2010 has been a good year for Annandale State Bank President Bryan Bruns. It all started last April when the 43-year-old banker was asked to join the Minnesota Bankers Association’s Executive Committee. The process would involve an election by the entire membership at the MBA convention in June, but if all went well, that summer he would be made treasurer. From there he would advance to vice chairman, chairman and then past chairman, very prestigious positions in the world of Minnesota banking. Then in May, he got a call from the publisher of every banker’s staple trade magazine, "The North-Western Financial Review." He was to be named one of 2010’s Rising Stars in Banking and featured in the July edition of the magazine. In June, he was officially elected to the MBA Executive Committee and in July was given his first assignment as an official member. He was to have an interview with KARE 11 TV’s Kim Insley about a new financial reform bill. "My colleagues were starting to complain. They said ‘I see you all over the magazine and now I turn on the TV and see your ugly mug again,’" he joked. Bruns started working for the Annandale State Bank by mowing the lawn when he was just a kid. In 1983, he started working as a teller and bookkeeper. In 1985, he graduated from Annandale High School and enrolled at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis in pursuit of a finance degree with an emphasis in banking. His first job out of college was with Norwest, now Wells Fargo, but it wasn’t until he started working for Marquette Bank that things really began to happen for the young banker. He found himself involved in the bank’s bid to buy Midwest Federal and other banks. He even flew on the company jet as part of an acquisition team. "I didn’t have an interest in coming back to Annandale. There were bigger and better things than Annandale," he admitted. All that changed when he and his wife, Tracy, a Maple Lake native, started a family. He started to realize it would be pretty nice to see his kids on keep-in-touch-day at school without having to worry about trying to get back to the Twin Cities, he said. Hometown opportunity So when the chairman of his hometown bank called and asked if he was interested in joining the company, he jumped at the opportunity. That was in October 1994. A year later he was named vice president and cashier. In 1999 he became an executive vice president and in 2006, he took over the job of president from his father, Dwayne. Dwayne continues to be very active in the bank as chairman of the board and CEO. "I wanted to be more involved in my kids’ life and had the opportunity to come back," Bruns said of his decision to return to Annandale. Now, 16 years later, he still has no regrets. "I needed to get out and learn from other people," he said of his youthful desire to explore the world. Now he’s a full-blown member of the community again and is enjoying every minute of it. He’s a member of the Kiwanis, treasurer of the Annandale Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Church of Christ board in Kimball and is finishing up his 10th year on the Annandale School Board. Community banking is a lot different from the fast-paced lifestyle of working for Marquette where jumping on a plane or in a car to travel across the country to buy another bank was commonplace. Although Bruns called it a great experience, it was a lot harder to connect with people, and as a community banker that’s one of his favorite jobs. "Here I get to help people realize their dreams or work out their problems," he said. As a 2010 Rising Star in Banking, Bruns became part of a tradition that started back in 1998. Since then, the magazine has honored 100 bankers throughout the Upper Midwest. Bruns was among seven named in two issues of the magazine this year. He joined bankers from Iowa, North Dakota, Illinois, Nebraska and Indiana. Honored bankers are typically younger than 45 but have 10 or more years of experience. "It’s a very nice honor," Bruns said.
