Diane Schroeder is Bookkeeping Supervisor and Operations Assistant at Minnesota Lakes Bank. “I work behind the scenes,” explains Diane. She rarely interacts with customers unless they need wire transfers; however, she does speak with customers on the phone quite often.
The most enjoyable part of Diane’s job is maintaining a personal relationship with the customers through church and community interaction.
Three years before she started at MNLB, Diane began her banking career at Marquette Bank in Mound. Prior to that, she spent 16 years working at GTE Telephone Company, once Contel, and now Frontier. “I guess you can say I’m an ex-con,” Diane laughs.
In July of 1998, Diane started as a teller in MNLB’s Mound location (then Crow River State Bank). She transferred to the Delano location about seven years ago when the process of imaging and balancing the work in-house began.
“It was a new position, with not very favorable work hours,” says Diane. “I’m always up for adventure and challenges, so I went for it!” She adds that it was an exciting move and that she wanted to push herself, in lieu of growing dormant.
When asked what she enjoys most about her job, Diane offers a big smile and says, “A lot of things.” She enjoys the variety of the work and challenges that come with banking, a business that changes from one day to the next. Going home at night and feeling good about helping others all day is a large benefit to what Diane does. In regards to her coworkers, Diane says, “Everyone works together, and we are such a great team!”
Because her work changes frequently, Diane has to continuously learn new skills and keep up with the pace. In her role as supervisor, creating a positive and welcoming atmosphere is a big priority. “It’s important to have some fun during the day if you’re going to have a strong team,” Diane says. She aims for everyone to enjoy coming to work and being together.
It’s also vital for Diane to put herself in younger employees’ shoes. “It’s like speaking a different language sometimes, but we walk away at the end of the day learning from each other,” explains Diane. With a generational difference, she must learn where they are coming from and how they mentally process a task.
Outside of work, Diane enjoys four-wheeling in the summertime and spending time with her family. She and her husband like to attend their grandkids’ activities, which include basketball, football, dance, and more. Until about five years ago Diane participated on a pool team where she received multiple trophies. Her teammates gave her the nickname of “Lady Di” because she was the only female on the team. Today she plays pool in her free time.
Diane travels frequently and has been to almost every state in the United States except for those in the northeast region. She has also been to Canada as her dad was born there. Her favorite state is Colorado because of her love of the mountains.
Diane shares a blended family with her husband, Ron. “It’s a yours, mine, and ours family,” Diane explains. In total, Diane and Ron have seven kids, nine grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. All of their children live in the area except for one who lives in Georgia. Diane and Ron also have multiple foster grandchildren and have gone through training to become certified foster grandparents. “All of our foster children are a part of the family, and I feel fortunate to be a part of their lives,” says Diane.