Pub. 7 2012-2013 Issue 4

www.nebankers.org 14 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. Best wishes to Matt Williams as incoming Chairman of the American Bankers Association. You’ll Love Our Brand of Banking! Serving Central Nebraska Uncommonly Well in Doniphan, Hastings, and Grand Island. 402-845-6565 or Toll Free 888-845-6565 7EST 0LUM $ONIPHAN s .ORTH "URLINGTON (ASTINGS .ORTH $IERS !VENUE 3TE 'RAND )SLAND Member knowing the proper techniques—and he vowed not to let that happen again. “It taught me a lot about what you have to do to be pre- pared,” he says. Since then,Williams has kept himself in shape physically by running (and nowby cycling), and he alsomakes sure that whatever he undertakes—be it an ABA speech or a visit to a corporate prospect for the community—he is prepared. Life Imitates Art in Gothenburg Although it’s almost a cliché to say it, nevertheless it’s true that Matt Williams has lived a real-life Wonderful Life . No angels have approached him(at least not that he’smentioned), but early in life he was forced to choose between the career he really wanted and returning to his hometown to help out at the family bank, much as in the movie, when Jimmy Stewart had to stay behind to run the Bailey Bros. Building & Loan while his younger brother went off to war and fame. While an undergraduate at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln, it was law, not banking or agriculture, that most interested Williams. He did very well in law school, inspired by an uncle who was a noted Washington tax attorney. At UNL, hemet andmarried his wife, Sue, a nursing student who supported him through law school. The two looked forward to moving East, where Williams had opportunities to work for large law firms. Life had other ideas. Between Williams’ junior and senior years of law school, his father died of cancer at 56. The family, most of whom were involved in the farming side of the family business, asked Matt if he would come back to help run the bank. That was in 1973 and he was just 24. It was a blow in many ways. But the sense of duty and responsibility to the family outweighed both his desire to pur- sue law and the young couple’s natural wish to see the world beyond a small town. After much discussion, they decided to look on it as an opportunity and agreed to come back after he finished law school. Almost 40 years later, there are no regrets. In fact,Williams really can’t imagine living anywhere else or doing another job. Both the bank and the community have benefited from the couple’s decision to come back. For her part, Sue put her RN training to good use, bring- ing Lamaze childbirth classes to Gothenburg and working at a cardiac rehab facility before staying home to raise the couple’s two children, Robert and Julie. Q Leadership Ride — continued