Skarda retires after 35 year banking career
By Betsy Ryan
Farmer Staff Writer
“Working was a piece of cake compared to what my slave driver of a husband has me doing on the farm now,” laughed Kathy Skarda as she talked about her recent retirement from First International Bank & Trust after a 35 year career in banking. “Boy I love him dearly, but this is going to take some getting used to.”
Whether you have ran into Skarda in her role at First International Bank & Trust or heard her heartfelt comments as a McKenzie County Commissioner, her face (or laugh) is not one you soon forget. This week, employees and friends of First International Bank & Trust celebrate Kathy and the legacy her long career has created.
As a young high school student hailing from the small community of Squaw Gap in the southwestern part of McKenzie County, Skarda began working at Richland Bank. It was the end of the 1970s and Kathy knew that she wanted her part-time job to turn into a career. So, when she graduated from high school, she enrolled in a banking course at the university now known as Williston State College.
It was at Williston State College that she not only solidified her knowledge that banking was the right route for her, but she also met Gary Skarda who she would shortly marry and move with to Watford City.
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