March 29, 2024

Great Western Bank welcomes Price as new marketing director

Last Monday, Great Western Bank of Newton welcomed its new marketing director, Jeff Price. He has been serving the City of Newton for many years.

Price graduated from Newton Senior High School in 1998, and starting working at Hy-Vee later that year. For 15 years he called Hy-Vee his home. In 2002, he earned a Business Finance degree from the University of Northern Iowa. Hy-Vee recognized his talents, and Price worked his way up to became Manager of Store Operations.

At Hy-Vee, Price concentrated on customer service. He admitted that it is an important role at his new job.

“The main focus was to help the customer within reason,” Price said of working at Hy-Vee. “The customer service aspect is the same thing here. This bank is all about taking care of the customer, and doing what we can to take care of their needs.”

When he left the grocery store chain, he was surprised.

“It was kind of surreal,” Price said. “I applied for the job, and got a phone call back.”

The banking industry is no stranger in his family. His mother works at the Great Southern Bank in Newton.

Banks have gone through major changes since Price attended school. The first day was hard for him.

“I kind of just sat here and soaked it all up,” Price said. “It was a lot of retraining.”

Price’s favorite part of the job is to interact with a new group of customers, but he is happy to see some familiar faces.

“I like to learn a new set of customers,” he said. “There are some that I know from Hy-Vee. It is kind of nice to still have those connections.”

Price also is active in Newton politics. He serves on the Newton City Council, Young Professionals of Jasper County and the Organization Promoting Everlasting Neighbors.
He is proud of the sister cities program for OPEN. In the past, they adopted a city in Ukraine.

He lives in Newton with his wife, Amanda, who is the president of YPJC. They have two kids. The YPJC are looking for members, and Price encourages people to join. They meet at noon on the second Friday of every month at the Hy-Vee Club Room.

Staff writer Matthew Shepard may be contacted at (641) 792-3121, ext. 425, or at mshepard@newtondailynews.com.