What is the most unusual aspect of your job?
Being in financial services is fairly conservative. Years ago, Garrett Richter asked me how many people report to me. I told him nobody. Fifteen years ago, our bank began operating under a matrix, so we work in teams. It’s amazingly effective because really great people come together to get the job done; there is an innate level of trust and respect that is earned and fostered. We rely heavily on client and internal evaluations in a 360-degree environment. Bank of America is large, but the way we work together is small and cooperative.
Who inspires you and why? My mother and my husband inspire
me. My mother passed six years ago, but she never said a bad word about anyone. She was not a doormat, yet she taught me to be a lady, to be kind, to have good manners, to be gracious to people and she was all about good penmanship. Hers was beautiful – mine, well, not so much. My husband is amazing and the most disciplined man. He brings me back to center by asking me what to do to make the change needed.
What is something you never leave home without?
My iPhone. It has my work email, personal email, contacts, my to-do list. I have Twitter, which is great for quickly educating myself about news I find interesting.
What is something about yourself that few people know or realize?
At some meetings or a dinner, you
go around the table and each person tells something unique. For me, that would be that from my early childhood years through high school graduation, I was a classical pianist. I was under the supervision of my Grandma, because the piano I practiced on was at her house. I was offered a scholarship for music. I really loved to play jazz, and one of my favorites is The Entertainer.
What are the top three things on your bucket list?
1. I’d like to live in Paris, at least one month, or longer, in the spring time.
2. I’d love to go to the Culinary Institute of the Arts in the Hudson River Valley.
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3. I did a mini-version of this summer in Montana; a half-day cattle drive on horseback. My husband and I entered a contest at the end where we had to separate the bulls from the cows within this pen. We got it done in 36 seconds, which was a ranch record!
Hobbies? I love to cook and am learning to use
what I have to create things. My husband and I started collecting cookbooks when we were just starting out, so now we have this huge collection. He’s a great sous chef. Another thing I really enjoy is gardening, but not in the dead of summer. I have large planters that I like to put geraniums, and this year I’m going to try petunias and see how they do. I also plant herbs. One of our things to do as a family is take road trips. There’s nothing like five people in a car – our kids enjoy it with varying degrees, but they depend on those adventures happening each year.
And one more thing…
Ten years ago, I really made myself focus on things that I want to do and have a passion for – not always saying yes. I’m in a great place in my life, where I want to make the most impact and help in the greatest way.
Teresa A. Morgenstern is the Director of Communications and Public Information Officer for Florida SouthWestern State College. Teresa earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism with specialties in sports and feature writing from Ball State University, Muncie, Ind. before moving to Naples in 1990. She brings more than 20 years of public relations and marketing experience. Since 2011, she has served as the chair of the editorial board of Business Currents magazine, the monthly publication of The Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce.
Beautiful Naples…
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