Minnesota banker leverages love for rural area to promote economic development

Northwestern Financial Review, Nov 15-Nov 30, 2003 by Bengtson, Tom

Every town should have a Janet Lundebrek. She is president of the First security Bank in Benson, Minn., but she is also someone who has worked to assure the viability of this west-central Minnesota community of 3,700 people. Since joining the bank in 1968, she has leveraged her energy and love for the area to reach thousands of people through the bank, the Swift County Hospital Foundation, the Southwest Foundation, the Benson Chamber of Commerce, the Farmers Union, the Renewable Fuels Association, and the Chippewa Valley Ethanol Cooperative.

Lundebrek, a North * Western Financial Review Outstanding Woman in Banking for 2003, grew up in nearby Starbuck, Minn., and landed a job at Honey well in the Twin Cities, even without a college degree. Working for the Fortune 500 company, she was involved with our country's space program and the U.S. Navy's nuclear submarine effort. Upon marriage to a farmer, she moved back to her stomping grounds and got an administrative job at what was then called the Swift County Bank.

Paul W. Gandrud, Sr., was the owner of the bank. "He impressed me with his commitment to community," she said. "Many of the successes we are having in Benson today are due to his efforts decades ago."

The agricultural crisis of the 1980s hit western Minnesota hard, and the bank was briefly closed in 1985, reopening after the weekend with a new owner and a new name. Lloyd Amundson, who was buying several banks in the 1980s, bought the bank and dubbed it the First security Bank. Lundebrek made the transition and within a couple years she was promoted to assistant vice president. She continued to impress the owners and advanced accordingly. In August of 2002, she was named president of the bank, which technically is a branch of the First security Bank in Sleepy Eye, Minn.

Lundebrek said the bank's lending has diversified to include more commercial business since the 1980s. Plus, the farm customers have gotten smarter, she said. "It was a challenge working through some of those situations, but it was very rewarding as well. We see our ag customers today focusing much more."

But rural development is about more than farming. Lundebrek serves on the board of directors of the Chippewa Valley Ethanol Cooperative in Benson, in the news lately because of an explosion there. Lundebrek called the incident a tragedy, and said improved safety standards are already being implemented. The value of the ethanol plant to the area, however, should not be down-played, Lundebrek said, noting the jobs it provides and the millions of dollars it has returned to the members of the co-op over the years.

Lundebrek also has been involved in an effort to build a biomass power plant in Benson. A three-year effort will come to fruition this winter when a plant is constructed that can produce 55 megawatts of power from turkey manure. The plant, which will provide 30 jobs, will be the first of its kind in the country.

Articulate and passionate about rural America, Lundebrek has been called on several times by various associations to meet with lawmakers and testify before legislative committees. On Oct. 1, she met with officials at the White House to discuss renewable fuels. At the meeting were Deputy secretary of Energy KyIe McSlarrow, Deputy Assistant to the President Barry Jackson, and Undersecretary of Agriculture for Rural Development Tom Dorr.

Lundebrek is quick to acknowledge the support of her colleagues but particularly noted a two-year leadership development program for women conducted by the University of Minnesota Extension Service that gave her many of the skills she is using today. In 1993-94, she took one Saturday a month to take leadership program classes, which were conducted all over the state. "The program encouraged the development of leadership skills that we could use in our communities and in our personal life," Lundebrek explained. The combination, she said, is just what she needed.

Benson is home to a credit union and four other banks, in addition to First security Bank. With so much competition, Lundebrek said the bank has had to carve out a niche by offering stellar service. She said the process has been very rewarding. "There is no better job than to see individuals and families set goals and follow through on them - even in the down times," she said. "I've had the pleasure of seeing that a number of times with our customers."