Pioneer Bank Leads Rusk County Development
Mary Lou Santovec
Like a phoenix
rising from the ashes,
Ladysmith is coming back
from three economic blows of
the past decade—the closing
of Mount Senario College,
a tornado that leveled the
downtown, and the loss of
jobs during the economic
downturn. Pioneer Bank of
Wisconsin is helping with
the rebirth of Ladysmith,
the county seat and largest
community in Rusk County.
The closing of Mount Senario, the
Catholic liberal arts college, in 2002
sent a shock wave through the com-
munity. It wasn’t only the loss of pro-
fessional jobs and economic impact
that hurt Ladysmith but also “the
culture that goes along with having
a small, private college in your com-
munity,” said Jim Loe, Pioneer Bank’s
president. The campus has not had
a steady occupant since, although a
group of investors from Asia currently
has plans to open a school for interna-
tional and American students.
The 2002 tornado tore through
downtown, leaving some $30 mil-
lion in damage in its wake. “It hurts
people’s psyche when you go through
what they went through,” Loe said.
“It’s a real testament to the commu-
nity’s strength and leadership” that
Ladysmith is thriving today. Loe also
credits the “forward thinking of the
city government” as a reason for the
rebound.
In addition to agriculture, Rusk
County job opportunities can be
found with window manufacturers
Jeld-wen, Weather Shield, and Beech-
worth Windows, a new division of
James Hardie, which will make fiber-
glass windows, as well as other manu-
facturers such as Rockwell Automa-
tion, Owens Corning, and Clearwater
Paper Corporation.
Strategic Plan Guides, Steers
A graduate of Gustavus Adolphus
College in history with a business
minor, Loe earned his law degree from
the University of Wisconsin and, in
2006, completed the UW’s Graduate
School of Banking. “When you study
history, you can see the interconnec-
tions between the social, the eco-
nomic, and the political,” he said. “It
helped me develop perspective.” The
law degree helps Loe bring “a problem
solving approach to
banking.”
After college, Loe
started a title com-
pany in conjunction
with a Minnesota
bank. Looking for
a new challenge, he
took on a manage-
ment role with the
bank, later becom-
ing part of the suc-
cession plan for the
former president of
Pioneer Bank.
Hired at Pioneer
in July 2009, by
November Loe had invited Pioneer’s
board of directors to a strategic plan-
ning process led by Harry Argue,
consultant and former CEO of both
the UW-Madison Graduate School of
Banking and the Wisconsin Bankers
Association. “When you’re coming
out of a recession in a community
that’s been hit hard by what Ladysmith
was, it’s important that the board and
management have a plan,” Loe said.
The process helped the bank set goals;
the plan remains a working document
that is updated annually.
“The strategic plan was critical. It
helped the board and management
work together in a structured way,” he
said. “We can be proactive rather than
reactive.”
John Sieg, vice president of B.J.
Wood Products, is one of the bank’s
directors. Sieg said he would choose
to bank with Pioneer because of its
“friendly staff.” Sieg, whose business
10
Wisconsin Community Banker
May/June 2014
Friendly, competent staff are just one reason why
customers continue to bank at Pioneer.
Under the leadership of Jim Loe, Pioneer
Bank president and CBW Board of Directors
member, staff meet monthly to learn
about new services, security updates, and
community/customer events.
