Arvest Bank names three new Central Arkansas board members

Arvest Bank in central Arkansas announced the appointment of three new board members in Little Rock. Rajesh Chokhani, Scott Copas and Chad Young began five-year terms on the board, effective Jan. 1, 2020.

“Each of these new members brings a wealth of experience and community involvement to our board and we will certainly benefit from their ideas,” said Jim Cargill, president and CEO of Arvest Bank in central, northeast and southwest Arkansas. “We are always honored by the dedication of our present and past board members who help us serve our customers and communities to the very best of our ability.”

Rajesh Chokhani is the chief operating officer of Welspun Tubular, a pipe manufacturing facility in Little Rock that provides steel tubing for projects nationwide. Welspun’s Little Rock location is a multi-plant facility that spans 800 acres and employs more than 1,000 people.

Scott Copas is president and CEO of Baldwin & Shell, a construction company in Little Rock that was founded in 1946. Copas began his career there in 1977 when it was The Baldwin Company and worked his way to his current position in 2014. Copas currently is chairman-elect of Fifty for the Future, serves on the board of directors of Easter Seals Arkansas and Arkansas Career Education & Workforce Development, and is an advisory board member of Children’s Advocacy Centers of Arkansas.

Chad Young, AIA, LEED AP, is president and CEO of Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson (WD&D) Architects, a firm founded in Little Rock in 1919 that now also has offices in Fayetteville. Young is a principal at WD&D and the firm’s director of design. He currently serves on the boards of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership, the Little Rock Air Force Base Community Council and the Cabot Panther Foundation.