Louise Pratt poses behind one of the original Bank of Montreal teller’s wickets brought to the Osoyoos BMO branch last week from the Osoyoos Museum as the bank celebrated its 200th anniversary nationally and 73rd in Osoyoos. Pratt worked as a teller at BMO in Osoyoos for most of the period from 1974 to April of 2017. (Richard McGuire photo)

Even though the banking industry has gone through monumental technological changes over the past 50 years, one thing that has never changed is the importance of quality customer service, says Louise Pratt.

Pratt was on hand last week when the Osoyoos branch of the Bank of Montreal (BMO) held a special celebration marking 200 years since the first BMO branch opened in downtown Montreal and 73 years since the Osoyoos branch became the first bank to open in our community.

“So much has changed since I first started at this branch back in 1974 … but it’s still all about customer service and how you present yourself to your regular customers,” said Pratt. “With all the changes that have taken place, you often have to explain the new ways of doing things, but that’s all part of the job.”

When Pratt was hired back in 1974, there were no such things as bank machines and automated tellers.

“I would spend most of my day in a back room in this same building transferring money into individual accounts,” she said. “I quickly got promoted to a teller and there used to be five of us dealing directly with customers all day long.

“We had a big, long counter and you would deal directly with customers opening new accounts, balancing accounts and transferring funds. You can do most of that stuff online now with a computer, but you worked directly with the customers back then.”

Pratt, who retired this past April after more than 30 years with the BMO in Osoyoos, said she’s proud to have worked at the first financial institution to open in this community and said many of her best friends in life are people she worked with or met because of her job.

“I always really enjoyed my job here … it was a wonderful place to work and I was really lucky to work beside some wonderful people,” she said. “I also became friends with a lot of the regular customers because I dealt with them so many times over the years.’

Osoyoos branch manager Derek Currie, said the local branch opened for business on Nov. 22, 1944, while the first BMO branch opened in downtown Montreal on Nov. 3, 1817.

“We thought having the two dates so close together would provide a great opportunity to celebrate BMO’s 200th birthday in Canada, while celebrating 73 years of business here in Osoyoos,” he said.

Regular customers and a contingent of current and former staff members were invited to the special celebration, where cake was served.

Kara Burton, the manager at the Osoyoos Museum, was also invited and she brought an old wooden bank wicket that was part of the BMO branch when it opened more than 70 years ago.

As part of its 200th birthday celebrations, BMO is sponsoring a Make a Wish promotion, where customers can go online to make a wish and a committee will randomly select projects that will be funded through the bank’s head office, said Currie.

Through this promotion, a Lego city for children was built at a hospital in Cape Breton and members of Canada’s synchronized swimming team visited a small town synchronized swim club in Quebec.

There is an “interactive wish fountain” found online, where people can make digital wishes. Individuals and organizations simply choose a category, make a wish and toss a digital coin into the fountain to wish it forward, said Currie.

Throughout 2018, dozens of wishes have been fulfilled, he said.

You can find more information about this program by going online and visiting www.history.bmo.com.

Currie said BMO plans on being part of the business community in Osoyoos for generations to come.

“We’ve enjoyed 73 wonderful years in Osoyoos and we plan on many more,” he said. “We’re proud of the fact we were the first bank to open in this community and we hope to be around for a very long time.”

The BMO branch offers a myriad of financial services, including estate planning, retirement planning, educational planning and mortgages and loans.

KEITH LACEY

Osoyoos Times

BMO in Osoyoos last Wednesday celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Bank of Montreal and the 73rd year in Osoyoos. Attending the event were local dignitaries, present and former staff and customers. In front are Shirley Cryderman and Vicky Hesje. Behind from left are Kara Burton, Janet Gordon, Manager Derek Currie, Mayor Sue McKortoff, Carolyne Strohmann, Louise Pratt, Trudy Hoffmann and Gordie Sidhu. (Richard McGuire photo)

BMO in Osoyoos last Wednesday celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Bank of Montreal and the 73rd year in Osoyoos. Pictured here are staff from the Osoyoos branch. In front seated are Kelly Anderson and Vicky Hesje. Behind from left are Manager Derek Currie, Inderjeet Buttar, Lisa Farinha, Rita Dhaliwal, Gordie Sidhu and Barbara Moen. (Richard McGuire photo)

BMO Osoyoos celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Bank of Montreal in Canada and the 73rd anniversary of the branch in Osoyoos last week. There were cakes for both occasions. (Richard McGuire photo)