Newsmakers in Banking & Finance

Empire Bank named Clint Cooper loan officer of the bank’s Fair Grove location. He has more than six years of banking experience and a bachelor’s degree in finance and real estate from the University of Missouri. Cooper is responsible for originating and servicing Empire’s commercial, consumer and real estate loans.

Citizens National Bank promoted Thomas Batson to residential lender. Batson is a 2007 graduate of Missouri State University with a degree in administrative management. He joined Citizens in 2005 as a teller.

Jill A. Pace was named vice president, senior credit officer at Guaranty Bank. Pace has 25 years of banking experience, as well as a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Evangel University and a Master of Accountancy from MSU. She joined the bank in 2004, previously serving as credit analyst manager. Her primary duties are portfolio management, risk analysis and credit underwriting.

Erica L. Crain joined Guaranty Bank as vice president, director of risk management. She has more than nine years of experience as a bank examiner with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Drury University. She also completed the Graduate School of Banking at SW Graduate School in Dallas. In her newly created position, Crain’s duties entail developing, implementing and administering a bankwide risk management program covering the areas of compliance, loan review, internal audit, insurance, fraud and information security.

Brandon R. Taylor was promoted to senior accountant with BKD LLP. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business administration from Southwest Baptist University. Taylor provides audit services to health care organizations and financial institutions.

Kristy R. Bork and Juli C. Pascoe were promoted to supervisors with BKD. Bork is a graduate of MSU with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting. She is a member of BKD Health Care Group, assisting community health centers with services including audits and cost-report preparation. Pascoe is a summa cum laude Drury graduate with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business administration. Also a member of BKD Health Care Group, Pascoe serves nursing facility clients.

Susan T. Ryan was promoted to supervising consultant with BKD. She is a summa cum laude MSU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems and accounting, and she also has a Master of Accountancy from MSU. Ryan assists clients with consulting projects that include forecasting, Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 compliance and Medicare reimbursement.

Old Missouri National Bank announced a promotion and two new hires.

Brooke Marshall was promoted to compliance officer. She is an MSU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in international business, and she joined Old Missouri in 2006 as a credit analyst. Her new responsibilities include enforcing compliance controls and established processes, and training bank employees on current compliance regulations.

Jeff Birdsell joined Old Missouri as a credit analyst at the South National Avenue branch. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Evangel and a Master of Business Administration from MSU. Birdsell has approximately six years of banking experience, recently working at U.S. Bank as a credit analyst and commercial relationship manager. At Old Missouri, he is responsible for evaluating the financial conditions of individuals and businesses applying for credit and monitoring customer accounts and loan portfolios.

Beth Yount joined Old Missouri National Bank as mortgage loan originator at the bank’s South National Avenue branch. She has more than 10 years of experience in banking, including working as a retail mortgage loan officer at Bank of America and a wholesale account executive and retail loan officer at Countrywide Home Loans. Yount has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and French from MSU, and she is responsible for originating new mortgage loans and providing banking information to area Realtors.

Kirkpatrick Phillips & Miller CPAs PC announced four staff promotions and an addition. Certified public accountants Andrew Clemens, Barbara Houser and Irick Thurman were promoted to managers with the firm. Clemens, who joined KPM in 1997, has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from MSU and holds the Certified Internal Auditor designation. He specializes in auditing, working primarily with financial institutions. Houser has been with KPM for 11 years. She has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a Master of Business Administration from MSU. Houser specializes in taxation and nonprofit audit work, and she is chairwoman of KPM’s nonprofit and continuing education committees. Thurman joined KPM in 2002. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Drury University with bachelor’s degrees in accounting and business administration. Thurman specializes in accounting and assurance.

Kristi L. Wilkins was promoted to supervisor. She joined KPM in 2006 after working in public accounting outside the Ozarks. Wilkins is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and her duties include assisting business clients with accounting services, financial reporting, payroll, taxes and QuickBooks setup and support.

KPM also hired Sherry Michau as a supervisor. She has a master’s degree in accountancy from the University of Central Florida, and she previously worked in public accounting in the Louisville, Ky., area.

Investment Co. recently added Robert H. (Robin) Luke to its board of directors. Luke, who has a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri, is a professor of marketing and head of the marketing department at MSU. He has written or been featured in more than 100 academic works, and he is the author of the book “Business Career.” He also has initiated and directed two marketing departments and developed master’s programs at three universities.

Bank of Bolivar hired Ilene Glenn as vice president, working at its Springfield branch. Glenn has more than 27 years of banking experience, most recently with Countryside Bank.

BancorpSouth promoted Deborah Eagleburger to branch manger of its Fremont location. She has five years of banking experience, three with BancorpSouth. She previously served the bank as a customer service representative.

Sarah Anderson joined Northwestern Mutual and Financial Network as director of recruitment and selection. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from MSU. [[In-content Ad]]