The Post-Crescent from Appleton, Wisconsin • 31

TSCB CCITACT: Arlen Boardman, business editor 920-993-1000, ext. 293 mail: PCNewsathenet.net D-l SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 1998 THIS SECTION Stocks to Watch D-2 Carol Kleiman D-3 Views D-4 ARLEN BOARDMAN Post-Crescent business editor I 0 Waupaca BankCorp has become a player on the national stage I "ll J- U.bi4 i I 1 j' ini' By Dan Wilson Post-Crescent staff writer A tirst glance it appears to be an unlikely marriage, a conservative Wisconsin bank entering the rough-and-tumble banking market in Texas. Waupaca BankCorp, the holding company that owns the First National Bank in Waupaca, Iola, Chetek and Weyauwega, now owns two Texas banks, purchased in 1995 and 1998. "There were certain areas in Texas where banks were in trouble," said Waupaca BankCorp President Archie Overby, who is a Texas native. "And it colored the whole state and gave the whole state a checkered reputation in the banking business." But it was a conscious decision, said Overby, to look for other properties that were priced right I "The prices of banks in the Midwest had escalated so we looked elsewhere and Texas was a logical connection.

I was familiar with the area and the and promised a good return, and the Texas banks provided the best prospects. "The prices of banks in the Midwest had escalated so we looked elsewhere and Texas was a logical connection," he said. "I was familiar with the area and the prices were depressed there." In 1995, Waupaca BankCorp bought the National Bank of Commerce in Pampa. This year they added the First Bank and Trust in Sham- Harassment in workplace not tolerable My guess: Most companies in the Fox Valley had incidents of sexual harassment before the 1990s, which at the time were laughed off or barely noticed. My second guess: Sexual harassment still goes on in many companies in the Valley, even though sexual harassment, now defined as a form of sexual discrimination, is against state and federal law.

There are those who will say that the laws are an unfortunate result of a society that's more inclined to say, make a law to stop something, instead of saying to the offender, knock it off. Certainly, in many cases, offenders aren't taken through the corporate and legal process for being offensive, but are simply told to knock it off by the person offended. This works in most cases, the experts say, but it's not used in some cases and it doesn't work in some cases. Hence, we have passed a law. The really bad and ignored situations that justify the law can drag along relatively minor cases that could be handled with a "Knock it off." That's where we're at these days, and it's where many people, especially the younger people in our workforce, seem to think we should be.

It's part of the I'll-sue-you-at-the-dropof-a-hat mentality. All opinions about whether sexual harassment laws are good don't matter because it's the law. We at The Post-Crescent have been put through training on how to behave as an individual on the job and as a supervisor. Krukowski Costello, a Milwaukee law firm exclusively in employment and labor law, didn't do our training, but it has prepared a handbook for company supervisors on most-asked questions about sexual harassment and on the dos and don'ts. Thomas Krukowski, a managing partner and the author of the handbook, prepared it because of recent U.S.

Supreme Court decisions that change how supervisors should deal with harassment issues. The rulings hold employers liable for supervisory sexual harassment, according to Theresa L. Miller, public relations coordinator for the firm. Krukowski said employers should work to prevent problems before they occur, and avoid litigation as well as workplace disruption. "My hope is that companies will use the "Employment Law Manual for Wisconsin Employers" to become better employers by understanding the law and instituting the fair management practices recommended in the manual," Krukowski said.

The small book he prepared offers a test on one's knowledge of sexual harassment. Here are nine questions followed by the answers: 1. If ignored, unwanted sexual attention will usually stop. 2. If I don't intend to sexually harass someone, that person won't think I'm being sexually harassing.

3. If I'm not asked to stop making sexual comments to someone, that must mean my behavior is welcome. 4. Some people won't complain about unwanted sexual attention because they don't want to get anyone into trouble. 5.

A court may tell a sexual harasser to pay part of a judgment to the employee who has been harassed. 6. Legal rights for a sexually harassed man are different from those for a sexually harassed woman. 7. About 90 percent of the sexual harassment in the workplace is done by males toward females.

8. Sexually suggestive pictures in a workplace are OK as long as no one complains. 9. Telling someone to stop unwanted behavior usually doesn't do any good. The answers: 1.

F. 2. F. 3. F.

4. F. 5. F. 6.

F. 7. T. 8. F.

9. F. Arlen Boardman can be reached at P.O. Box 59, Appleton Wl 54912, or e-mailed at pcnewsathenet.net prices were depressed there." ARCHIE OVERBY president, Waupaca BankCorp rTTT 1 Tin 1 1 ance, annuities, et cetera, but we have stuck to the old formulas. It's a throwback to the handshake banker.

We spend a lot of time with our customers face to face. And we don't use voice mail. People should talk to a live person when they call the bank." The layout of the bank reflects the philosophy. All the offices front on the lobby with glass fronts, making it possible to say hello to all the banking officers while passing through the lobby. "If I see someone who appears to need help, I will direct them to someone who can take care of their problem.

It's just the way we like to do business." With five banks in the area, Waupaca is a competitive market. However, said Overby, the number of banks reflects the local economy. "Competition is tough in Waupaca, no doubt about it. It's a growing area with a lot of businesses being created and businesses growing." To take advantage of that climate, First National Bank does a lot of commercial lending, lending to those smaller commercial customers many of the commercial banks ignore. "Banks can't succeed unless their customers succeed.

Especially in a small town." mmmmmmmmmmmm rock, merging it into the National Bank of Commerce. "We have two advantages, because in our market we generate a lot of loan activity, so by acquiring these banks, which have more deposits and fewer loans, we could place more loans into these markets. It gives us a better mix." Overby, 49, began his banking career right out of law school in 1974. After graduating from Texas Tech he went to work for the trust department of a Des Moines bank, later coming to Waupaca to work at the First National Bank in 1979. First National became available in 1980 and Overby put together a group of local investors to buy the holding company, which then only had the one property.

At that time, Waupaca BankCorp had $20 million in assets. Now, with the Wisconsin and Texas properties, assets total $280 million. Keeping track of the various banking tentacles is made easier with technology. "We were innovative in utilizing our mainframe computer in Waupaca to process all of our locations," he said. "We gather the data at each location, including Texas, and transmit the data to the First National Bank in Waupaca.

Our mainframe the processes the information and reports back to all locations." What isn't handled over the computer is easily handled over the phone, said Overby. "We don't have a lot of meetings. If I want to communicate with somebody, I go to them directly. Meetings are just a waste of time." "We have stuck with the old-time basic banking business take in deposits and lend them back out into the community. Our loan to deposit ratio is in the 90 percent range, which is high," he said.

"Other banks have plunged into insur Coming Monday I Carbon coating research: Slick Program eases culture shock i i Ill I'A lM By Jon Van Chicago Tribune CHICAGO Banishing friction from machines is a dream almost as old as turning lead into gold, so a discovery at Argonne National Laboratory of a nearly frictionless carbon coating has produced a flood of inquiries from people interested in applying the new technology. The Argonne researchers who developed ultra-low-friction carbon, Ali Erdemir and George Fenske, have gotten more than 1,000 inquiries since their discovery was mentioned late last year in some industry and science journals. People as disparate as Illinois hog farmers, bowling alley operators and 1 By Guillermo X. Garcia The Orange County Register You are an executive with a Fortune 500 firm about to begin your first overseas assignment. Did you know an 8 p.m.

business dinner means you are seated and eating the first course at 8 if the meeting is in Seoul? That same dinnertime means something completely different in Tegucigalpa, where the Hispanic sense of time is less rigid. Perhaps it is time to enroll for training to teach you and your family about the cultural mores, history and language of the country where you're going. Please see CULTURE, D-6 Where are they now? Retired CEOs of Fox River Valley companies are enjoying their 'postrwork' careers FOXVALUYINC. SCIENTIST OSMAN ERYILMAZ watches as carbon is applied to create a nearly frictionless surface Please see carbon, r6 ma deposition chamber..