Age: 68
2010
Occupation: Founder/owner of Huberty & Associates, S.C., a certified public accounting firm
Success
Name: Wayne Huberty
Home community: Fond du Lac Number of years in the community: 32 Your reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “I am surprised and honored. It is humbling to be recognized for doing something in a profession that I find challenging but also extremely rewarding. I have thoroughly enjoyed my career.”
The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood if I had thought about being a hospital medic.”
Impact of Navy experience When Huberty’s orders arrived from boot camp, he learned that he had been assigned as a hospital medic at Great Lakes Naval Hospital in Illinois. His first role was in the pediatric ward, followed by the newborn nursery. “Kind of a switch from operating steam shovels and bulldozers,” Huberty said. His medic assignments in the Navy then took him to Camp Pendleton, California — a Marine Corps camp. “The Navy supplied the Marine Corps with medics,” Huberty said. “I had been assigned to a mobile field hospital and trained in combat. It was similar to the TV series MASH, the Army counterpart to ours.” With his Navy unit, he ventured as far as Okinawa and Cuba, traveling by ship from San Diego to the Caribbean waters near Cuba during the 1962 Cuban Missile Blockade. “(President) Kennedy was serious,” Huberty recalled, noting that he was aboard ship for two months. “We were battle ready. If they hadn’t removed the missiles, an invasion would have occurred.” After his commitment with the Navy ended, Huberty sought further education. He went on to earn a technical college degree in Elkhart, Ind. as a lab and x-ray technician, acquiring his first job at a hospital in Two Rivers and then Fond du Lac, where he worked at the Fond du Lac Clinic.
Huberty says he enjoyed the medical field. In fact, when the government came out with a new GI bill in 1965, he jumped at the chance to earn a college degree. He even considered medical school. “I would have stayed in medicine, but I was 24, married and had a child. Plus, I had trouble narrowing down my area of interest in medicine,” he pointed out.
Giving business a chance “Ultimately, I decided to give business and accounting a try since I liked dealing with numbers,” he added. Huberty earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1970 while he was married with two children and working at the Fond du Lac Clinic. “Those years…were some of the most rewarding years of my life,” he said. In the end, Huberty credits his experience with the Navy and his own method of trying out various career tracks as the solution for finding the best fit for a satisfying longtime career in the accounting field. “I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for the Navy, my pursuits in further education and the dedicated staff who make our firm the success that it is,” he said.
Growing the business Huberty & Associates does much more than just year-end taxes. While it specializes in tax
“Over half of our professionals have previously worked for international, national or regional accounting firms that bring diverse training, experiences and expertise to our firm. Those varied parts make us a stronger team.
planning and preparation, the company also handles estate, financial and investment plans; college savings plans; business problem-solving; and computer consulting. Started by Huberty in 1981, the firm has offices in Ripon, Plymouth and Markesan, in addition to Fond du Lac, with a new location opening next month in Campbellsport. “As CPAs and consultants, we provide a broad range of financial services to business and individual clients from area communities,” Huberty said, noting his firm’s mission is to provide quality financial services on a timely basis and at reasonable rates. “Our real emphasis is on consulting and guiding small businesses.” Huberty says he believes in working closely with his clients throughout the year, not just at tax time. It’s what he credits for the growth of his company and the success of the business clients his staff assists. The passion Huberty has for his career can’t help but spread to others. “I’ve known Wayne for 25 years,” said Russ
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Wayne Huberty stands proudly near the business sign at 145 S. Marr St. Forbes magazine has named Huberty & Associates “one of the most reliable CPA firms in the Midwest.”
To what do you owe your measure of success? “I believe success is achieved by surrounding yourself with competent professionals and by providing tools and guidance to let them perform.
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