A Common Dream Creates an Uncommon Company
In September of 2000, a common dream united our two founders—
Larry Preston and Gene Pickelman. Despite coming from different professional backgrounds, the vision they shared to create a totally different type of wealth management firm resulted in the birth of Tri-Star Trust Bank: a local bank. One that provides flexible, personalized service. One staffed with highly experienced and respected professionals. One that simplifies the financial lives of its clients through a complete understanding of their financial goals and dreams.
In this new era of wealth management, Tri-Star has embraced a fresh, energized approach to customer service. This has helped us grow to a staff of 26 professionals, servicing clients out of three convenient offices throughout lower-Michigan and managing over $600 million in assets.
We attribute this success to the very heart of our corporate culture: Caring for our clients. Caring for each other. Caring for our communities.
Caring for our Clients
Paul Chaffee, a long-time Tri-Star client, wrote about the bank, “The most important word in their name is ‘trust’.” In these few words, Paul captured what Tri-Star is all about. We strive to be the advisors you can trust when making your critical investment decisions. The concern we have for our clients doesn’t stop with their financial lives either. We strive to be there for when the unexpected happens.
Andre Buckley, an Associate Investment Officer with Tri-Star, recalls his relationship with one of our clients. When this client lost his wife of nearly 40 years, he wanted to meet with Andre, but the discussion wasn’t about investments at all. It was about his grief over the loss of his wife. Andre was more than an investment officer; he was a trusted friend.
Life happens. At Tri-Star, we are here for you during the good times and the unexpected times.
A Tri-Star Story about Dawn Kenroy
Dawn Kenroy, a Relationship Officer in Tri-Star’s Greater Lansing office, has an elderly client who lives in Albion. The client, who has no family, has a dog she had to take to the MSU vet clinic for several days of testing. On the day she planned to pick up her dog, the client was speaking with Dawn and relayed how she was dreading the trip back to East Lansing. Hearing the anxiety in her voice, Dawn, being an animal lover herself, advised the client to call MSU and give her permission to release the dog to Dawn, who then delivered her safely home.
For more information about Dawn or to contact her, please click here.
Caring for Each Other
Fun—it’s an important part of Tri-Star. If you hear our CEO tell his story, in his past work life, he decided that he needed a change in profession when it didn’t seem like the people he was working with believed having fun in the workplace was important. Can you do your best job each day if you’re not having fun? At Tri-Star, we don’t think so.
To have fun in the workplace you have to truly enjoy what you do and the people you do it with. It’s crucial for each employee to be respected by everyone else for the specific role they play. Each of our employees is a cog in the wheel of service for our clients. Every employee is special, respected and essential to Tri-Star’s success. We try to show them how special they are everyday, which helps our wheels continue to roll smoothly for you. The combination of good team work, respect and naturally caring for each other allows us to have fun at the office.
A Tri-Star Story by Andre Buckley
When I started working for Tri-Star Trust Bank, our back-office operations were done in-house, and we had a dedicated professional to answer any trading related operations questions. Shortly thereafter, we out-sourced that part of our operations to another company. How money actually moved through the plumbing of our operations system was something I didn't have the opportunity to learn thoroughly. With moving operations off-site, I relied on Kay Cooper, our head of operations, to answer my questions and instruct me in this area. Kay was nice and patient in answering my questions, from the most elementary to difficult questions she had to research. She did this time and time again without complaining, in addition to her already massive workload. Whenever I need assistance, I can always count on her to provide help without making me feel that what I'm asking is something I should already know, even if I should. After a few years of working with Kay, I realize this isn’t just something she has done for me, but that she does it for everyone. It’s who she is.
For more information on Andre or to contact him, please click here.
Caring for our Communities
A commitment to give back to the communities we serve was a cornerstone of the Tri-Star business plan, and we’ve followed-through on this promise. Tri-Star financially contributed to more than 97 nonprofits in 2011 alone. We have created the Tri-Star Charitable Foundation, which will enable us to give back more broadly to communities throughout Michigan and develop an endowment fund to help with long-term giving. In addition, every employee at Tri-Star volunteers his/her time to one or more nonprofit organizations that he/she has a passion for. And almost everyone has a leadership role within those organizations.
This is exactly what our founders envisioned when they started Tri-Star. People who give back to their community and expect nothing in return make excellent employees. They are people who, by nature, want to serve others, so community involvement carries a lot of weight on our decision to have someone join the Tri-Star team. These types of people make great team players, which is critical for Tri-Star’s “Team of Professionals” approach to serving you.
Click here to learn more about Tri-Star's community involvement.
