In 1983, Vickie Hersom of Wiscasset started out as a teller at the local branch of the bank now known as the Bank of Maine.

No direct deposits or debit cards were involved then. “None of that,” the 1975 Wiscasset High School graduate said.

“I remember when email came out. I thought, 'OK, I'm going to have to get done.' But you figure it out as you go along,” Hersom, 56, said of the technological changes.

Closing in on 30 years at the branch this October, Hersom is its manager now, and a vice president of the Bank of Maine.

Born and raised in Wiscasset, she knows many of her customers from her school days. Now her customers also include those people's children, who went to school with her children.

Some of Hersom's most satisfying work is helping first-time home buyers. “They're just so excited, and you're helping them achieve one of their dreams,” she said.

On April 17, at a Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce event the branch was hosting, Bank of Maine Chairman John Everets called Hersom a rock star.

“She's wonderful, a true professional, of the grade that anybody would be pleased to have in any business in any community,” Everets said.

“So Vickie, thank you very much,” Everets said, stirring applause from the crowd.

When Hersom isn't minding the bank, she volunteers in the community. She serves on the chamber's board, the Wiscasset Community Center's scholarship committee, the Wiscasset Female Charitable Society, and helps take care of the sunken garden across from the post office.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or sjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com.