Passion for Boy Scouts drives TSYS career employee Sara Banks

For several years, there have been two constants in the life of Sara Banks — her rewarding career at global credit-card processor TSYS and her passion for volunteering with the Boy Scouts of America.

It was the latter that recently earned her the Phil Tomlinson Heart of TSYS Award, which is named after the retired chairman and chief executive officer of the company. In its second year, the honor goes to those who show exceptional efforts in volunteering and helping others in their communities.

For Banks, 37, even with her heavy involvement in the scouting program, the award came as a surprise to the wife and mother of two sons who live in the Midland area of Columbus.

“I knew I was nominated, but I really had no idea I had won,” she said. “As (TSYS CEO) Troy (Woods) was announcing that the winner was in the room, I was looking around and going: Oh, that’s cool. Whoever won, they’re in the room. I really had no idea it was me. It was quite a surprise. Completely speechless, which is very rare for me. (laughs) It was very, very nice to take that moment and I’ve been told I need to enjoy it.”

In a fast-paced company that is constantly looking for growth in technology, clients and revenues, that might be a wise suggestion. Banks, who has been with TSYS about 14 years, recently joined a developmental team, with her title business system specialist. It’s a challenge, but she wouldn’t have any other way, she said.

The Ledger-Enquirer talked with Banks recently about her job and what it involves, but also how you came to be such a scouting fanatic and why she enjoys it so much. This interview is edited a bit for length and clarity.

Q. So you haven’t always been a business system specialist?

A. I have not. I was a technical manager and a coder, a developer, before. (It was) all computers.

Q. What do you do in your current position?

A. Research, analysis, some testing, just getting to know the systems that we have and the requirements for the projects that we’re trying to get completed.

Q. What’s your work environment like?

A. Our team just formed two months ago and we’re building out the team and hoping for a small group of 12, which is a great group of folks to work with, a mixture of development people, as well as more business people. We’re just very collaborative and communicate and work very well together … We’re actually a new development. We’re doing a lot of research and looking for new products to put out on the market. It’s very digital future based.

Q. You’re trying to come up with some good ideas?

A. Yeah, we’re watching the trending on the millennial generation and what types of ways they want to do with banking and what type of products they would like to see, and utilizing that as a way to research new things and new offers that we can give our clients.

Q. The millennials are a target market for your team and TSYS?

A. It seems to be right now. Like I said, we’re new and have only been together for the last two months. So I think as the team begins to grow and move forward, we’ll be adapting to what the needs are.

Q. From the outside, some might think your job might isn’t exciting and with little interaction with people. Is that a misnomer?

A. It’s completely relationship-based, absolutely. Both internally with other TSYS teams and externally with our clients, and any of our stakeholders. So everything I do is relationship-based, which is one of the things I really enjoy about it. I’m constantly interacting with other people, both on my team and externally.

Q. That’s face to face and via teleconference?

A. Oh, absolutely, email and instant messaging and all of those forms of communication every single day.

Q. What is a typical day like for you, or is there such a day?

A. There isn’t a typical day. (laughs) I can start out with a plan thinking I’m going to do one thing and it completely changes. I like to really help people, so if anybody calls or someone has an issue or someone needs additional information, I typically stop whatever it is I’m doing and start helping them instead. So I’m usually jumping around from item to item, whether it be analysis or helping to research something or to test something else, or just mentoring. I really enjoy mentoring.

Q. Has your career changed much over time with the evolution of technology?

A. It’s evolved slowly. I have been enabled by many of my managers to move around as my interests have changed and as the company has grown and taken new avenues. So I’ve been very fortunate to have had managers who have seen my strengths and allowed me to move around within the company and still learn new things, as well as enhance the skills that I already have.

Q. Congratulations on the award. It appears to indicate you’re a great person away from the job.

A. I bring the scout law and scout oath to everything that I do — the trustworthy, loyal, kind, courteous — all of those characteristics that we’re instilling into our children with the Boy Scout program. Those are lifelong goals that I try to use everyday in my life, whether it’s at work, in scouts or anything that I’m doing.

Q. How did you become so involved in the Boy Scouts?

A. My oldest came home in the first grade and said that he wanted to join and they needed adult volunteers. So I said, well, I can do that. I can give a couple of hours. Then a couple of hours became quite a bit more than a couple of hours. It’s just become a passion that I’ve truly enjoyed, my boys enjoy it and now my husband’s gotten involved. So scouting has become a complete family activity. If we’re not working, we’re usually scouting. That’s not an understatement at all. We’re definitely all in when it comes to scouting.

Q. Do we call you the outdoorsy and adventurous type? Does that go with it?

A. It does. A lot of it’s outdoors, but a lot of it is just building character and the skills of the boys. It’s teaching them things that they man not learn otherwise, and mentoring them.

Q. Did you connect with scouting quickly with them or did it grow on you, so to speak?

A. I connected with it immediately. I was a Girl Scout growing up, so I knew from the Girl Scout side of things kind of what to expect. And I grew up going outdoors with my parents and camping as a child, so it was something I knew I wanted to get the boys into to and share that experience. It has become much bigger than that. Besides just the Cub Scouts, I help at the district level. I help at the council level. I volunteer to help at the camps and the different activities that they have, the week-long camps and that type of stuff. So it’s really become quite a passion and an enjoyable activity.

Q. How big is the scouting program here locally?

A. Locally, at the district and council level, I’m not sure exactly. … From my pack in Midland, I have 80 active scouts and about 20 adult volunteers that I oversee every week and make sure that we’re putting on a quality program that follows national guidelines.

Q. Is scouting big with your co-workers at TSYS?

A. Not in my immediate group but, yes, we have a number of scout leaders and scout volunteers. We have a number of Eagle Scout award recipients when they were in their youth. Actually, when Troy received his award from the Boy Scouts earlier this year, I took the opportunity to poll some of our employees and find out just what kind of landscape we had, and there was quite a bit of scouting experience within TSYS, which is exciting. So it’s nice to be able to share that passion with others. It may not be quite as extreme as mine. But some of my closest scouting friends are also TSYS employees.

Q. So at TSYS, what is the next step for you? Do you have higher ambitions, here or elsewhere?

A. I have no intentions of going anywhere else. I don’t know what the next step is after this new position. But I think the sky is the limit. I think the only person who would limit me is myself. I think as long as I apply myself and continue building the relationships and learning the cutting-edge things that need to be learned, then I can certainly do whatever it is within TSYS’ means and my own personal development.

Q. Finally, with Thanksgiving approaching, what are you thankful for this holiday?

A. Health overall, I think is probably the biggest. I’ve had some health challenges over the last few years. So definitely health. But just family and friends. Again, relationships are absolutely critical and an amazing part of life, and they drive you and keep you going.

This story was originally published November 19, 2016 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Passion for Boy Scouts drives TSYS career employee Sara Banks."