Longtime central Minnesota banker to retire at year end

Northwestern Financial Review, Oct 1-Oct 14, 2004

Warren Williams, president and CEO of Bremer Bank, Brainerd, Minn., announced he plans to retire at the end of the year. Bremer has appointed Michael J. Riley as Williams' replacement in the role as president; Williams remains CEO and chairman of the board until Dec. 31.

"While I will miss the people I've worked with through the years, I know the organization's commitment to community banking will remain," Williams said. "Our clients can expect and will receive the same excellent service, commitment to local decision making and reinvesting in the community."

Throughout his 22-year career at Bremer, Williams has been active in many community activities. He was North · Western Financial Review's Banker of the Year in 2002.

Riley is an 18-year veteran of the financial services industry and most recently was senior vice president and senior retail manager for Bremer's Brainerd office. Riley is a graduate of Augsburg College, St. Paul, Minn.

"I'm thrilled to have someone of Mike's caliber in this position," said Al Marcyes, region president for Bremer. "We are also grateful to Warren for building such a strong team in Brainerd. In appointing Mike to this position, not only will he bring tremendous knowledge and leadership capabilities to the post, he will also help build on the outstanding performance and customer service our clients have grown accustomed to under Warren's watch."

* Michael Bue has been named president of First Federal, St. Paul, Minn. Bue had most recently served as senior vice president and director of business banking for the three-state First Federal network; prior to that, Bue had been president of the bank's Rochester market upon First Federal's purchase of three offices of Marquette Bank. Bue has extensive banking experience in Minnesota. Bue has a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Graduate School of Banking.

* Thomas Cilek joined West Bank, Iowa City, Iowa, as senior vice president. Cilek will focus on community and business development as well as commercial and real estate lending. Cilek had been with Hills Bank & Trust Co., for 18 years before joining West Bank. A native of Iowa City, Cilek is a graduate of the University of Iowa and the University of Iowa Law School, Iowa City.

* Keith Miller joined MarkleBank as vice president and relationship bankermanager of its new West Jefferson, Ind., office. Miller has 20 years of banking experience and has a Series 6 and Series 63 license. The full-service banking center in West Jefferson is currently under construction; the bank expects it to open in December. Upon completion of construction, MarkleBank will move its loan production office to the West Jefferson location from Covington Plaza.

* Peggy Roush has been named district manager of the north central suburban Twin Cities district for Wells Fargo & Co., Minneapolis. Roush, who has 25 years of banking experience, will oversee eight banking locations. Most recently, Roush was president of Wells Fargo's private banking team. Roush joined Wells Fargo's International Group in 1979. Roush has a bachelor's degree from Loyola University, Chicago, and a master's degree from Brown University in Providence, R.I.

* Roger Scharton has joined Wells Fargo Private Client Services as senior vice president in charge of developing and managing a new family wealth group in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market. Most recently, Scharton was managing director of U.S. Trust's family wealth and private banking group. Sharton has more than 20 years of banking experience, is a graduate of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb., and the University of Virginia's Colgate-Darden Graduate School of Banking and Commercial Lending.

* Ron Grady, vice president of correspondent banking at Bankers' Bank, Madison, Wis., announced he will retire Dec. 31 after 22 years with the bank. Grady is a calling officer serving southern Wisconsin. In a related announcement, Bankers' Bank said it has hired Andy Narr as assistant vice president of correspondent banking. Narr, with more than eight years of industry experience, will reside in the Milwaukee area and call on banks in southern Wisconsin. Narr has a bachelor of science degree in consumer business affairs from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also completed the Wisconsin Bankers Association's Commercial Lending School.

* Nancy Pankow of Community National Bank in Decorah, Iowa, recently commemorated her 40th year in banking. Pankow started with the Decorah State Bank in 1964.

* Richard L. Harbaugh of Equitable Federal Savings Bank, Grand Island, Neb., has been elected chair of the Risk Management Association. Harbaugh, a member of RMA's Midlands Chapter, joined RMA in 1973. He has been a member of RMA's board of directors since 1997 and is a past chairman of RMA's Community Bank Council.