ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — In her 44 years of banking, Mary Carolyn McDaniel has done it all.

“I’ve held every position at this bank,” McDaniel said of her 30 years at Citizens’ Bank. “I started out in public relations and I’ve been a teller, secretary, loan officer and branch manager in Loxley, Foley and Fairhope, some more than once.”

McDaniel, a native and longtime resident of Robertsdale who now lives with her husband Ronnie in Summerdale, spent much of her last day Friday at the main branch in Robertsdale reminiscing with old friends and colleagues.

She began her career at the age of 19 at Baldwin National Bank (later AmSouth Bank) where her brother, Robert Gulledge, was president.

“We started in a smaller building, which he later had torn down and a new bank built in its place, which is where RBC Bank is now,” she said.

She came with him when he built his own bank on Highway 104 in Robertsdale in 1981, along with two other employees, Ethel Taylor and Velma Pearson.

“We started with five employees total. We now have over 30,” she said. A quick check confirmed that the bank now has 35 employees with four locations, including the original in Robertsdale, along with branches in Loxley, Foley and Fairhope.

While she hesitated to comment on the state of banking and the economy today, she did say she’s seen a lot of changes, some good, some not so good.

“I really can’t predict what’s going to happen, but yes, I’ve seen a lot of changes,” she said. “Some changes of have been good and some have made it more difficult for us to provide personal service to our customers. There was a time when I knew all of my customers’ names and their children’s names. It’s just not that way anymore.”

McDaniel said her favorite part of the buisness was customer service.

That love of customer service has spilled over into community service through the years, including serving as an officer in both the Central Baldwin Chamber of Commerce and the Robertsdale Rotary Club.

She has worked with the Baldwin County Strawberry Festival, which is held each April at the Municipal Park in Loxley since its beginning, serviing as chairman for 16 or 17 years.

She credits her work with the Strawberry Festival, which benefits the Association for Retarded Citizens of Baldwin County, in preparing her for when her granddaughter, Rileigh, was born with down syndrome.

She plans to remain active in planning for the Festival and the Rileigh and Raylee Foundation Angel Ride, which she founded with Dr. Albert Corte, friends and family 10 years ago and is held annually in November, ending at Oak Hollow Farm in Fairhope. The Foundation and ride is named in part for her granddaughter.

“That one is certainly dear to my heart,” she said.

As for other plans, she and her husband are planning a trip to Alaska in the coming weeks.

“I definitely want to travel more,” she said. “And spend time with my family.”

She and Ronnie have two children, Heather Logan and Dawn Parker. Heather and her husband Jim; Dawn and her husband, Wally, have seven children between them, Taylor, Paxton, Wil, Garrett, Anna Caroline, Rileigh and Mac.