2022-23 ABA
EXECUTIVE C O M M I T T E E CHAIRMAN RANDY SCOTT
Randy Scott is President and CEO of Farmers Bank and Trust in Blytheville. He has been in banking for 33 years, including the last 22 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.
CHAIRMAN-ELECT JIM TAYLOR
Chairman-Elect 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 as a Loan Production Officer 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 Chairman 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 Small Loan Committee, Law Enforcement Assistance Program, and serves as General Volunteer Chairman for the LPGA NWA Championship. Jim Taylor and his wife, Felicia, have two daughters, Brittney and Bailey, and two granddaughters, Vivianne and Isla.
VICE CHAIRMAN BRAD CHAMBLESS
Vice Chairman, Brad Chambless serves as 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. In addition to overseeing the seven markets where the bank has offices, 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.
TREASURER LORI ROSS
Lori Ross is the Arkadelphia City President of Citizens Bank. She began her banking career as a Commercial Lender for Southern Bancorp. She later went on to work for Summit Bank, which was acquired by Bank OZK. Lori served as Market President there for three years until leaving to join Citizens Bank. Headquartered in Batesville, Arkansas, Citizens opened a new location in Arkadelphia in March of 2016, and hired Ross to establish the new market. Ross is a past Chairperson for the ABA Group 3 and she is a graduate of Leadership Arkansas, Class XII. She is currently serving on the Community Bankers Council for the American Bankers Association. She is a board member for the Economic Development Commission of Clark County, and an active Rotarian and member of the Arkadelphia Noon Rotary Club where she has served as Past President, District Chair of the RYLA Program, and chair of the Foundation Committee. She was named Rotarian of the Year for her volunteer efforts in the Arkadelphia Community. She was also recognized as one of Clark County's 20 Under 40. Lori is a member of the First United Methodist Church in Arkadelphia. She has two sons, Turner and Garrett.
PAST CHAIRMAN JIM CARGILL
Jim Cargill is President and CEO of Arvest Bank in central, southwest, and northeast Arkansas, overseeing Arvest’s retail, consumer, and commercial banking operations. Cargill began his Arvest career in 1985 and is a fourthgeneration banker. Jim attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He also is a graduate of the American Bankers Association Graduate School of Commercial Lending and of The Professional Masters of Banking Program at The Graduate School of Banking, Louisiana State University. Cargill is a member of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors Executive Committee and the Fifty for the Future Board of Directors as Treasurer. He will be installed as Chairman in December 2021. He is also a member, and Paul Harris Fellow, of the Little Rock Downtown Rotary Club, the Governor’s Circle, the UAMS Chancellor’s Circle and the LRAFB Community Council. Active in his church, he served as an Elder at Trinity Presbyterian Church of Little Rock.
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SUMMER 2022
