Delegates to the 63nd Annual Meeting of the Young Bankers Division of the Tennessee Bankers Association elected new officers and directors on April 4, 2023, in Knoxville, Tenn. Billie Jo Parker, senior vice president and financial advisor for Pinnacle Financial Partners in Memphis, was installed as the new chairman, accepting the gavel from 2022-2023 Chairman Justin Nipper of The Farmers Bank in Portland.
New Officers
Delegates elected the following bankers to serve as officers:
- Chairman—Billie Jo Parker, Senior Vice President,Financial Advisor, Pinnacle Financial Partners, Memphis
- Chairman-elect—John Seiber, Assistant Vice President, Peoples Bank of the South, Clinton
- Vice Chairman—Coty Grissom, Vice President & Loan Officer, Homeland Community Bank, McMinnville
- Immediate Past Chairman—Justin Nipper, Executive Vice President, Chief Administration Officer, The Farmers Bank, Portland
As chairman of the Division, Parker will serve as an ex-officio member of the Tennessee Bankers Association board of directors. Seiber, as chairman-elect, will serve as an ex-officio member of the Tennessee Bankers Association BankPac Committee.
“It is an honor to serve as the chairman of the TBA Young Bankers Division, which has been shaped over the last 60 years by some of the most well-respected bankers in Tennessee,” said Parker. “As in many industries, banks are looking to identify and groom the next generation of leaders. The Young Bankers Division has a well-established track record of providing the network and professional development skills bankers need to become effective and influential leaders in their banks and communities.”
Directors
In addition to the four executive officers, the Young Bankers Division is governed by a nine-member board composed of three directors from each of the three grand divisions of the state—East, Middle, and West. Directors serve a three-year term with one director from each of the grand divisions rotating off each year and replaced by a newly elected banker from the same division.
Directors elected to the board during this year’s Annual Meeting were:
- East Tennessee—Wesley Fletcher, Vice President, City Executive, First Bank and Trust Company, Johnson City
- Middle Tennessee—Lauren Howell, Assistant Vice President, Head of Internal Audit, Citizens Tri-County Bank, Dunlap
- West Tennessee—Will Landry, Internal Auditor, The Bank of Fayette County, Collierville
Bankers who have completed their three-year terms and rotated off the board were:
- East Tennessee—Jared Palazzola, Senior Vice President, Bank of Tennessee, Knoxville
- Middle Tennessee—Debbie Reid, CPA & Assistant Controller, Citizens Tri-County Bank, Dunlap
- West Tennessee— Brooke Regen, Senior Vice President & Chief Risk Officer, First Citizens National Bank, Dyersburg
Directors continuing to serve out their terms on the board are:
- C.J. Tate, Assistant Vice President, Loan Officer, Citizens National Bank, Pigeon Forge
- Billy Snyder, Vice President, Branch Manager, Citizens Bank of Lafayette, Westmoreland
- Adam Milligan, Vice President, Commercial Bank & Trust, Jackson
- Joe Snyder, Assistant Vice President, Relationship Manager, SmartBank, Chattanooga
- Jared McCullough, Vice President, First Commerce Bank, Lewisburg
- Andrew Sprecher, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Bank3, Memphis
The Young Bankers Division was established in 1960 and is devoted to preparing Tennessee’s young bank officers to become the industry’s next generation of leaders.
The members of the division represent financial institutions across the state of Tennessee. In addition to the two-day professional development conference, Leadership Convention, the division hosts the Young Bankers’ Day on the Hill. This program reinforces the importance of involvement in the TBA’s government relations activities. During this annual event, bankers spend a day at the Capitol in Nashville engaging in the legislative process and learning about how the General Assembly functions.
