Forty Under 40: Ron Branscum

Ron Branscum grew up in Jacksonville and earned his bachelor’s in accounting from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. nWhile attending school, he worked as a teller for Superior Federal Bank, now part of the Arvest Bank Group. Upon graduation in 1994, he started working as a bank examiner with the Arkansas State Banking Board’s Fayetteville office. The Board was a good place for someone who wanted to go into banking, he said. n”There were about four or five different people who pushed me in that direction.”nBranscum was with the Board for four years before starting with Arvest Bank-Rogers as a senior credit analyst. He has been involved in commercial lending ever since, he said. nOne of the best things he brings to the Arvest table is the ability to work with people who are involved in the area’s tremendous growth and large projects, he said. nHis short-term goal is to continue to grow the commercial loan department at the bank and to help make it the dominant lender in the market.nBranscum is active in the Benton County Boys and Girls Club Board, Adult Development Center’s Legacy Foundation and the Little Flock City Council. nn