In 2007, two INB staff members showed up to a training at INB’s newly acquired Mt. Pulaski branch. They had never crossed paths before, but that ended up being more than just another typical meeting.
“Afterwards, I thought to myself that he was really nice, and I wondered if he had a girlfriend,” Lindsay Van Zele confesses.
“I got word she was asking about me, so I called and asked her out; we went to lunch at Cafe Moxo,” recalls Nathan Van Zele. “Everyone at the main branch knew we were having our first date, so they were all watching as we met up and everyone got a big kick out of it!”
That first date quickly turned to the couple becoming “inseparable.” Now the Van Zeles have been married for nine years and have two beautiful daughters.
As INB celebrates its 20th anniversary in June, Lindsay and Nathan fondly recall the important role the bank played in their family’s story.
Nate Gets It Right
Lindsay, communications officer for INB, and Nathan, who works in treasury operations and online banking, were both hired in 2004.
The couple married in February 2010 after getting engaged the previous summer.
“I was smart enough to know that not any old ring would do,” Nathan shares. “So we went to the jewelry store, and she helped me find the right one. I knew she wouldn’t be shocked, but I wanted the right ring.
“She just didn’t know when, and I wanted to throw her off. So I contacted a mutual friend who was a teller and asked him to let it slip to Lindsay that ‘Nathan got a lockbox’,” he laughs.
Thinking that Nathan was locking the engagement ring up for a while, “I was so ticked,” Lindsay admits, now smiling about it.
Though he didn’t actually lock up the ring, Nathan did end up surprising Lindsay.
“I tried to get her into the kitchen after dinner because I had the ring put in a cake. But she said she wasn’t hungry! Finally, I got her in there, and she saw the cake that said, ‘Will you marry me?’”
Love, Marriage, and, the Baby Carriage
The couple is now parents to Addison (6) and Olivia (4). INB not only helped start their family, but the staff has become like family too. Both Van Zeles have now worked for the bank for 15 years.
“INB is a great place to work,” Lindsay shares. “INB is about helping people succeed. We love getting to do what we do, and the bank has always been very supportive of our family; it’s a wonderful place to work and raise a family.”
Working together has never been a challenge for the Van Zeles.
“We’ve never been in the same building, so we have our separation during the day just like most married couples,” Nathan says. “We’re not together all day long, but we do see each other now and again when our paths cross, or occasionally when we work on a project together.”
Lindsay and Nathan feel fortunate to have an encouraging work culture that is like a second home to them.
“INB has grown quite a bit in the last 15 years, and we still have a lot of people here from back in those early days,” Nathan says. “It really does feel like a family.”