THE Making

by Roby Brock

FROM AGRICULTURE TO LAW TO BANKING, ABA CHAIRMAN BRAD CHAMBLESS MAY BE ONE OF THE MOST VERSATILE BANKERS IN ARKANSAS.

Growing up in Dumas, Arkansas, the last thing Brad Chambless thought he would be doing for a living was in banking.

His parents moved to the southeast Arkansas town in 1970 from Louisiana when Brad was very young. His father was a hometown pharmacist and his mother was a school teacher. Brad grew up in the ‘70’s like most Arkansas kids did – outside all the time playing with neighborhood friends, riding bikes, and generally unwatched because Dumas was a safe small town.

“Dumas was a thriving agriculture community. It had about 6,000-7,000 citizens,” Chambless said. “We were outside the entire time growing up, and one of the great memories is riding your bicycle because you could ride it for miles and miles and no one ever asked questions. Today, that would probably be frowned upon, but it was just a great, great environment to raise a family, and I always look back at that and have a very deep affection for Dumas in that area of the state.”

After graduating from Dumas High School, Chambless enrolled at nearby University of Arkansas at Monticello. He didn’t have much scholarship money to attend, so his goal was to get a degree in three years and finish debt-free. Majoring in agricultural business and economics, he worked for a local farmer through college and had instant employment upon graduation in the agriculture sector.