Independent Banker - December 2018 - 69

Trailblazer
Compassionate leadership
She's been breaking glass ceilings for
decades, but LaVonne Nicolai, vice president
of Minnesota's century-old Castle Rock
Bank, would be the last person to mention it.
By Roshan McArthur
aVonne Nicolai got her start in banking
when she returned from her honeymoon.
Her new husband, Dan Nicolai, was already a
major stockholder in First State Bank of Castle
Rock in Minnesota. On the newlyweds' return,
Dan's partner decided he wanted out of the
banking business.
" We had
two options, "
LaVonne Nicolai
recalls. " We
could either
buy him out,
or he could sell
his shares to
Name: Castle Rock
Bank
Assets: $201 million
Locations: Castle Rock
and Farmington, Minn.
someone else. So we chose to take out a loan and
purchase his stock. That's how I got in the banking
business. "
That was in 1962. Nicolai started helping out
at the bank (now known as Castle Rock Bank),
and by 1971 she had become its vice president.
At the time, there were very few women in her
position. When asked if she faced any challenges,
Nicolai responds that if there was a challenge, it
was " self-inflicted. "
" And [it was] that I tried to do all things for all
people, " she laughs. " It was a busy time. I was
working, I was homemaking, I was co-parenting
our two sons, I was volunteering in the community
and I became the president of the [Farmington
Area Chamber of Commerce]. "
However, she says came across very little gender
bias. " I have to say that I never in those days
felt that I was discriminated against because I
was a woman, " she says. " And the reason is that
we were in a farming community, where the husQuick
stat
26
Federal and state
laws LaVonne
Nicolai has helped
change to give
farmers better
access to loans
L
bands and wives form partnerships. In order
to be in agriculture back then, the women were
equal partners. "
Nicolai went on to become the first woman
on the Agriculture Committee for Independent
Bankers (at the state and national level) and the
first woman director of the Rural Finance Authority
for the state of Minnesota. She has served
on the Inver Hills Community College Advisory
Committee and is on the University of Minnesota
Rosemont Research Board.
Having grown up on a farm in nearby Denmark
Township, Nicolai is passionate about the
role American farmers play in feeding humanity.
Through the Rural Finance Authority, she was
able to change legislation (23 state and three
federal laws, to be precise) to make it easier for
farmers to get loans.
" Things went well from the very beginning for
me, " she recalls of a career that has spanned 56
years so far. " All those people were very respectful
of my ideas, and I did not experience problems
that women have in other workplaces. In life, we
all have challenges, so we just have to take it one
step at a time. "
For the benefit of all
The Nicolai family has a simple North Star: The
bank operates for the benefit of the community.
As a result, they can be found serving hot dogs
to children from the local charter school at the
May Day parade in Castle Rock and dishing up
ice cream at Dakota City, the local heritage village
they helped build.
Every Christmas, $201 million-asset Castle
Rock Bank donates teddy bears (dressed up by
the customers) to children in need. In 2014, the
bank helped a local Cambodian Buddhist society
bring a 4.5-ton jade Buddha to its temple. And
the Nicolai family has supported numerous
local businesses through character loans and
schoolchildren through scholarships. But
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