By DEB GRUVER

Staff writer

A new job at Central National Bank fit two interests for 2014 Centre graduate Grant Srajer: agriculture and finance.

Srajer is market president of the bank’s location in Herington. He started the job last month and is training under Dick Kramer, who plans to retire at the end of the year after working at the bank for 37 years.

A Kansas State University graduate, Srajer initially went to college thinking he wanted to be a financial adviser.

“I got into banking several years ago and just have really, really enjoyed it,” he said.

Srajer’s father farms north of Tampa, and Srajer still helps out with that business when he can.

The opportunity to grow his career close to home appealed to Srajer, who graduated from Centre High School in 2014.

“The community around here is just really important to me,” he said. “They have a really strong presence in this area and have a good reputation.”

Srajer joins the bank with experience in agricultural, commercial, and home lending.

He is getting to know the bank’s customer base in Herington and is transitioning Kramer’s clients.

Srajer started his career as a lender in Salina and then moved to a loan officer position in Abilene.

He also worked at Archer Daniels Midland in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on the commercial side of the company’s milling division.

Srajer said he enjoys spending time with his family, including a 2-month-old son. He was on the fishing team at K-State and still enjoys hunting and fishing — “anything outdoors,” he said.

“Fishing is one of my favorite hobbies,” he said.

Being on the K-State team allowed him to travel “all over the United States,” he said.

At Centre, he was involved in Future Farmers of America and Future Business Leaders of America and played basketball and track. He also competed in powerlifting.

He worked at Jirak Brothers Produce in high school.

Srajer serves on the Dickinson County Pheasants Forever board and has volunteered with Meals on Wheels.

He is looking forward to more opportunities to volunteer, he said.