Monday Kudos: Walter Smiley Steps Down As Chairman Of Southern Bancorp

Walter Smiley steps down as chairman of Southern Bancorp’s board of directors and a new chair is named. Also, construction entrepreneur Jack Kinnaman is recognized by UALR and Mainstream Technologies hires a new analyst.

SOUTHERN BANCORP NAMES GLENDELL JONES AS CHAIRMAN
Southern Bancorp’s board of directors voted unanimously to appoint Glendell Jones, Jr. as chairman of the board.

Jones, who is currently president of Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, replaces Walter Smiley, who is retiring from the chairmanship after more than 20 years.

“My affiliation with Southern dates back to 1990-1992 when I served as an accounting intern while a student at Henderson. I am humbled by the selection as chair and am looking forward to serving in this capacity,” said Jones.

Shareholders re-elected to additional three-year terms are Dr. Anthony (Tony) Berkley, John Edwards, Rodney Slater and Dorothy Struck. Others are members of the Southern Bancorp, Inc. board are Jerry Damerow, Herman Davenport, James Harrington, Colette Honorable, Daniel Koehler, Walter Smiley, Sherman Tate and Diane Tatum.

“When I served on the board of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, I helped found Southern with Hillary Clinton, Mac McLarty, Rob Walton and other visionaries,” said Smiley. “We all felt that it could become a force for transformation of struggling rural communities.”

He added, “Now, having seen the power of our model, it is time to let others take it even further. With the leadership of our new CEO Darrin Williams, new board members and a strong management team, Southern is positioned to fulfill our goal of transforming some of the most distressed communities in the mid-South.”

Southern Bancorp Inc. is a family of a holding company, a community development bank and affiliated nonprofit Southern Bancorp Community Partners that work in concert to revitalize underserved communities in the mid-South. In 2012, SBI had its most profitable year in history with bank earnings exceeding $10 million and loan portfolio growing by 10% to reach a record of $673 million.

KINNAMAN RECEIVES HONORARY DEGREE FROM UALR
Jack Kinnaman received an honorary degree during UALR’s 2013 Spring commencement Saturday, May 18, in the Jack Stephens Center.

Kinnaman is the founder of Kinco Constructors Inc., a Little Rock based construction company. He served as its president and chief executive officer for 27 years. He received an honorary doctor of construction education and is considered one of the founding fathers of the Construction Management Program at UALR.

Kinnaman’s contributions to the Construction Management Program at UALR include funding the Jack Kinnaman Constructor Endowed Scholarship and the Phyllis Kinnaman Memorial Scholarship in memory of his first wife.

Kinnaman is a founding member of the Arkansas chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, and was inducted into the Arkansas Construction Hall of Fame in 2002.

In late 2000, Kinnaman sold the company he founded to four longtime employees and formed Kinnaman Consulting LLC, a consulting firm with an emphasis on construction dispute resolution. He owned and operated Kinnaman Consulting until his retirement in 2006.

MAINSTREAM HIRES DYLAN QUANDT
Mainstream Technologies hired Dylan Quandt to its IT staff as a Level 1 Help Desk Analyst.

He will be responsible for directing work orders through the Mainstream system to ensure that client requests are properly fulfilled in a timely manner. Quandt will also oversee quality checks of server backups. Quandt’s prior IT experience includes a customer support position with Dillard’s, which involved monitoring alerts for the entire IT system at the enterprise level and providing tech support for the point-of-sale system, work stations, and servers. He also traveled to store sites to assist with updating their IT systems. Quandt has also served as a repair technician for CompUSA.

“Dylan has been an outstanding addition to the group as he is a quick study with an innate desire to learn. His willingness to go above and beyond in order to exceed expectations will be a perfect fit for his current client function. Dylan has a bright future with Mainstream, and I look forward to watching him grow as an IT professional,” said Mark McClelland, VP of IT.