Age 36  |  Vice president of commercial banking, West Bank

Growing up near the Guthrie Center Golf Course in his hometown, Ryan Wedemeyer became enthralled with the game at the age of 5. At 14, he accepted his first job: managing the clubhouse.

“There wasn’t much management,” he said. “I sold candy bars, for the most part. Golf has been a lifelong love for me.”

These days, Wedemeyer spends the majority of his time connecting with his wife and three children as he manages commercial lending at West Bank.

“He is described by his colleagues as hard-working, smart, thorough, attentive to customers, organized, positive and determined,” wrote Joyce Chapman, a West Bank director, in her nomination of Wedemeyer for the 2011 class of Forty Under 40.

Active with the Rotary Club of West Des Moines and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Iowa, Wedemeyer is a graduate of the 2009-2010 class of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute.

He’s also president of the Cambio Club, a breakfast group focused on professional development and networking opportunities.

“I’ve been charged as the president to grow and revitalize the club and attract some younger members,” Wedemeyer said. “The Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute was great to broaden my network, from a professional and civic perspective. I just want to try to get more connected in the community.”

A University of Northern Iowa alumnus and avid Iowa State University Cyclones fan, Wedemeyer graduated in the top 10 percent of his class at the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin.

“He’s been chosen here to lead a department that’s critical for our ongoing success,” said Brad Winterbottom, president of West Bank. “He has the ability to be upwardly mobile here. I’m not ready to retire … but he will be part of the future leadership of this bank, if he so chooses.”

This spring, it will probably be easier to find Wedemeyer coaching his son’s Johnston Little League baseball team than hanging out on the golf course.

“These days, I mostly play with my kids,” Wedemeyer said, though he admits his adoration of the game hasn’t diminished. “I enjoy it more than I ever have,” he said. But, “my handicap seems to go up by two with every child I have.”