Independent Banker - June 2021 - 67

Tenacity drives Stearns Bank
The community bank in St. Cloud, Minn., has cultivated a culture that combines creativity and
hard work. The result is an award-winning workplace that fosters growth for both employees
and the bank. By Eric Best
n a corporate world of ladders,
Stearns Bank stands out with its
lattice structure. Rather than one
route to the top, employees at the
$2.2 billion-asset community bank
in St. Cloud, Minn., say they've
forged their own paths based on
their unique combinations of skills
and experiences. Some of those in its
C-suite, for example, have bespoke
titles or responsibilities that optimize
their talents and provide organic
I
" It's part of our
culture that there's
something new
every day. It's a
matter of what hat
are you going to
opportunities for growth.
" At Stearns, everybody has a strong
drive and passion. Everybody's
sort of got dual roles, whatever
role you're in, " says Ann Erickson,
chief compliance and audit officer.
" It's part of our culture that there's
something new every day. It's a
matter of what hat are you going to
wear today to help us achieve our
goals and help our customers achieve
their goals? "
This culture of fostering growth
drives the community bank on
numerous fronts, from its structure
and talent recruitment strategy to how
it generates new business. Its efforts
wear today to help
us achieve our
goals and help our
customers achieve
their goals? "
-ANN ERICKSON, STEARNS BANK
Name:
Stearns Bank
Location:
St. Cloud, Minn.
Assets:
$2.2 billion
have not gone unnoticed. Stearns
Bank has been frequently recognized
as both a top-performing community
bank by Independent Banker and as
an award-winning workplace in state
and industry publications. Ask an
employee and they'll tell you that the
bank's secret to success is tenacity.
That tenacity-born of its
hardworking, Midwestern roots,
employees say-stems from Norm
Skalicky, chairman of Stearns
Financial Services, Inc., who acquired
the bank in 1964. His daughter, Kelly
Skalicky, leads the community bank
today as president and CEO.
" The pace that Stearns sets,
A hardworking family
While Stearns Bank has the closeknit
environment you'd expect from a
family-run institution, Plumski says
not to mistake that for avoiding hard
work. " Family means you are in it
to get the job done, whether you're
in the heat of harvest when you're
putting up hay or rock picking in
the spring, " she says. " You're doing
tasks together that need to be done.
A family works through that together
and enjoys the benefits together. "
One way that tenacity plays out
day to day is Stearns Bank's proactive
strategy. That approach means
the community bank is constantly
assessing new opportunities. For
example, the bank has expanded
into new markets in Scottsdale,
Ariz., and Florida's Gulf Coast and
is continually pursuing fintech
partnerships and other expansion
opportunities across the country.
" One of the key objectives of our
strategic plan is risk management
at the forefront, " Erickson says.
" It's risk management built in,
helping people all be educated and
understand where our risks are at. "
That also carries over to the
cybersecurity side, where the
community bank uses a cybersecurity
risk assessment tool to actively
identify issues and get ahead of
them. Across the institution, the
independentbanker.org Q 67
ultimately, is from the Skalickys, "
says Heather Plumski, chief financial
and strategy officer. " They set a tone
throughout the institution. "
http://www.independentbanker.org

Independent Banker - June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - June 2021

Table of Contents
Independent Banker - June 2021 - Intro
Independent Banker - June 2021 - Cover1
Independent Banker - June 2021 - Cover2
Independent Banker - June 2021 - Table of Contents
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 2
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 3
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 4
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 5
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 6
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 7
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 8
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 9
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 10
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 11
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 12
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 13
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 14
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 15
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 16
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 17
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 18
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 19
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 20
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 21
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 22
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 23
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 24
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 25
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 26
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 27
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 28
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 29
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 30
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 31
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 32
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 33
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 34
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 35
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 36
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 37
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 38
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 39
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 40
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 41
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 42
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 43
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 44
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 45
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 46
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 47
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 48
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 49
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 50
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 51
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 52
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 53
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 54
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 55
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 56
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 57
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 58
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 59
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 60
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 61
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 62
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 63
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 64
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 65
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 66
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 67
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 68
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 69
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 70
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 71
Independent Banker - June 2021 - 72
Independent Banker - June 2021 - Cover3
Independent Banker - June 2021 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2017
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com