Mattax-Neu-Prater partner joins Arvest board

Dr. Tom Prater of Mattax-Neu-Prater Eye Center Inc. joined the Arvest Bank Springfield Board of Directors.

Prater, an ophthalmologist who helped found Mattax-Neu-Prater Eye Center, also serves on the Drury University Board of Trustees and is a former president of the Springfield Public Schools Board of Education.

“His reputation in Springfield is first-rate and his calm, careful manner of his personal business is exactly the right approach we like to help guide our bank in this region,” Arvest Springfield President and CEO Brad Crain said in a news release.

Prater worked at Eye Surgeons of Springfield Inc. 1987-1999 before joining with Drs. Ken and Leo Neu and James Mattax to purchase the practice of Dr. Paul Arnold and launch Mattax-Neu-Prater Eye Center.

Bank officials did not respond by deadline to questions related to the makeup of the Arvest board, as well as how much members are paid. In March 2015, Springfield Business Journal reported Arvest Springfield had five board members who serve five-year terms.

In 2007, Arvest opened the first of its four Springfield branches and entered the Branson market. The company added 15 branches to its Missouri franchise in a 29-branch transaction with Bank of America. The March 2013 deal included a dozen branches in southwest Missouri, according to SBJ archives.