Wayne Wiebe, branch manager for ATB Financial in Falher, congratulates personal banking specialist Karen Ritchie on 20 years of service with the financial institution. Ritchie is receiving a diamond ring from ATB Financial for the achievement. Also in the photo is employee Lorraine Moulan, who also has more than 20 years of work with ATB Financial under her belt.

The outstanding commitment and dedication of a local financial lending specialist at ATB Financial in Falher proved to be ripe for recognition last Friday. Karen Ritchie, personal banking specialist for ATB Financial, was formally recognized by her peers and management for 20 years of service to the company Aug. 1 and will soon be receiving a diamond ring from the company to commemorate the accomplishment. “I was extremely pleased and honoured to be on the receiving end of this award,” says Ritchie. “It really means a great deal to me on a personal level.” Ritchie, a native of Brooks, AB, began her career with ATB Financial as a teller at the Whitecourt branch back in 1988 prior to moving on later that year to ATB Financial’s Drayton Valley branch where she would remain for the next 10 years. In 1998, Ritchie packed up and headed to the Slave Lake branch where she spent the next six years as a personal financial lender. She then moved on to High Prairie for a one-year stint before accepting a transfer to the Smoky River region and the Falher ATB Financial branch, a position she’s worked hard at for the past two years and counting. “I’m truly enjoying my position at the Falher branch. Management and staff are very supportive and fun to work with,” says Ritchie, who feels fortunate and privileged to have represented the interests of such a diverse clientele base over the past two decades. She says she’s also witnessed wholesale changes in the banking industry over that period of time – changes which were made to better meet the needs of new and existing customers. “A lot has changed in the 20 years I’ve been with ATB Financial. When I first started out there were no ABM Machines or on-line banking services and most of our work load was done manually. Technology has really come a long way since then,” says Ritchie, who looks forward to many more years of service with ATB Financial in the future. Wayne Wiebe, branch manager for ATB Financial in Falher, gives credit to Ritchie on her outstanding contributions to the company over the past 20 years. "Karen is well-deserving of this type of recognition and is a pleasure to work with on a professional level. We feel extremely fortunate to have such a knowledgeable, hard-working individual such as Karen representing the vested interests of our clientele base." Ritchie is one of three employees at the local branch with 20-plus years of experience with ATB Financial. She is joined by Gaby Maure and Lorraine Moulun.