Born in Coplay Borough, Janet Eisenhauer developed an attention to detail and organization at an early age. Little did she know how this focus would allow her to carve out successful work and political and volunteer careers throughout her life.

After graduating from Whitehall High School in the top 10th of her class, Eisenhauer went on to attend Kutztown University.

The need to establish a work career led her to a position at the First National Bank of Allentown. She began in 1971 as a demand proofreader. Because of rapid technological change, this position disappeared.

Eisenhauer then became a demand deposit manager. Her last job at First National of Allentown was as project manager.

The banking consolidation wave carried Eisenhauer to higher positions in the banking industry. During this time, she and her husband, Bob, married and started a family.

When Meridian Bank absorbed First National Bank of Allentown, Eisenhauer was promoted to cash management manager and sales officer. These new roles strengthened and reinforced her detail focus and expanded her finance knowledge.

In about a decade, a CoreStates Bank wave washed over Meridian Bank. Eisenhauer rode the CoreStates wave for a few years as a cash management manager.

Around that time, a daughter, Shannon, was added to the Eisenhauer family. This ultimately led to two grandchildren, Brent and Luke.

Along came First Union National Bank. This resulted in Eisenhauer receiving another new corporate name badge and a promotion to sales support manager and wholesale team leader. This role afforded her the opportunity to widen her team-leading skills and professional development.

It also was a time when she began her political career. She applied her many acquired work skills to Whitehall-Coplay School Board. She served three terms, totaling 12 years, on the school board. She served three years as the school board president.

Her time at First Union was when another career emerged for Eisenhauer. She became a volunteer at Coplay Public Library.

Being an active volunteer led to a position on the library board. Her focus and management skills got her the opportunity to become president of the library board.

Eisenhauer’s banking career advanced when Wachovia Bank purchased First Union Bank. She was promoted to corporate sales support head. This provided her skill development to include strategic planning, adding another dimension to her resume.

The next bank player to intersect Eisenhauer’s career was Wells Fargo Bank, which acquired Wachovia. It would be Eisenhauer’s last bank destination. She served as the corporate sales support manager.

This long banking career success was grounded in her attention to detail and organization skills. Her tenure on the Whitehall-Coplay School Board was accented by these skills and her customer service trainings in the banking industry.

The itch for politics re-emerged a number of years after she left the school board. Enter Coplay Borough Council. Eisenhauer was elected to and spent eight years on Coplay council. This final elected position permitted her to apply all her work-life accrued skills.

When Eisenhauer shared her work experiences with her council peers, they offered her the chair of the borough’s finance and administration committee, which she served on during her tenure on council.

Without her husband’s support for her banking career, Eisenhauer’s career as an elected official and her volunteer work might not have happened, she said. In addition to her decades in the banking industry, she served the library for 22 years and had 20 years as an elected official.

In 2023, Eisenhauer began to think about spending more time with family. There is an adage particularly in the political arena, but in any career, one wants to leave on his or her own terms. A tribute to her success, Eisenhauer did leave on her terms.

As she and her husband begin the next chapter of their lives, they are optimistic. They are reportedly already enjoying a closer connection with their grandchildren and spending time with each other. Eisenhauer said she and Bob began to play golf and plan other activities as they grow closer together.

Eisenhauer is an example of industrious work, accumulated interpersonal skills, attention to detail and focus on planning to achieve goals in all of her three careers and in life.

Her decision to start a new chapter in her life is evident of her focus and clear, firm decision-making experience.

Recently, a Coplay council member resigned from his seat on council. Eisenhauer was pressed by council members to return to Coplay council to fill the void. She declined.

Eisenhauer left on her own terms and is moving forward in the next chapter of her life.