2024 Recipients
September - Kristen Griess
Our September Employee of the Month for 2024 is… Kristen Griess!
Kristen joined DBS in March of 2022 and has since become a top performer in our Case Management team. She is a member of the Central Team reporting to Jason Bonk.
Prior to working at DBS Kristen was a New Business Specialist working on both life and annuity product lines. She came to us with years of experience at organizations like UNICO and One Resource Group where she honed her skills as an Account and Case Manager.
Kristen is always a calm and dependable presence in the Case Management team. She always pushes to get the best outcome for our advisors, and she anticipates the needs of our customers both internal and external. She is a key resource for our business cases with Principal, and her thoughtful approach helps those often confusing groups of cases move along in a positive fashion.
One of our Ameriprise partners shared this feedback:
“Kristen continuously provides excellent service to our office. We are more than grateful for everything she helps us with. She goes above and beyond for us. When we need forms for our clients, she always assists with making sure we get them. If I can’t find contact information, she always finds what we need. She is always there when we need her. She’s amazing!!”
Another Ameriprise partner shared:
“Kristen, you make this all so easy by providing feedback and solutions. We really enjoy working with you, Heather, and the rest of the team. Thank you so much for adding so much value to our team.”
This is Kristen’s 1st Employee of the Month win.
We are so thankful to have her on the DBS team! Congratulations, Kristen!
August - Pete Schulte
Pete has been with DBS since August of 2009, so he recently celebrated his 15-year anniversary with us! Pete joined the team after working on the sales desk at Allianz. He was initially hired to work on the IMO team, where his knowledge of Index UL and Allianz products was extremely valuable, but he has shown his value as a Case Design Analyst during his tenure with DBS.
Pete is no stranger to the life insurance industry. In fact, he started working as a teenager at his father’s Mass Mutual general agency. Pete had many roles there, ranging from Case Design to New Business, Underwriting, and even Policyowner Service. Because of this experience, he is well versed in almost all aspects of the life insurance sale.
Pete has an extremely positive attitude and is truly an asset to both the Case Design and Sales Teams. He connects very well with Trevor, Lynn, and John, the Regional Sales Directors of the territories he covers, and he is a natural with advisors because of his strong phone skills.
Pete is adept at helping advisors easily navigate through more simple products and sales techniques, but his true gift (and patience!) comes out when explaining more complex strategies and products. In fact, he was recently pulled in on a call with an advisor, his client, and the client’s attorney to provide product insight on a jumbo case. The advisor was very appreciative and said this:
“Pete, you were a rock star today! Thanks for your time on such short notice. Very impressed with you and your knowledge, as was my client. Really appreciate it!”
Pete also received a nomination internally with kudos for his speed and thorough nature. Here’s what his co-worker had to say:
“Pete is always quick to run illustrations for me and our advisors. He is also VERY knowledgeable about all the different carriers and their products. I also appreciate that he works “late” for those of us on the West coast!”
Pete lives in Burnsville with his trusted co-worker and yellow lab, Ivy (now 13 years-old), who loves the fact that Pete works from home. He is close to his parents and brother and will often head home for his mom’s home-cooked meals.
Pete was named the Employee of the Month in August 2020 and is frequently nominated. August must be Pete’s “time to shine” since both of his wins were in August!
Way to go Pete!
July - Jason Zwick
Jason, or “JZ” as he is known, joined the DBS family in May of 2022, and has become a true asset to the team as a Case Design Analyst. He is a very strong contributor to the CDA team, and his superior customer service attitude reflects so well on the organization as a whole.
Something that is quite unique about Jason is that he was actually one of our advisors before joining DBS! Pete was his CDA.
Jason consistently has one of the highest volumes of illustrations on the team, and he is always at the top with his phone calls as well. He is truly a dedicated employee and cares so much about the company and his team members. He is a really great guy, very positive and pleasant, and everyone loves working with him throughout the company.
Jason often receives nominations from advisors and co-workers alike and this month received a strong nomination from an Ameriprise advisor. Here is what he had to say:
“It is hard to put a date down for Jason because he has done nothing but provide amazing customer service and follow-up from the time that I first started working with him. I feel bad because I don’t often follow through on some of the quotes that I run but he is ALWAYS prompt, friendly, and is very good at knowing what options will be best for my clients based upon their circumstances.
I really enjoy working with him and I am very appreciative of his hard work, expertise, follow-up and customer service! He really does do a great job and is extremely consistent at being awesome. I really appreciate him and the opportunity to nominate him because I have had such great experiences in working with him.”
Congratulations Jason!
June - Dawn Goss
Dawn joined DBS in June of 2010 and has since become an instrumental part of our licensing department. Licensing is often the first contact an advisor has with DBS and Dawn helps make a great first impression for the firm with her excellent customer service. She is extremely knowledgeable in all things licensing and does an outstanding job documenting the things she learns so the rest of the team has resources to reference as well. She has helped with training new employees and taking on multiple projects and initiatives over the years, all while not letting it affect her workload.
Dawn always pushes to get the best outcome, and she anticipates the needs of our customers both internal and external. Customers have remarked how helpful she is with the licensing and appointment process, and she receives frequent nominations.
An advisor who nominated her had this to say about her:
“Having been in this industry for over 10 years, every interaction with DBS has been above excellent. Dawn was especially helpful in helping us know exactly what we needed to do on the Ameriprise side with a non-linkable policy. We partially completed an application, and Dawn took the time to let us know that it wasn’t complete AND gave us the option to complete on paper. Thanks for looking out for us more than we ever would have even expected!!!”
This is Dawn’s 5th Employee of the Month win, having also earned the distinction in May, 2014; March, 2016; September, 2019; and February, 2022. Also, she earned the Distinction of Employee of the Year in 2019, making her one of the most recognized employees since the program begin in 2014!
We are so blessed to have her on the team! Congratulations, Dawn!
May - Melanie Kuha
Melanie joined DBS in November of 1997, and as you saw in the recent internal announcement, she announced that she will be retiring at the end of this year. We are thrilled with the longevity she has had within our organization, and it’s great to see her being recognized as she gets closer and closer to the big day. She has been an influential member of the DBS Team throughout her career and she has exhibited many exceptional qualities as she provides excellent service to our customers.
Melanie anticipates the needs of others, educates with grace and patience, and provides outstanding service to all. As we all know, in many cases working with the inforce teams at our carrier partners is not always the easiest, but Melanie has a vast knowledge and has created excellent contacts to navigate the waters, and when she makes headway or learns a critical piece of information, she shares that with the team and adds items to the HUB so we all can best support our customers.
One of her fellow co-workers who nominated her said:
“Melanie Kuha is one of the best coworkers that I have ever experienced. She is always positive and patient with everything and everyone. Every day she comes in ready to give 100% to her coworkers and clients. She has no issue taking time out of her day to explain the world of insurance to a completely new person like me. I call her “The Oracle” because I know that if I am ever confused or need guidance, she is there to l give me direction, and she knows just about everything when it comes to insurance! I love working with Melanie!”
Another co-worker shared:
“Melanie is so knowledgeable and helpful and can always be counted on to go above and beyond for her team. She is truly an asset to DBS and always makes sure any information she obtains is passed out to her team. She is wonderful!”
This is her 2nd EOTM WIN!
We are truly blessed to have her be a part of our TEAM! Congratulations, Melanie!
April - Andrew Georges
The April 2024 DBS Employee of the Month is…..Andrew Georges!
Andrew joined the team in April 2021 after working at Gustavus Adolphus College as a User Services Technology Coordinator. He quickly made his mark on DBS, catching the notice of employees early on in his tenure, and won the Employee of the Month title two months later in June 2021. He has continued to have an important impact on both the IT department and the organization as a whole ever since and was also named the Employee of the Month in December of 2022.
For the past several months Andrew has been working diligently to complete our migration to NFP’s technology platform, a change that impacts all users tremendously. Andrew handled many pieces of the migration, ensuring all information and steps were accounted for, and worked right up to the 11th hour on April 26th to make sure everything was prepared. His accountability, attention to detail, customer-oriented attitude, and his tenacity to get it right has shown through as the transition was highly successful. He has again gone above and beyond in this endeavor.
As his manager noted:
“Perhaps you didn’t know, but we recently went through the NFP tech transition! Andrew was a key component in this transition; he worked tirelessly, making sure all users’ concerns were being met prior to the transition. Where there were gaps, he found creative solutions and tested them thoroughly. His knowledge and dedication was a big reason the transition went smoothly.”
A co-worker also mentioned the tech transition and had this to say:
“My OneNote was not transferred over during the migration to the new NFP computers and this made me very anxious. NFP’s team was not able to assist after doing their searching and referred me to Andrew. Andrew tracked it down and I’m so grateful! I really appreciate how quickly Andrew was able to restore my notebook. Andrew and Jason did so much behind the scenes to make this migration happen as smoothly as possible.”
Another co-worker noted:
“I can’t imagine all the time and effort that went into making the transition to NFP systems go as smooth as possible. Andrew was fantastic before that, but I don’t want this feat to go unnoticed. And he’s just a cool dude to work with :).”
Congratulations Andrew!
March - Heather Sims
Heather joined the DBS Case Design Team in February of last year. She previously worked as an independent broker for Symmetry Financial Group & ABMA where she had her own book of business and oversaw 6 brokers. She also worked at State Farm and Life Quotes. An interesting bit of background is that prior to working in the insurance industry, Heather worked in law enforcement in the Canine Unit.
Upon joining DBS, Heather immediately made an impact on the team. Her experience as an advisor helped prepare her for her current role because she knows what it takes for an advisor to be successful and gives 110% to all her customers both internal and external. She is always polite and helpful to whomever she is working with.
Heather is a role model as both a proficient and efficient CDA. She is always looking for ways to work better and faster while still providing excellent customer service.
Just recently, Heather passed her first CLU exam in record time. Not only is she juggling her full-time position at DBS with her family life, but she is committed to advancing her industry knowledge while becoming an even stronger asset to the organization.
Heather consistently receives praise from her advisors. Here’s one example:
“Heather is so informational and thorough. She is great when discussing various policies and gives me confidence to bring these solutions to my clients, and convince them of the need and benefits of the coverage. Every time I call her she takes the time and is not rushed to help me. I ask a lot of questions when I want to present a product to the client and will admit I’m no expert on life insurance. She is very knowledgeable about these products and explains them simply.”
Here’s another example:
“I cannot thank you enough for all your help. I am very excited, and want to sing your praises for all the important work you do. I really mean that – I appreciate everything you do for me. Heather, simply put, you’re a rock star. Thank you!”
This is Heather’s second Employee of the Month win! She also won in September of last year.
February - Amy Stip
The February 2024 Employee of the Month is…. Amy Stip!
Amy joined DBS in March of 2022 and is an Inforce Case Manager on the Support & Services Team.
Amy is a dynamo when it comes to processing a huge amount of emails and work on top of conversions. Last year she almost reached $2 million in premium in conversions and hopefully will exceed that amount this year!
Amy is a team player who helps out our New Business department when volumes rise or other Case Managers are out on vacation. She is a powerhouse in the inforce queue and willing to walk advisors step-by-step through the conversion submission process. She astonishes her customers (internally and externally) with her customer service and quality.
Amy has been consistently recognized by our external partners for her great work and in 2023 Amy S. received an “Ops RM Certificate of Excellence Award” from our carrier partner, Lincoln!
One co-worker had this to share:
“Amy is an excellent employee. Every day she displays a positive work ethic and attitude to her co-workers, and she has really been helpful in acclimating me to this new position. I know the inforce team has been down two members during the month of February; however, Amy has taken on a lot of additional work along with everyone else in this team, and she has really shown that she is a true asset to the team.”
Another co-worker shared this about Amy:
“S&S has been down two people during the month of February, and much energy has been spent training in our new member, Megan. On top of this, February has been a very high-volume month, and Amy has stepped up to take more phone calls and requests. Furthermore, she has taken on some of our more difficult advisors in the inforce world. She is absolutely integral to our department’s success, is incredibly knowledgeable and easy to train with, and cares deeply about her work and the success of the team.
We have only met once in person, but I feel as though I know her personally because she is so easy to connect with, and I know advisors feel the same way!”
This is Amy’s SECOND EOM WIN!
We are so happy to have her be a part of our DBS TEAM! Congratulations, Amy!
January - Rikki Ritz
Rikki joined DBS in November of 2020 as a Hybrid Case Manager and has been providing outstanding service from the start, truly hitting the ground running. Rikki is a part of the East Coast Team and is the sole Case Manager for all of our New York advisors.
A comment this month from Lori Walker illustrates this:
“Rikki has developed such solid relationships with the advisors in New York and it is very evident how much they respect her and the work she does.”
Rikki is extremely thorough with her cases and her advisors. She has created New York cheat sheets and resources for the team to access in the HUB when she’s out of office so that the rest of the team is able to provide quick service.
Even when she is has PTO planned, she is extremely thoughtful and works as far ahead as possible, and she consistently volunteers to assist the team with their work when she has a spare minute.
Rikki’s supervisor had this to say about her work with an advisor:
“An advisor was irritated about a process that he thought was a DBS problem (which he also escalated to the home office), but Rikki did a fantastic job explaining the reasons why the carrier issues policies in New York the way they do, and furthermore shared that DBS has expressed these same frustrations to the carrier. Rikki’s email explaining this was clear and concise, and while it wasn’t the answer the advisor wanted, it was factual and provided the information needed to all that were copied on the email.”
Another nomination for Rikki had this to say:
“WE SURE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE HER. Rikki’s interactions with our New York advisors are prompt, professional and straight to the point. Rikki is great all of the time. She is responsive, detail oriented, VERY efficient and very professional! I’m glad she manages a good amount of my cases.”
This is Rikki’s 2nd win! She also received the honor in July 2021. We are so grateful to have her on our team! Congratulations, Rikki!