Carol Burgess (Formally Aros)
I was so saddened to see the passing of Mr. Hard. My heart goes out to all of the family. I worked for Valley Bank (Bank One) from 1980 to 2001. My exit interview was with Mike. He was a thoughtful and caring human being that never made you feel like you were subordinate to him. In 2012, I worked for Northern Trust, where Mike had meetings in our conference room. He always greeted me with a big hug and smile then asked if I was keeping the place in shape! He even bragged about me to my then boss about what a great employee he had gotten. He didn’t have to say anything, but that was like him to give praise when he thought it was deserved. In return he received lots of loyalty and kind wishes from all of us. He was well loved. I’ve retired and left the financial world behind after a 38 year career. Some of the best years were with Valley Bank due to leaders like Mike. He will be remembered fondly and greatly missed.