2004. He continued with Chase Bank in many capacities until 2007, when he transitioned to the next phase of his career at Associated Bank.

Each year, the Wisconsin Bankers Foundation (WBF) awards four $2,000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors, current college students, or adults pursuing higher education at an accredited Wisconsin college, university, or technical college.
This year, WBF has awarded four Wisconsin students — Ryer Allen, Kathaleen Tapia, Jack Schowalter, and Ethyn Sebo — with the 2026 Spring Scholarship. Congratulations!
Recipients are chosen based on their academic achievements, community involvement, career goals, and financial literacy. Read more about the recipients: www.wisbank.com/four-wisconsin-students-earn-2026-wbf-spring-scholarship/

Last week, members of the 2025–2026 WBA BOLT Leadership Academy cohort completed their year-long program at the BOLT Summer Leadership Summit!
Congratulations to the following 26 bankers for completing the program and arming themselves with new skills to advance their careers in banking and beyond:
1. Jaimie Adamavich, Prevail Bank, Medford
2. Tracy Allen, National Bank of Commerce, Superior
3. Michaela Barribeau, The Stephenson National Bank & Trust - SNBT, Marinette
4. Aubrie Bobholz, Horicon Bank
5. Ashley Burns, Community First Bank, Boscobel
6. Mollie Clapham, Mound City Bank, Platteville
7. Samantha Cochenet, Nicolet Bank, Ashwaubenon
8. Christian Del Aguila, Bank of Lake Mills
9. Brittany Gallagher, Waldo State Bank
10. Melanie Gauger, Citizens Bank - WI, Mukwonago
11. Raymond Koepcke, The Park Bank, Madison
12. Ashley Lawrence, Waldo State Bank
13. Jason Lindeman, Forward Bank, Colby
14. Todd Michek, Mound City Bank, Platteville
15. Nicki Moline, Security Financial Bank, Durand
16. Lindsay Monacelli, Peoples State Bank, Wausau
17. Danyel Moyle, National Exchange Bank & Trust, Fond du Lac
18. Tyler Mustard, Security Financial Bank, Eau Claire
19. Kendra Nichols, State Bank Financial, Sparta
20. Matthew Peterson, Horicon Bank
21. Kendell Rashid, FVSBank, Fond du Lac
22. Sara Simonis, FVSBank, Fond du Lac
23. Megan Waksdahl, The Park Bank, Madison
24. Emily Weiler, Paper City Savings Bank, Wisconsin Rapids
25. Shor Yang, Lake Ridge Bank, Verona
26. Sharilyn Zimmerman, Bank of Lake Mills

As we close out day two of the 2026 WBA BOLT Summer Leadership Summit, WBA would like to thank all of our summit sponsors for making this event possible. This morning, Ben Udell gave the bankers action items on how they can incorporate AI today, and Bill Marklein gave data points on why you can't have leadership without emotional intelligence. Thank you to all the attendees for joining us in Wisconsin Dells!