FARMERS BANK & TRUST NAMES SONJA YATES HUBBARD AS NEW DIRECTOR
T
Sonja Hubbard
Board of Directors / Audit Committee Chair
he Farmers Bank & Trust board of directors recently announced the addition of Sonja Hubbard as a director. In addition, Hubbard will serve as the audit committee chair for the bank. While Farmers Bank is majority female-owned, Hubbard will be the first female to serve on the board of directors. “Adding Sonja Hubbard to our Farmers Bank & Trust board of directors is an enormous win for the bank,” said Farmers Bank & Trust Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, Chris Gosnell. “Sonja’s proven leadership and an extensive list of national accomplishments will be tremendously valuable as we look to the future of the bank.” Reared in Ashdown, Arkansas, Hubbard is a Certified Public Accountant who received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She is currently a principal for the Yates Group, Inc., which manages retained assets from E-Z Mart Stores, Inc., where she was formerly CEO
for 20 years. The family-owned convenience store assets were sold in 2018. Hubbard has served as a member of the board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis after serving as a director and president of the Little Rock Branch of the Bank. From 2009-2010, she served as Chairman of the National Association of Convenience Stores, representing the nation’s 152,000 stores and its members. She was the first woman and legacy, following her father’s footsteps, to serve in this capacity. “When my parents, Jim and FaEllen Yates, founded E-Z Mart in 1970, they were young, visionary entrepreneurs but not wealthy. They relied on the support of community banks, including Farmers Bank & Trust, to get them started. Farmers financed stores #25 and #26 in Magnolia, Arkansas beginning a relationship that continued for many decades, meeting many more expansion needs. Having lived and seen the value of these relationships, I am excited to now be able to serve and support from the other side of the relationship.” Hubbard said.
RON WITHERSPOON TO LEAD
LITTLE ROCK MARKET FOR ARVEST BANK
R Ron Witherspoon President and CEO
on Witherspoon was named as the new local bank president and CEO for Arvest Bank in Little Rock, which includes parts of central and southwest Arkansas, effective Nov. 1. Witherspoon is returning to Little Rock after serving as local bank president for Arvest in Oklahoma City since March 2014. Prior to that, Witherspoon served as sales manager in Little Rock from 2001-2014. He began his career with Arvest in 1997. “Ron has been a strong leader within our bank for many years now,” Arvest regional executive Craig Rivaldo said. “His experience, leadership capabilities
and deep knowledge of Little Rock and all of central Arkansas make him an ideal fit for this position. We have enjoyed and sustained significant growth in Central Arkansas, and I’m confident Ron will continue to lead us on that trajectory.” Witherspoon replaces Jim Cargill, who will retire at year-end. Cargill and Witherspoon will work together during a two-month transition period. Witherspoon is a graduate of the University of Arkansas, the American Bankers Association School of Bank Marketing and Management at the University of Colorado, and the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University. THE ARKANSAS BANKER
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