Meet 2023‑2024 NBA Chair LYDELL WOODBURY What makes you feel fulfilled? For Lydell “Woody” Woodbury, it’s being able to positively impact those around him. He’s able to do this, in large part, through his career in banking. Woodbury is the Chairman and CEO of First Nebraska Bank and is currently serving a one-year term as Chair of the Nebraska Bankers Association. Coming from humble beginnings, Woodbury felt that college, much less a career in banking, was not attainable. With six siblings, finances at his home in southwest Minnesota were tight. “What my parents lacked in financial resources, they more than made up for in teaching us about work ethic,” Woodbury said. Upon graduation, he applied to enter the military. In March of 1977, Woodbury joined the U.S. Army. His training involved managing and scheduling maintenance for the motorized equipment assigned to the units he was attached to. Additionally, he was responsible for ordering and tracking inventory of replacement parts and dispatching vehicles for use by other unit personnel. He completed basic training at Fort Dix, NJ, before moving to Fort Lee, VA, for advanced individual training. Following that, he was assigned to Fort Ord, CA. After 13 months at Fort Ord, he was assigned to the 24th Maintenance Company at Panzer Kaserene, Bobligen, West Germany. After 15 months in Germany, he separated from the Army in the same place his military training began. Following his honorable discharge, he applied to a two-year accounting program at Pipestone Area Vocational Technical Institute. However, during the interview he was told, “You might have too much personality to be an accountant.” Woodbury took that to mean that he should focus on a career with the opportunity for daily interaction with other people and went across the hall to interview for the ag banking program instead. The rest is history. “I found out that I really enjoyed the banking aspect of the ag banking program. It was still a two-year program; it still mixed the numbers with other approaches and encouraged interpersonal interactions,” Woodbury said. He said there are some parallels between the military and banking. There are certain rules you must follow and expectations from those you work with and for. Just like his fellow soldiers expected him to conduct himself with integrity and honor, customers also expect bankers to handle themselves in the same way. “There’s an expectation that you’re going to look after their situations as you would your own,” Woodbury said. 8 Nebraska Banker
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