2026 40 Under 40: Andrea Sitzes

Arvest Bank

BY: Claudette Riley, Reportercriley@sbj.net

Posted online April 3, 2026 | 2:47 pm

Your first job? At age 14, I started cleaning our neighbor’s house and also cleaning horse stalls/washing horses for a local trainer.
What did you learn the hard way? How to let off the clutch during a tractor driving lesson with my grandpa around age 10. The definition of farm love: Farmall Model B, on a hill, until I could do it well. #iykyk
Best piece of advice you’ve ever received? “God always forgives and people always forget.” My dad shared this advice: People forget where their blessings come from and God always forgives our humanness as long as we ask.
Your most treasured possession? Cuddles, a stuffed teddy bear that my dad bought the day I was born at Cox South. I lost my dad in December 2024; the bear is a reminder that love never dies.

Andrea Sitzes, Christian County market executive and vice president of Arvest Bank, has repeatedly served in leadership roles in finance, economic development and hospitality. She led Show Me Christian County and the Ozark Chamber of Commerce.

In her current job, she originated more than $130 million in new commercial loans since January 2022.

“There is no closer trust than handling someone’s finances,” she says. “Applying my lens of economic development to commercial finance, I see the bigger picture of what the money enables that business to accomplish.”

She has forged ahead while battling breast cancer, diagnosed in 2025.

Sitzes, 37, gives back as president of the Missouri Economic Development Council and chair of the Ozark Region Workforce Development Board.

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