Jeanine Mixdorf’s first big trip from home was in 1988 when she traveled across Iowa from Sioux Center in the northwest to Cedar Falls and the University of Northern Iowa in the northeast. She has collected some road miles since that time, living in New York City, the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills and in the Toledo, Ohio, area. She liked her job with a commercial real estate company in Michigan so much that she drove 90 minutes, one way, four days a week to Ohio after her husband took a job there as a golf course superintendent. Iowa, however, was never far from her mind, and in 2007 the Mixdorf family arrived in Des Moines to raise a family. In March, she took the newly created position of marketing director for Affiliates Management Co., the holding company for the Iowa Credit Union League and its related companies.

You’ve done some traveling since leaving Sioux Center.
I say I don’t like change, yet change seems to be a part of my life. I think it’s just a willingness to raise my hand. 

You grew up in a town of about 7,000 people. What did you think of New York City?
“I loved New York City. It was terrifying; there were many times when I called home crying. I took out a loan (back in Sioux Center) to pay for rent. … Bless small towns and the faith they have in people. I would have stayed out there (in New York), but came back … to get married. We lived in Des Moines for 1½ years. I worked for the American Lung Association of Iowa. Then we left and came back 10 years later. It didn’t even look the same.

Why did you leave Des Moines?
My husband’s job took us to Michigan. He was a golf course superintendent and worked with Oakland Hills Country Club (a private course that has hosted six U.S. Opens and three PGA Championships), which was an opportunity he just couldn’t pass up. I was fortunate enough while I was there to work with a consulting company for a while, and then I worked for Kojaian, which was a real estate development company. It is a family-owned, amazing company. It was one of the jobs that if you could keep it forever or just package it up … the amount of work and quality of work for the size of the staff was fantastic.

What brought you to Affiliates Management Co.?
What got me here was the culture and the people. In talking through the interview process, they felt what they said, if that makes sense. They said our core value is that people matter. I don’t know that every company really and truly embraces that, but here, we do.

Why did AMC create the marketing position?
There has been a lot of growth among the family of companies, with nearly 100 employees coming on board over the last 12 to 18 months. With that growth came additional need for someone focused on executive leadership in developing and shaping the image of AMC and its family of companies. In addition, l provide executive marketing and communications strategies for the Iowa Credit Union League, PolicyWorks, Coopera and the Iowa Credit Union Foundation. 

Do you spring into action when the banking industry questions the nonprofit status of credit unions?
We do. We very much try to help educate and help people understand the benefits, value, the structure, and the cooperative nature of credit unions. … Not everybody knows or fully understands what the benefits of a credit union are or what a credit union is.

What do you do in your spare time?
The kids are 8 and 10, so we are just entering that crazy zone of life with activities, sports overlap, academic programs, theater; it’s just all hitting at once. It’s great. We’re kind of seeing their personalities develop out of it.

Who was your mentor?
My dad inspired me a lot. The hours he put in, but yet still being an involved dad as much as he could with eight children. His work ethic. He had an amazing faith. He always had a peace and enjoyment of life. That’s probably one of things that I go back to is to always have that joy in life. 

Are you still raising your hand?
I’m that person who says I can’t take the lead, but I will help out when I am able. … I still raise my hand, but in a different way than I did five years ago, 10 years ago.