Liberty Bank chooses 1MC co-organizer as SVP

Liberty Bank hired a senior banker and co-organizer of 1 Million Cups Springfield as senior vice president.

Sterling Huff Jr. will work out of the company’s corporate headquarters, 4625 S. National Ave., and also serve as a commercial lender, according to a news release.

A 25-year banker, Huff most recently worked as executive vice president of Southern Missouri Bank of Marshfield until January, according to Springfield Business Journal archives and his LinkedIn page.

He took the Southern Missouri Bank job after a stint as business manager at Ozarks Technical Community College's Center for Workforce Development, which followed his abrupt November 2011 exit as president and CEO of Metropolitan National Bank after a year and a half on the job.

Last year, he co-founded 1MC Springfield with Rick Thomas and Devin Dillon. 1MC organizers are volunteer positions.

On Feb. 12, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors approved the acquisition agreement by Pine Bluff, Ark.-based Simmons First National Corp. (Nasdaq: SFNC) for Springfield-based Liberty Bancshares Inc.

In the deal - now expected to close around Feb. 27 - Simmons picks up $1.1 billion in assets and $881.2 million in deposits, according to SBJ archives.