Darlys Hulme, president and CEO of Farmers Savings Bank & Trust, pictured on Thursday, Oct. 16, in the boardroom at the bank’s Traer location. Hulme, a Traer High School Class of 1954 graduate, is celebrating 65 years in banking this year. She was recently honored with a lifetime achievement award. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

TRAER – Darlys Hulme may not have set out to become a trailblazer over 65 years ago when she first began her career, but she carved the path nonetheless.

Hulme, president and CEO of Farmers Savings Bank & Trust (FSB), is a rarity these days in more ways than one. At a time when the vast majority of banks in America are led by men – just 7.5% were headed by women in 2024, according to ABA Banking Journal – Hulme has been in her role as a female president since 2003. And despite most folks in banking electing to retire sometime in their 60s, Hulme is still going strong at 88, heading off to work from her home on Vinton’s east side to either FSB’s Traer or Vinton office where she oversees the bank’s financial health, regulatory compliance, and customer service standards while also guiding staff and setting the culture.

This past summer, as chief officer of one of the top independent banks in Iowa, Hulme was honored with the Community Bankers of Iowa 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award.

And it all began on a farm in Buckingham.

“I was born up in Buckingham, [where] I lived the first 10 years of my life. I actually started working on Main Street in Traer when I was 16, for attorney Robert Powell. After school and on Saturdays, I was typing tax returns with carbon paper,” Hulme told the newspaper in mid-October as she sat in the boardroom of FSB’s Traer location. Across the table from where she was seated, several photographs of her mentor – FSB’s former president and chairman, the late William C. Talen – were displayed. (Talen’s children are FSB’s current owners.) Behind her, a map of Iowa’s airfields – Talen was a master pilot – was tacked up on the door. Instead of electing to sit at the head of the table for the interview, Hulme took her seat along the side. And before the sit-down even began, she made sure this reporter’s toddler daughter (along for the interview that day) had several large Tootsie rolls to munch on. Because while she may be the pragmatic and meticulous head of an independent community bank steering over $225 million in assets with a recent 5-star ‘Superior’ rating from BauerFinancial and a top-7 designation as one of the healthiest banks in Iowa, she’s also a working mom, grandmother, and great-grandmother whom her youngest family members call ‘Super Grandma.’

Her beginnings at the bank over 70 years ago began without much fanfare. While working at the law office in downtown Traer during her junior and senior years of high school, she was asked to consider a position at FSB as her employer, Mr. Powell, sat on the bank’s board.

“One of the ladies was getting married and leaving the bank,” Hulme explained. “They asked me to come and work there. I started in May 1954 before I graduated. I had just turned 17.”

Hulme’s career began early, certainly, but it was built on the back of a public school education that also began early. At the age of five, she started first grade classes at the local country school in Buckingham where she remained through eighth grade before attending Traer High School. Her parents, Leland and Dorothy (née Nation) Philp, farmed, something Hulme – the eldest of three – credits as helping to build both her character and her work ethic.

“I lived outdoors with my father working on the farm,” she said. “You look back, life on the farm, those days was hard, physical. They survived the Depression when they were first married.”

When asked if she had any inkling as a high school student where her life would take her, Hulme said she had been considering nursing, not banking, and had even visited some colleges in pursuit of that path, but ultimately the FSB job offer won out.

Farmers Savings Bank & Trust President and CEO Darlys Hulme, center, pictured alongside Vice President Michelle Werner, left, and Senior Vice President Jeff Jacobs, right, in Okoboji this past July during the 2025 Community Bankers of Iowa Annual Convention. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

She started her career at FSB as a bookkeeper. After marrying her husband, Harlan (Ike) Hulme in 1955, she took six years off beginning in December of that year to raise a family including her two children, the late Richard (Rich) and Debra (now Schirm). In 1961, she received a letter from the bank asking her to return; shortly thereafter, she began working half days plus Saturdays.

“I came back January 1, 1962,” she said precisely.

Her marriage to Ike ended in 1971, leading Hulme to spend the vast majority of her career as a working single mom – something that was not the norm in rural Iowa at the time.

“When you have children, you do what you have to do,” Hulme explained of those early years in her career. “I worked full time. I lived up on the hill (in Traer). I scooped the driveway, the snow. I mowed the lawn. My children were involved in sports [at North Tama]. I can remember rushing home over the noon hour, washing [uniforms] and running back to work.

“You look back now and you think, how did I manage that? I thought nothing of it then; I remember working hard on the farm. You just did [what you had to do].”

A sign on the door of Farmers Savings Bank & Trust in Traer announcing the bank’s recent achievements. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

In addition to a work ethic distilled in childhood, Hulme also credits both the Buckingham and Traer (now North Tama) public school systems for her success, as well as her mentors. She earned two different degrees while working at the bank including from the Iowa School of Banking in 1974, where she was the first female graduate, and from the University of Wisconsin where she earned a bank administration degree in community bank management in 1982.

“I was fortunate I had very good support. First was Tom McWhirter who purchased the bank in 1954, and then William C. Talen who purchased the bank in February of 1974. … They both encouraged me, supported me in education.”

When asked if she considered retiring as she approached the milestones of 65, 75, 85, she said yes – but the stars just haven’t aligned yet.

“In my 60s, I was starting to look at retirement. [But then as] people retired at the bank, I stepped up. I felt a responsibility to carry on with both locations. When Mr. Talen died in February of 2023, that was more responsibility I picked up. … It’s not the right time to be retiring yet.”

One of her favorite parts of banking, she said, is the number crunching. She also likes the efficiency.

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

“You have to be making good decisions. You have to hire excellent staff, train them well. Both my owners, everything was ‘be efficient’ and that was the way I was raised with my father – we worked hard, we worked fast, perfectionists.”

This past year, Hulme was nominated for the prestigious Community Bankers of Iowa Lifetime Achievement Award by FSB Vice President Michele Werner, who wrote extensively in her nominating letter (shared with the newspaper) about Hulme’s work ethic.

“[Darlys] embodies all the qualities and spirit that this award seeks to recognize,” Werner wrote. “She is devoted and committed and clearly exemplifies the best in community banking. … Her no-nonsense business acumen comes naturally and is what she attributes to getting her start in banking. When Darlys started in 1954, the bank had $3 million in assets, while today Farmers Savings Bank & Trust celebrates its 110th anniversary with over $225 million in assets. Darlys’s years of service have witnessed both prosperous and challenging times.”

One of those challenging times Hulme touched on during her interview was the farm crisis of the 1980s when interest rates soared while both commodity and land prices plummeted. Hulme had a front-row seat to the crisis as a member of the Iowa Division of Banking.

“Banks would fail. I remember I would go out on a Friday afternoon to close it down. Those were very difficult days.”

When asked if she feels farm country is headed for another, similar crisis, she said no, not in the same vein as the 1980s, while also acknowledging commodity prices are excruciatingly low right now.

“The FDIC would work with the farmers (today) much better than we did in the 1980s. That experience, you look back, it is worth so much — you can’t replace that. When staff members retire here — you cannot replace that experience.”

Werner, FSB’s vice president, also wrote about Hulme’s abilities as a leader, mentor, and community banker, telling the nominating committee, “[She] understands people. She has a long history of working with customers to achieve their goals; and in the workplace, she fosters a culture built on collaboration and personal growth. Darlys consistently demonstrates a passion for excellence, a commitment to integrity, and a genuine interest in the development of others.”

During her interview, Hulme said she does consider herself a trailblazer – a role that has inspired many in her wake.

“Yes. Yes, I was [a trailblazer]. I was a member of the National Association of Bank Women. The younger women looked up to me as a mentor.”

In a more lighthearted moment, Hulme admitted her unique first name possibly opened some doors for her — or at the very least, helped people see her skillset before her gender.

“A lot of people thought I was a man,” Hulme said with a laugh. “They would address [correspondence] as ‘Mr,’ or they would try to change it to ‘Daryl’.”

Part of Hulme’s job today is to “protect the ownership” of the bank, she said. FSB, which began in Traer, was founded and incorporated on Feb. 2, 1915, and issued its state charter the following June 1. The Vinton bank was founded in 1942. In 1973, Talen purchased the Traer bank from the McWhirter family. He then purchased Brenton Bank & Trust Company of Vinton in March 1988 before merging the two banks under the Traer charter in May 2008. Hulme is the bank’s sixth president since 1915, and the only female to occupy the role.

Toward the end of the interview, the newspaper asked Hulme what gives her the most pride when looking back on her storied, trailblazing career. She did not hesitate to answer.

“It would be raising my children, and my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren,” she said.

“I just want her to be honored,” Werner told the newspaper in response to why she nominated Hulme. “She’s so humble – she would never talk about herself. She’s so smart, her record is flawless.”

“It’s time to take a victory lap.”

The newspaper is printing below, in full, Werner’s keynote address introducing Hulme during this past July’s Community Bankers of Iowa Annual Convention held in Okoboji.

Congratulations, Ms. Hulme, on all your accolades! Both the greater Traer and Vinton communities have been blessed by your trailblazing, barrier-breaking career.

2025 Community Bankers of Iowa Annual Convention keynote address by Michele Werner; July 18, 2025; Arnolds Park, Iowa

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Michele Werner, Vice President at Farmers Savings Bank & Trust of Traer & Vinton. I have the profound honor of introducing someone who has not only shaped my professional path, but who has shaped the very landscape of community banking in Iowa: my boss, colleague, and dear friend, Chairman and President of Farmers Savings Bank & Trust, Darlys Hulme.

It’s difficult to sum up the impact of a 65-year career in just a few words – but if I had to choose one, I would say: trailblazer.

Darlys’s career is legendary. She began banking in 1954 – when Farmers Savings Bank & Trust had just $3 million in assets. This year, we celebrate our 110th anniversary with more than $225 million in assets, and Darlys has been at the heart of that growth.

She is a trailblazer for women in banking – appointed by Governor Branstad for an unprecedented three consecutive terms on the Iowa Banking Board. She was the first woman graduate of Iowa’s School of Banking and was honored in 1994 as the Distinguished Woman Banker for Iowa.

She’s been featured on the cover of Iowa Banking Magazine, served on five corporate boards simultaneously, and notably the Shazam Board and IBA Group 7.

Her steady hand guided the bank through major economic shifts, including the 2008 financial crisis, yet achieved a top 15% ranking by Seifried & Brew in 2011.

But Darlys’s impact reaches far beyond financial performance. She has built a culture that champions collaboration, mentorship, and personal development. She has guided generations of customers toward their dreams – and inspired countless employees to reach further than they ever thought possible.

Darlys loves banking and continues her daily duties as an active full-time banker, giving tirelessly to her community – supporting numerous civic organizations including housing, healthcare and educational endowments.

She is devoted, committed, and unfailingly grounded in integrity. Her contributions to banking and to the communities of Traer and Vinton have not only been transformative, they’ve also been deeply personal – specifically creating a scholarship in memory of her son Rich Hulme who passed away in 2015.

In every stage of her remarkable 65-year career, Darlys has led with vision, strength, and purpose – breaking barriers for women, building up the bank and our community, by leaving a lasting legacy across our industry.

In the spirit of [the poet] Muriel Strode, “She did not go where the path may lead, she went where there was no path and left a trail.”

This year has been particularly special for Farmers Savings Bank & Trust:

-We celebrate its 110th anniversary

-We are recognized as one of the top 7 healthiest banks in the state of Iowa

-We earned an outstanding 5-star rating from Bauer Financial, cementing Farmer’s Savings Bank & Trust as a leader in the industry.

-And today we celebrate a wonderful person and colleague for all that she has done to advance the industry.

So it is with immense pride and gratitude that I ask you to join me in celebrating the lifetime achievements of this unmatched legend and respected leader, my colleague, mentor, and friend, Chairman & President Darlys Hulme.