Pub. 7 2012-2013 Issue 4

www.nebankers.org 12 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. “Matt’s good on the long climbs,” says a close friend of Matt Williams, who rides mountain bikes with him on the hilly terrain south of Gothenburg, Neb. T HE FRIEND ATTRIBUTES THAT TO Williams’ years of running almost every day since he was a high school track star. A few years ago, a bad knee forced him to give up running, so he took up cycling, and pursues that with the same competitive zest that he does with everything he puts his hand to. Being good on a long climb is an ideal attribute for the leaders of the nation’s largest banking trade group. Although the industry faces new chal- lenges seemingly every day, the resolu- tion of these problems is usually a long slog requiring determination and a lot of hard work. Williams, whose term as American Bankers Association (ABA) chairman began with his election at the association’s Annual Convention understands this well. He’s been part of the ABA leadership team for five years already. He also understands the need to move quickly at times—sort of like being a sprinter and a marathoner, of which he’s done both. People who know the fourth-gen- eration banker, and chairman and president of Gothenburg State Bank, say that he has the ability, much like his father, Robert, to look on problems as opportunities. Nothing makes this point more strongly than the ongoing, multi-year community development effort that’s helping Gothenburg draw its young people back home. Four Fortune 500 companies have substantial operations in the farm community of 3,800—not all of them agriculturally related.Williams does not claim credit for all this. But others will tell you that he has been instrumental in local development efforts, devoting up to 40 percent of his time to it some years. (See “Matt Williams’ Other Job” on page 20.) Some may feel that time would be better spent on behalf of the bank’s shareholders, by focusing more on how to grow the bank. But for Williams, the two things are one and the same. Growth for Gothenburg State Bank, cur- rently just under $120million in assets, comes from the growth of its commu- nity. The bank has only two locations, andWilliams has deliberately not set up Ready for the Leadership Ride Nebraska community banker is up for the challenges of leading the industry. And he’ll have plenty. Bill Streeter , ABA Banking Journal