Corydon “Corky” Nicholson set sail to become a career naval officer, but after four years of duty, the waters became muddied by circumstances, and he changed course.
That decision, made for family considerations, resulted in his return to Decatur and eventually on a career to become one of Decatur’s most experienced and respected bankers.
“When I first came back to Decatur, I took a job with Connecticut General Life Insurance in St. Louis. That was to gain some experience with the idea of returning and helping with the family business,” Nicholson said. He returned to Decatur to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, father and uncle, thus becoming the third generation to figure in running the well-known Nicholson-Clark Insurance Co. His grandfather’s name also was Corydon.
“The Nicholson family goes back to the 1850s in Decatur, and I know my dad wanted me to become involved, so I thought it was time to do that,” he said. “The problem is I didn’t really like the insurance business much, so when John Luttrell, who was president of the First National Bank then, offered me a position there, I jumped at it.”
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“I had a couple of jobs there, but ended up in marketing, working along with Jim Gresham. I really enjoyed my years there, because Jim was fun to work with and John Luttrell was one of the greatest guys in the world to have as your boss,” Nicholson said.
Gresham, who was in charge of marketing at First National when Nicholson arrived, said Nicholson “was always a guy who could get things done. He had a sharp mind and a lot of energy. Those were some very good years at the bank. It’s been a long time ago, but Corky and I have remained friends ever since.”
“I left there in 1985 to take a job as vice president of commercial lending at the Millikin-Magna National Bank and was there until I had the opportunity to join the Hickory Point Bank in 2003 and learn the ropes from Dale Arnold, who was about to retire,” he said. “I’ve been unusually fortunate to have worked for some outstanding bankers all along the way, John Luttrell, then Ray Livasy at Millikin-Magna and Dale Arnold. I learned a great deal about community banking from all of them. John has passed on, but Dale, Ray and I are good friends to this day.”
He feels one of the most important things he gleaned from his mentors was the importance of being involved in the community. “All of them encouraged me to do something in the community and furthermore, they gave me the time to do it. I feel that has helped me greatly in trying to do my part in making this the kind of community we all want it to be” he said.
He is a past president of the Decatur Park District Board, chairman of the Metro Decatur Chamber of Commerce, chairman of key Millikin University fund drives, chairman of the board for the Macon County Unit of the American Cancer Society and the St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation, past president of the Symphony Guild of Decatur and the Boys and Girls Club of Decatur and member of the board of directors of such diverse groups as the Futures Charity Classic Golf Tournament, United Way, Webster-Cantrell Hall, Junior Achievement, Decatur Foresight Inc., Illinois Educational Development Corporation and the Community Investment Corporation of Decatur.
Nicholson also has served or is serving on the Decatur Public Building Commission, Decatur Zoning Board of Appeals, Decatur Human Relations Commission, the Decatur Memorial Hospital Now and Tomorrow Council, Decatur Public Schools Referendum Steering Committee and the Decatur Leadership Institute.
“I became convinced early on that if you want to make the town a place you enjoy living, you have to help make it that way. I don’t have time for people who gripe about things in the community, unless they’re willing to make the effort to do something about it,” he said.
He sees a bright future for local banks. “I believe we have more of a stake in the community and offer more personalized banking. At least that’s what I strive for with our people,” Nicholson said.
“Unlike some of the big banks that had to be bailed out, we didn’t get into risky loans. The health of Hickory Point Bank was probably best illustrated last June when we closed our fiscal year as our best year ever,” he said. “Studies have shown that people are flocking back to community banks. That bodes well for banks like ours and others like us.”
