COMMITTEE

Jim Taylor is Senior Vice President at First Security Bancorp in Rogers. Prior to transitioning to the holding company, Taylor was the Regional President of First Security Bank with management oversight of all operations in Northwest Arkansas, including retail and commercial banking activities at 16 full-service banking centers. He started with First Security Bank in April 1998 opening a Loan Production Office in Fayetteville and oversaw First Security’s expansion into Northwest Arkansas.

Taylor attended Arkansas Tech University, where he earned his BS in Agricultural Business.

Taylor is a member of the Government Relations Advisory Committee for Arkansas Bankers Association, Advisory Board for Arkansas Tech University School of Business, the American Bankers Association Membership Council and Commercial Real Estate Committee, Law Enforcement Assistance Program, and serves as the General Volunteer Chairman for the LPGA NWA Championship.

CHAIRMAN-ELECT BRAD CHAMBLESS

Brad Chambless is Chief Executive Officer and President of Farmers and Merchants Bank and the Bank of Fayetteville. Chambless joined Farmers and Merchants Bank in 2006 where his roles there included Executive Vice President and member of the Board of Directors. He is a graduate of Dumas High School and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas at Monticello. He went on to earn a law degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, practicing law in Arkansas for 10 years before entering the banking industry.

Chambless is active throughout the regional community as a board director of Acres of Help, Inc., the Arkansas County Imagination Library, the Stuttgart Rotary Club and the Arkansas Bar Association. Chambless also formerly served as a foundation board member for the Phillips County Community College of the University of Arkansas, member of the Arkansas Bankers Association agricultural sub-committee and director and vice chairman of Arkansas Capital Corporation.

Vice Chairman Chris Gosnell

Chris Gosnell joined Farmers Bank & Trust in 2010 and was elected President and CEO on January 16, 2017. Chris brought with him 6 years of banking experience from Northwest Arkansas when he joined the Bank and previously served as President and Chief Banking Officer for Farmers Bank & Trust.

Gosnell received his Bachelor of Arts in Administrative Management from the University of Arkansas in 2003, as well as his Master of Science in Operations Management in 2005. He graduated from the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado and serves on the Arkansas Bankers Association Board of Directors. In addition, Gosnell was named in Arkansas Business’s 40 Under 40 list for 2015.

Involved in numerous community activities and organizations which include: Leadership Fayetteville Graduate, 2009, Ducks Unlimited Local Board Member, Fayetteville Chapter, 2007 to 2010, Leadership Saline County Class XI, 2011, Arkansas Business 40 under 40, Arkansas Bankers Association Director, Texas Bankers Association Government Relations Committee, Southwest Arkansas Water District Director, Rotary Club of Magnolia, AR, Finance Committee – First United Methodist Church, Magnolia, AR, Southwest Arkansas Water District in Texarkana; Board Member, FBI 2018 Citizens Academy, Arkansas Game & Fish Foundation; Board Member and Arkansas State Police Foundation; Board Member.

Treasurer Scott Saffold

Scott Saffold serves as the EVP/Chief Lending Officer at Union Bank & Trust Company, Monticello. He is a member of the executive management team responsible for the implementation and development of strategic initiatives for the bank, for eighteen years. He also serves on the Trust and ALCO committees and is a Certified Public Accountant, graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking as SMU, ABA Commercial Lending School, and numerous other banking courses.

Graduate of Leadership Arkansas Class V and graduate from University of Arkansas at Monticello, BS Accounting, a Monticello native, Scott is actively involved in the local community, and currently serves on the following: Vice Chairman of the University of Arkansas Foundation Fund Board and a member of the Executive and Audit Committee, Vice Chairman of the UAM Board of Visitors, and UAM Foundation Fund Board.

Past Chairman Randy Scott

Randy Scott is President and CEO of Farmers Bank and Trust in Blytheville. He has been in banking for 34 years, including the last 23 years with Farmers Bank and Trust. Scott, a Southeast Missouri State University graduate with a major in finance and minor in accounting, is also a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking of the University of Colorado. Randy Scott served as Chairman of the State Bank Board in 2019, where he continues to serve on the board. In addition, he serves on the Board of Trustees at Arkansas Northeastern College, a two-year institution whose main campus is in Blytheville.

His previous community involvement includes being a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Blytheville Area Chamber of Commerce. He served on the Chamber Executive Committee and then as President of the organization. Scott has also served on the Board of Directors of the Blytheville Baseball Boosters Club, on the Board of Directors of the Great River Medical Center, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Great River Economic Development, and President of Blytheville Unlimited.

2023-24 ABA