Josh Gehlen is “all in” when it comes to helping his community grow. It’s a key outcome of his work as Minnesota Lakes Bank’s Senior Vice President-Lending, but he also spends considerable personal time as a volunteer with the Delano Area Chamber of Commerce, Wright County Economic Development Authority and the Delano Planning Commission.
“Our area has rebounded well from the pandemic,” Josh said. “Mound is a well-established community, so their focus is more on redevelopment as opposed to growth. Delano, on the other hand, has growth potential, and we’ve seen a new industrial park and housing developments. Both communities are very vibrant.”
Josh has adopted a two-fold approach to managing his day-to-day work as the bank’s Senior Lender and Chief Credit Officer.
“My external role is to generate more loan customers for the bank, so we help area businesses grow and expand,” he said. “We have a variety of products and services to help make this happen, and our lending team is ready to work with any business, large or small, to help them succeed.
“My internal role is overseeing the loan department of seven, including loan officers, loan administrators and credit analysts,” Josh continued. “The banking industry is highly regulated and while we all have a role in ensuring the bank is complying with the myriad of regulations, it ultimately falls to me to make certain we are making sound loans.”
Josh recounted a couple of challenges during his four years at Minnesota Lakes Bank. The federal Payroll Protection Program was introduced in 2020 to help businesses cope with the financial stresses of the COVID pandemic, and he admitted that the MLNB team, like everyone else, had to learn on the fly.
“We were able to help hundreds of businesses through our efforts,” Josh stated. “Working with government agencies is not always easy, but everyone was committed to making an effort to see this through. Our lending team covered a lot of ground with existing and new customers alike.”
Another recent success story involved a business acquisition, and in this instance, the bank knew both the buyer and seller.
“Because we understood the interests and concerns of the seller—who wanted to retire—and the buyer—a company that could realize some synergies by purchasing this business—we played a unique role. We understood the strengths of each entity, so we provided a financial structure that was unique while satisfying the concerns of both the buyer and seller,” said Josh.
“That was one of the more complex transactions I’ve had the opportunity to work on, and it wasn’t always easy, but I’m happy to report that things went well, and both parties were satisfied with the result.”
Josh and his wife, Tamarah, moved to Hutchinson, Josh’s hometown, in 2002 to raise their two children. Josh began his career in banking during their time there, including at a local community bank for the final 10 years. Meanwhile, Tamarah worked in the mental health and addiction counseling industry in the Twin Cities area. Her daily two-hour round-trip commute was challenging.
“Landing a job with MNLB enabled us to move to the Delano area, a real game-changer for us as a family,” Josh continued. “Our adult children are now out of the house, but we still have three dogs to keep us busy every day.”
Josh serves the community as the Immediate Past-President of the Delano Chamber of Commerce, as a board member of the Wright County Economic Development Authority, and as a member of the Delano Planning Commission. He is also active with BankIn Minnesota, the trade association for community banks in Minnesota, where he currently serves on two committees.
“The work we do as community volunteers is important and rewarding,” said Josh, “especially when you see the community grow as a result of some of these initiatives. You know you’re on the right track and making a positive difference.”