During World War II, there wasn’t a serviceman alive who didn’t know the name Sad Sack, a comic character created by George Baker, whose daily toils in the military became a sardonic commentary on the day-to-day life of the G.I.

After the war, the comic went widespread, was purchased by Harvey Comics, and required fellow artists to help keep up the pace. Fred Rhoads was one such artist, and he took over running the strip in 1954.

Ken Iverson met Rhoads while living in Florence, South Carolina in the early 1960s. A few years later, Iverson engaged Rhoads to illustrate a booklet that was mailed to all employees describing the company’s new Profit Sharing Plan. While most of the drawings only ever appeared in that one booklet, the “Yippee! Man” has become synonymous with the profit sharing paid out in March every year since 1967. Even after six decades, he continues to appear each spring on envelopes, t-shirts and cakes throughout the company.

In 1972, Iverson again engaged Rhoads to create an ad to run in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and other publications announcing the change in the company’s name and commemorating Nucor’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

Over the course of a multi-decade drawing career, Rhoads published books, including “Rhoads’ West,” a collection of western cartoons that was published in 1972, worked as an editorial cartoonist for the Tucson Citizen, created the comic book series Gabby Gob, collaborated on other well-known comics such as Beetle Bailey and Snuffy Smith, and produced a number of corporate comics in his signature style, highlighting the unique attributes of growing American companies.

Iverson and Rhoads corresponded throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, and their families often visited each other after Iverson moved to North Carolina and Rhoads moved to Arizona. Rhoads often included doodles and small comics on the invoices he submitted to the company for his work.