Contact: Sameera Jordan
Media Relations Manager
Sameera.Jordan@BankWithUnited.com

Family, Faith, and Fulfilment – Life Lessons from a 50-Year Banking Veteran

Let’s set the stage. It’s a sunny summer day in 1975, and a 23-year-old Brenda Bass is standing outside of 213 North Chestnut Street, nervous to begin her first day of work. Although she doesn’t have any banking experience, Brenda is determined to make a good first impression. “Hard work will make you what you need to be,” she tells herself. Brenda takes a deep breath and puts on a smile, opens the door, and takes her first steps into the lobby of Bank of North Carolina’s Mount Olive branch – jumpstarting her banking career.

Fast forward to today, and much has changed in the Mount Olive community. The local Burlington Industries plant has closed, businesses have moved from paper records to an almost entirely digital system, and banks have come and gone. But two things remain the same: The branch at 213 North Chestnut Street is still standing, with a staff of banking professionals inside, ready to assist you with your financial needs. And Brenda Bass is still there, leading them.

Brenda Bass never considered a career in the banking industry. Growing up, she looked up to her teachers, and aspired to one day fill their shoes and go on to inspire the next generation of young Black girls, just as her teachers had inspired her. However, after finishing school and marrying her high school sweetheart, Brenda decided to join her husband as an employee at the Burlington Industries drapery plant, a major employer in Mount Olive at the time.

Brenda prides herself on having always been a fast learner. She very quickly progressed through the ranks at Burlington with promotion after promotion until she eventually found herself dabbling in industrial engineering. With no formal education or college degree, Brenda realizes how extremely fortunate she was to have been given the opportunity to reach such a level. “I had my wits and an understanding that only God could give me to thank for that!” she said.

Then one day Brenda was presented with a new opportunity. Her boss’ wife was the head teller at Bank of North Carolina’s Mount Olive branch and was on the lookout for a new teller. She needed someone who was smart, friendly, a quick study, and most importantly, someone familiar with Mount Olive. As a lifelong resident, Brenda more than fit the bill.

And despite claims that her hiring was a means to meet a quota, Brenda very quickly proved that she was the right woman for the job. Although she lacked much of the practical skills for the job, she took every opportunity to learn all she could about her new industry. She signed up for principle of banking night classes at Wayne Community College and completed a Certified Bank Teller program to hone her skills. She also took the time to observe those around her and learn from their experiences. Her coworkers loved banking, and they taught her a lot about customers, specifically the value of lending an ear and ensuring they are heard and acknowledged.

Brenda has gone through seven bank mergers. After several years as a teller for Bank of North Carolina, the company was eventually acquired by North Carolina National Bank (NCNB), followed by an acquisition of NationsBank in the early nineties. After Nations acquired BankAmerica a few years later, the newly merged bank took on the name Bank of America. During this time, Brenda had transitioned to a personal banker role, followed by a promotion to branch manager in the early 2000s. As she took on these leadership roles, she also had to take on new responsibilities, like managing the influx of IRA distribution requests following the closing of the Burlington Industries plant. And as Brenda’s role continued to evolve, so did the Mount Olive branch.

In 2014, First South Bank acquired nine eastern and central North Carolina Bank of America branches, including the Mount Olive location. While the converted First South Bank branches continued to be staffed by the same employees, Brenda used this opportunity to retire from her former employer. “Because we were technically joining a new company, I was able to retire from Bank of America,” she explains. But Brenda says this move didn’t mean she was no longer up to the task of continuing to lead the branch. “I ‘retired,’ but I kept working. I was right back in the branch the very next day. I’m not ready to retire for good just yet.”

In fact, Brenda and the Mount Olive branch still had quite the journey ahead of them. Just three years after the Bank of America branches purchase, the news was announced that First South Bank would be acquired by Charleston-based Carolina Financial Corporation, parent company of CresCom Bank. But still with a smile, Brenda continued to enter the branch each day for work.

Finally, in 2020, Carolina Financial Corporation was acquired by United Bankshares, Inc., bringing Brenda to her new home at United Bank.

Through each change of ownership and name, Brenda has remained a constant, ready to greet each customer by name and with a smile. “It takes the Spirit of the living God to do what I have done throughout the years,” said Brenda. She has seen the growth of her community, serving as the banker for families for generations and watching as original customers’ children and grandchildren have grown up and opened their own accounts with her. Brenda’s own family has also grown with the Bank. Her daughter Jessica, following in Brenda’s footsteps, has also had a long banking career. She currently serves as a sales associate supervisor at United’s nearby Goldsboro branch, which is managed by Nakeea Hieke, another relative of Brenda’s. “This is what family banking is all about,” Brenda says.

She has also seen a lot of welcome change during her career. When she started, bank leadership all looked a certain way. It wasn’t until the past decade or so that Brenda began seeing a lot more women in leadership roles. Bank practices have also changed. “When I started there was A LOT of paperwork. Now, we have access to so much more technology to help with the job, and I am so grateful for my team and the new members who have helped me learn it all!” But she also acknowledges how much she has changed in her own life throughout her career. “I remember when I got my first credit card and how excited I was about the $300 limit. That was a lot of money back then!” she said.

Now a leader of her own team, Brenda is quick to teach her employees the value of creating bonds with Bank customers. “You can be trained to do the job, but if you don’t have the love of the customers and the people of your community, then you won’t find much success in this business.”

When asked the secret to her success and what has kept her in the industry for so long, Brenda says her love for the job and her community is what keeps her going, noting, “I love people, and I love what I do.” And although banking wasn’t part of her original plan, she says she wouldn’t do anything differently. “If I could go back and do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. Everything that has happened was supposed to happen, and when you do something for so long, it becomes a part of you. Banking is, and always will be, a part of me.”