Still, it's new ground for Nelson, 54, to be the leader of a bank that's made its entry into Augusta through the acquisition of a hometown institution, Prairie State Bank.

Nelson admits that with the roll-up of Prairie State, which ceased to exist earlier this month following the completion of Emprise's acquisition, he's not done winning over former customers -- and employees.

Nelson grew up the son of a grain and cattle farmer in Clyde, in north-central Kansas, and earned a degree in agricultural economics from Kansas State University in 1974.

He started his banking career in Salina, and made stops in Great Bend, Newton and Taos, N.M., where between 1995 and 1998 he was president and chief executive of People's Bank, a $52 million bank.

"He has the whole package that you would look for (in a community bank president)," said Tom Page, Emprise chief executive. "He's very personable, very knowledgeable and has a tremendous amount of applicable experience."

Prairie State was king of the Augusta banking market. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.' s most recent market share report ranked Prairie State at the top of six banks doing business there, with 64 percent of Augusta's $162.6 million in deposits as of June.

"That's not to say 100 percent of (Prairie State's) customers are staying," he said. "(But) by and large, the vast majority of customers have stayed."

From an employee perspective, Nelson "has proven he's got good, solid leadership and he's fair," McDaniel said. "He's just an overall great guy, and he's got a lot of experience. That's all been a positive."

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