“Mom, you’re famous!” exclaimed Addison and Olivia Van Zele on seeing their mom, Lindsay Van Zele, pictured in the Springfield Business Journal. Her husband, Nate, assured them she was “only famous in Springfield.”
After those words, walking on stage to get her certificate as one of the area’s “Forty Under 40” was just the icing on the cake.
Lindsay said in her interview with the SBJ that she wants to show her daughters, “how to love your community, speak your mind and to care for the people in it.” That seems to be a perfect segue to what she describes as her guiding principle in life. “Treat other people with the concern and kindness you would like them to show toward you.”
Caring alone didn’t lead to Lindsay’s recognition. She has plenty of smarts and skill and isn’t afraid of hard work.
Lindsay joined INB in 2004 as a teller, thanks to her mom’s encouragement. She became a teller supervisor and mentor, then moved to the communications and marketing department in 2007. Today, she focuses on designing ads and setting up ad campaigns in our markets. She’s a creative problem solver, expert party planner, and friend – both Facebook and real – to everyone she meets.
Community Mover and Shaker
Outside of work, she and Nate fill the girls’ – and thus their own -- schedules with dance, sports and family outings. In their hometown of Pleasant Plains, the Van Zeles participate in community activities; Lindsay personally steps it up a notch by also playing a role in making things happen. When a position came open on the Pleasant Plains Village Board, she actively sought the seat because she felt the organization needed representation from younger village residents. She was selected for the position over another, more tenured candidate.
In addition to the village board, Lindsay serves as a Zion Lutheran Church Board Member. She previously served as Pleasant Plains Community Club Treasurer and was on the Illinois Chapter of the American Heart Association’s Gala Committee for several years.
Lindsay took part in the Leadership Springfield class of 2020-21.
At the July certificate presentation at UIS’s Student Center, the Business Journal’s Publisher Michelle Ownbey noted that each of the 40 winners had help from the people who care about them. In Lindsay’s case, that help comes from her husband, Nate, INB’s assistant vice president, digital banking manager.