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Nancy Schnable of Austin Receives $1,000 In Seed Money

Tom Klapperich and Amanda Gunderson from our Austin branch recognized Nancy Schnable of Austin this fall with $1,000 in cash as part of our on-going Seed Money campaign. This campaign allows Home Federal and its employees recognize the unsung heroes in the communities we serve.

Who is Nancy Schnable?

Nancy is the enthusiastic and energetic Executive Director of Discover Austin. She strongly believes in improving the Austin community and spends most of her time doing just that. When she is not working to bring tourism to town, you can find her volunteering with organizations like the local Rotary chapter, the Austin Area Arts Council, and the Austin Downtown Committee.

She is very humble and just wants to make a huge impact in the community, without recognition. People may not realize what she has done to make the community better, but that’s how she prefers it to be. “I personally like to be behind the camera and behind the scenes and making things happen,” Nancy disclosed. Nancy’s friend and former employee Eileen Chao sums it up well, “She’s very modest about it all. She constantly deflects the credit to other people and other organizations – but she’s behind it all.”

What Makes Nancy Schnable So Deserving?

“She just gives and gives and gives and she doesn’t (I don’t think) even see it,” nominator and Tourism Sales Manager Sara Wilson responded when she was asked why she nominated Nancy. “[Giving back] is just second nature to her.”

Even with Nancy being as busy as she is, she uses her energy and enthusiasm to continue improving the Austin community. “If anybody calls her and needs her help, she's the ultimate team player,” Sara expands. “If there’s something she can do even after the doors are closed, she’s doing that. And sometimes even involving her family.”

Many people know Nancy throughout the community from her job at Discover Austin and they have grown to see her as the ‘do-er’ in the community whether the task at hand is in her job description or not. “I don’t think she gets much notice for what she does,” Eileen Chao, a former employee of Nancy’s, explained. “I think people know that she’s the one to go to when something needs to be done.”   

Where Did We Surprise Nancy Schnable?

Market President Tom Klapperich and Branch Manager Amanda Gunderson surprised Nancy at the Discover Austin office while she was working. She was excited to see Tom which was then met with confusion as our camera crew followed him in.

“Surprise, you’ve been selected as a recipient of our Seed Money campaign!” Amanda exclaimed. “You were nominated by your staff for all of the wonderful things you do throughout the community.”

Nancy couldn’t believe that she had just received $1,000 in cash – all she could say at the moment was, “Wow, thank you!”

After she had a few minutes to take it all in, she was truly grateful. “[It's] super exciting I was nominated by my incredible staff, and I’m beyond blessed to be surrounded by wonderful people, a great community, family, and friends.”

Why is Giving Back to the Community So Important?

Giving back is a contagious act that inspires more people to get involved when they hear about it. “When you work together you can make a lot of things happen,” Sara illustrates. “It takes just one person to start the ball rolling and when everybody else comes together you make big things happen.” 

Once that ball gets rolling, it makes a path for building a great community where its individuals can continue to thrive and enjoy where they live. “If we all work together, we all win together,” Nancy disclosed.

Amanda even acknowledged that one individual like Nancy having the energy to “get the ball rolling” can impact the community. “Nancy is so energetic, and she shared that energy with us, which makes us want to do more.”

How Can You Help Improve the Austin Community?

There are many ways to help continue to improve Austin. “So much that happens in Austin is done by volunteers,” Eileen Chao reiterated. “If there’s anything you’re interested in whether it’s sports, art, anything – that if you’re looking for a volunteer opportunity, set it up, jump forward, and say you want to help.” What you may not realize is there are multiple different types of volunteer opportunities available, and you can find out what's you can help with through the United Way website.

Home Federal Believes in “Giving Today to Help Grow Tomorrow”

“Community involvement is important to us at Home Federal. We strive to be as involved as possible and we have been looking forward to giving recognition to those that are also involved with the communities we serve,” Tom explains. “This is why we came up with Seed Money and also why Nancy is very well-deserving of the recognition.”

Seed Money was created to help recognize and reward the local “do-gooders” going above and beyond in their communities and Nancy is a deserving recipient of the Seed Money. To help showcase what Nancy does in the Austin community, we recorded her Seed Money surprise and posted it to our Youtube channel. Feel free to view Nancy’s video along with other recipients' footage, to see the full impact that Seed Money is providing to our communities.

Seed Money is part of Home Federal’s Community Roots Initiative where the mission is to “Give Today to Help Grow Tomorrow” and we know Nancy Schnable has made – and will continue to make – a positive impact in the Austin community.

We thank individuals, like Nancy, for all you do in the communities we serve. See our other Seed Money stories and how we’re giving back by visiting our Seed Money page.