CWA re-United with legacy airline
The Charmant Hotel in La Crosse awarded a MICHELIN Key
October 19, 2026
HOBART – Headquartered in Marinette, the Stephenson National Bank & Trust (SNBT) recently broke ground on a future full-service branch in the Village of Hobart.
Laura Chaltry, vice president of brand and marketing, said the groundbreaking marked an important milestone in the bank’s continued growth across Northeast Wisconsin.
Expected to open in spring 2027, she said the branch will offer a full range of personal and business banking services to residents, businesses and organizations.
“Because of that commercial lending focus SNBT initiated in the 1970s, we really have come to be a commercial-focused bank where anybody in the Marinette/Menominee area thinks of us first,” Chaltry said. “Now that we’re getting into newer areas, we’re making a name for ourselves.”
As the first bank to establish a location within the Village of Hobart, Chaltry said SNBT sees the groundbreaking as the beginning of a long-term commitment to the community.
Why Hobart?
According to snbt.com, the bank operates Wisconsin offices in Marinette, Wausaukee, Crivitz, Pembine and Oconto, as well as Michigan locations in Menominee and Marquette.
Although SNBT is opening a new branch in Hobart, Chaltry said it’s not the bank’s first move into the Green Bay market.
She said SNBT also has a commercial loan services office located at 2301 Holmgren Way, Suite 2, in Green Bay.
“We’ve been there for six years,” she said. “I feel like we’re the little mighty mouse among all these other large financials in that area, but we’re making a name for ourselves for that same reason. We’re a good community bank, and we work with our people.”
Because the Holmgren Way office has done so well under the leadership of Kendra Anderson – vice president and business banking officer – Chaltry said SNBT leadership searched for another Green Bay area location to conduct business.
“Kendra really nurtured that Holmgren Way office,” she said. “Because of her communication and her contacts, we got to the point where we said we needed a full-service office to offer checking, savings, wealth management and loans.”
Chaltry noted that Hobart wasn’t necessarily an “absolute location” that SNBT chose when thinking about expanding, but while conducting their own research, the village’s growth played a role in that decision.
She said Hobart is a tight-knit community where residents want to shop locally, attend farmers’ markets and visit all the local businesses.
The village, Chaltry said, matches what SNBT stands for.
“A large number of the village’s businesses are also brand new,” she said. “At our groundbreaking, we invited some of our nearest neighbors – VIP Nails, Wisco Sips, Wash Shack – to be there and celebrate with us. We’re already trying to get in with the community, because in a small town, you lean on each other. We’re a small-town bank, and Hobart seemed like a natural fit for us to expand.”
With this being Hobart’s first bank, Chaltry said that’s also a nice “feather in SNBT’s hat.”
“It’s really exciting to be the first bank in that area,” she said. “We are the oldest community bank in Northeast Wisconsin, yet we’re relatively new in the [Green Bay] area. We’re finally branching out a little bit further than our hometown – it’s pretty cool.”
Organic growth
Rather than intentionally acquiring other banks or aiming to move into multiple geographical regions, Chaltry said SNBT’s growth is strategic.
SNBT, she said, grows differently compared to how other banks grow.
“Other banks might grow by merging or buying another bank, but we tend to grow when we find the right people and the right opportunities,” she said. “I like to tell people that we grow organically.”
Although the Hobart location is an important step in the bank’s growth, she said SNBT leaders look more for opportunistic growth.
“We’re not spending a ton of time looking for the next place to put a branch,” Chaltry said. “We’re simply looking for the right people in the right places, so it’s not something where we have a specific timeline map to build other branches. In short, [putting up more branches is] currently not even on our radar.”
Bank branches ‘are not dead’
In an era of digital banking, Chaltry said there is still a huge “want and need” for physical bank branches.
Although COVID-19 may have changed how some customers conduct business forever, she said in her research and while attending conferences, “bank branches are not dead.”
“A lot of the research and what I hear says people still open their accounts in physical bank locations,” Chaltry said. “From there – whether it’s an ATM, debit cards, digital banking, depositing checks, etc. – customers do the majority of their banking online.”
When it comes to applying for commercial loans or wanting more detailed questions answered, she said people still want a physical location.
“People want to talk to somebody when they start a loan relationship and build that rapport,” she said. “Coming into a branch is a bit more on the personal side for folks. The individuals and businesses, I think, really appreciate the services we offer. Customers would much rather chat with an SNBT employee compared to a call center in a different country. People still want that personal touch.”
A solid foundation
According to SNBT’s website, the bank opened its doors in 1874 before weathering wars, the Great Depression and COVID-19.
On Oct. 30, 1874, Isaac Stephenson, J.W.P. Lombard, Samuel Stephenson, Robert Stephenson and Augustus Spies signed the charter creating the Stephenson Banking Company, the first bank in the area.
The five gentlemen pooled a total of $25,000 to form the capital base of the bank, with the bank opening for business at 1910 Hall Ave. in Marinette.
Twenty-six years later, in 1900, a new, modern facility was built at 1818 Hall Ave.
During the 1929 stock market crash, which signaled the beginning of the Great Depression, the website states the bank never closed its doors.
Mary L. Staudenmaier became the first woman president of SNBT in 1979, before the bank first began expanding about 20 years later, in 1998, in Menominee.
A big part of SNBT’s history – although more recent – Chaltry said, was the change of ownership to an ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) in 2022.
Through its ESOP program, she said SNBT employees are owners, contributing directly to the bank’s continued success.
“That was really exciting for us,” Chaltry said of the transition to an ESOP. “It helps us give better service and make better decisions. At SNBT, every employee is basically asked to think like an owner in the different decisions they’re making and in the way they’re helping customers. It has been a bit of a mentality shift, which I think is only a good thing.”
Chaltry pointed out that the ESOP is also a big benefit in recruitment of quality employees.
“In an era where it’s hard to fill positions, I think it helps us when people understand the value,” she said.
For more information on Stephenson National Bank & Trust, head to snbt.com or visit its Facebook page.
