Bank vice chairman Ed Scharlau

Busey Bank vice chairman Ed Scharlau,  who started in banking as a part-time janitor and teller, and now is vice chairman of Busey Bank, has been in the banking business in Champaign-Urbana for a half century. He began in 1964 when he worked as a part-time teller, earning $1.25 an hour, and worked nights as a part-time janitor, earning $2 an hour.

He later became the bank’s manager of computer operations, and quickly worked his way up the management ladder, becoming president of Busey First National Bank in 1975. “So in a little over 10 years, he literally went from sweeping the floors to being president of the bank,” said host David Inge.

Inge talks to Scharlau about the changes he's seen in the local economy over the decades and about the future of the bank as a brick and mortar institution.