Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Lawton’s Walker takes OBA chairman reins

Rick Walker, vice chairman and CEO of Liberty National Bank in Lawton, was inducted as the 2020-21 chairman of the Oklahoma Bankers Association during a video conference on May 19.

Walker has been with his bank for almost 15 years. He began his banking career in 1987 working in various aspects of lending and management. He holds a bachelor’s in finance from Oklahoma State University and an MBA from Oklahoma City University.

He replaces Tulsa banker Frazier Henke as the head of the Association. Henke, president and CEO of American Bank and Trust, moves into the immediate past chairman position on the OBA Executive Committee after serving as OBA chairman for 2019-20.

Amada Alvidrez, with Equity Bank in Guymon, was elected as first vice chairperson of the Association. She will move into the vice chair’s seat (currently occupied by Kyle Hughbanks, BancCentral, Alva) next year and into the chairman’s spot in 2022.

In other Association business during the May 19 meeting, the OBA membership elected bankers to six seats on the association’s board of directors. The new directors, who will serve three-year board terms, are:

GROUP 1: Sandy Werner, First National Bank and Trust, Elk City.
GROUP 2: Andrea Bendele, Exchange Bank, Perry.
GROUP 3: Billy Taylor, Armstrong Bank, Muskogee.
GROUP 4: Dan Boren, First United Bank, Durant.
GROUP 5: Tony Shinn, Bank of America, Oklahoma City.
GROUP 6: Dawne Stafford, Security Bank, Tulsa.