Pam Kucera is so honored that she was voted Business Person of the Year by the Johnston Chamber of Commerce that she tears up talking about it. It was not something she set out to achieve, she said, nor was it something she expected when she left her first career in cosmetology, closed her business and moved to Des Moines with her husband, Bill, who was transferred from Davenport for work in 1990. With the opportunity to start afresh, Kucera became a residential real estate agent. Eight years later, she transitioned into mortgage lending because of its better work hours. Last year she accepted a position with Iowa Bankers Mortgage Corp., which provides secondary lending to community banks, as a marketing representative. Outside work, she has been actively involved in the Johnston Chamber of Commerce and the Johnston Community School District.

What is a typical workday like for you?

IBMC wanted to have somebody out to promote what we do and that’s where I come in. I’m continually on the road visiting banks and seeing what we can do to help them. Mondays and Fridays, I try to be here so that I can plan my week out for my visits and do follow-ups as far as if I need to get information to those banks. It also gives me an opportunity to visit with my fellow co-workers to let them know if there’s been any suggestions or any concerns by the community banks so that we can address those.

What has been the impact of your work on the company?

One, it’s educating the bankers as far as some loan products that they’re not familiar with and helping them be more comfortable with them. It’s also opening up some doors with banks that we’ve not worked with in the past. Our volume has increased since I’ve been on board. Of course that’s part of why I’m here.

Are you concerned about the housing market today?

We’re definitely out of the boom the way we knew from a few years ago. I think we’re more back to the normal mortgage business. There’s a lot of loan products that have been on the market with the subprime lending and interest-only, and some of those that I think were used for borrowers who maybe didn’t know how to handle them. There were a lot of borrowers put into those loans and now they’re having problems with them. We’re seeing it more on a national level than we are here locally, but it still does impact us with the foreclosure rates. With IBMC, we have been known to be more protective of our borrowers, not wanting them to get into some of those products, so we don’t offer the interest-only loans. Recently we have a division that will do subprime and there are some limitations to it.

How has the field changed over the past few years?

The market for mortgages has really changed over the last 10 or 12 years, because you’re no longer just competing with the bank down the street. Now you’re competing with the Internet and with what you see on TV. All the banks are trying to look at what they can do to be more productive for their borrowers, hopefully attract new business and keep the business in their community, too.

Do you enjoy the traveling?

I don’t mind the traveling at all. I’m at the time in my life where my children are adults, so I don’t have the concern of trying to make a school function or those types of things.

Why did you become so involved in your community?

I’m just one of those people who enjoys getting involved in the community that I live in and seeing what I can do to help. Through the course of time with the Johnston chamber, I was on the board of directors, then president, then I got involved with Green Days, which is our town festival, and served three years as chairman of that. Just with my job change now, it makes it more difficult for me to stay as involved in the community as I have been.

What accomplishment are you most proud of in your volunteer work?

During my presidency, we opened a chamber office here in Johnston. Also, the continual growth of Green Days. We’ve been able to raise some funds that we have put back in the community.

What is one word to describe yourself?

Friendly.