Barbara Whitlow Retirement

39 Years of Service & Leadership

Barbara Whitlow was hired in January of 1984 as a Loan Servicing Assistant and a year and a half later she was quickly promoted to Loan Officer. For 30+ years, Barbara served in her role as Loan Officer, helping thousands of local residents become homeowners.

As a representative of OlyFed, Barbara has been featured on bus boards, TV commercials, newspaper ads and so much more. Over the course of several decades, she has become famous as one of the go-to resources in our community when it came to home loans. Barbara’s unwavering commitment to excellence in service and her relentless pursuit of knowledge and lending expertise meant she almost always had the answer customers needed and she provided it in a timely and thoughtful manner.

Barbara quickly became involved with the Olympia Master Builders (OMB) and Thurston County Realtors Association (TCRA) and before you knew it, Barbara joined those same professional associations in Mason, Lewis and Kitsap counties in order to build relationships and expand OlyFed’s network of influence.

Renowned for saying, “know me, like me, trust me” Barbara has put her heart and soul into her job and supporting her professional partners and colleagues. In her time with OlyFed, she has chaired the Tour of Homes event, served on the board of directors for several professional associations and led many committees including, most recently, TCRA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.

When local building codes began to change to accommodate the need for more environmentally friendly construction practices, Barbara created OlyFed’s Green Choice lending program, which provides many benefits for buying, building or retrofitting an energy-efficient home. She soon expanded the program to also include Green Choice loans for purchasing hybrid and electric vehicles.

Barbara is an innovator and very creative when it comes to creating new opportunities for both customers and OlyFed. In fact, in 2015 Barbara was named an officer of the bank and promoted to Assistant Vice President (AVP) Residential Relationship Manager, where she’s spent the last eight years, mentoring OlyFed’s team of Loan Officers, while helping to build the bank’s network of professional partners.

For years Barbara led OlyFed’s Lakefair bed race team, coming up with the bank’s annual theme, cheers and team décor. This was the perfect job for Barbara who loves to sing and dance. In retirement, Barbara looks forward to traveling, spending time with family and friends and working in her garden.

We thank Barbara for her 39 years of service to OlyFed and our community!