Pub. 7 2012-2013 Issue 4

www.nebankers.org 16 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. Work Hard; Play Hard Lest you get the impression that Matt Williams, while he may be a good guy, sounds a little bit like, well, “George Bailey” (did we mention that he sings in his church choir?), his friends and family—and Williams himself—will disabuse you of that no- tion. It’s true that the years, greater responsibilities, and broken bones have slowed him down a bit. But not much. It was just this past February that he broke his collarbone riding his mountain bike through a patch of mud and ice one morning. Over the years, much of Williams’ energy when not working has been fo- cused on Jeffrey Lake, one of the irriga- tion reservoirs outside town where his family has had a cabin for many years. While he and his family have had their share of fun in the water, it doesn’t do justice to the adventures he and his friends have had. Years ago, they built a water-ski jump out of barrels and plywood and then launched themselves off it behind a ski boat. There also was a kite-skiing experiment, among other enterprises. In a special category is University of Nebraska football. Williams’ son Robert describes his dad as “a Husker fan to the nth degree.” The family has season tick- ets, which are probablyworthmore than Apple stock, considering Husker games have been sold out since 1961. They work hard and play hard on the Great Plains. They also take their music seriously—at least the Williams family always has. Matt’s sister, Jan, is director of the church choir, aswere both their father andmother before her.Matt, who led the church children’s choir for years—now led by his daughter, Julie— played trombone inhigh school and sang and played guitar in a band. He still loves to sing and has a marvelous tenor voice, which he also uses to good effect in the bank’s radio commercials. Still Pioneering It’s people that enable Gothenburg State Bank to excel, Williams firmly believes. “We never view ourselves as having limited resources,” he says in tribute to the 28 people the bank em- ploys. In fact his ABA service has been made possible by these employees step- ping up to do more. He cites three in particular who have taken on additional executive responsibilities: his long-time executive secretary, Ruthie Franzen; Luke Rickertsen, senior ag lender, board member, andWilliams’ son-in-law; and Mike Hilderbrand, senior lender and board member. The staff, plus the technology choices community banks nowhave, also has en- abled Gothenburg State Bank to stay up with customer expectations. The bank’s slogan is, “Still pioneering.” It connects with the bank’s heritage and with the Pony Express logo it uses. But it means much more. “It’s a slogan we challenge ourselves to live up to,” saysWilliams, adding, “No we’re Always CLOSE BY NetWorks is the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) service provider that Nebraskans have used and learned to trust like family for over 30 years. Since our offices are right here in Nebraska, you can count on us to provide quick and personalized service for all of your EFT needs. Give us a call and let’s talk about how we can simplify EFT for you. You will talk with a fellow Nebraskan and not some automated system. www.netseft.com Toll Free 800-735-6833 Local 402-434-8202 Q Leadership Ride — continued