Delegates to the 61st Annual Meeting of the Young Bankers Division of the Tennessee Bankers Association elected new officers and directors on June 29, 2021 in Nashville, Tenn. Michael Saporito, Senior Vice President and Relationship Manager of Mountain Commerce Bank in Knoxville, was installed as the new chairman, accepting the gavel from 2020-2021 Chairman Derrick Whitten, The Hardin County Bank.
New Officers
Delegates elected the following bankers to serve as officers:
- Chairman—Michael J. Saporito, II, Senior Vice President & Relationship Manager, Mountain Commerce Bank, Knoxville
- Chairman-elect—Justin Nipper, Vice President and Chief Administration Officer, The Farmers Bank, Portland
- Vice Chairman— Billie Jo Parker, Senior Vice President & Financial Advisor, Pinnacle Financial Partners, Memphis
- Immediate Past Chairman—Derrick Whitten, Vice President, The Hardin County Bank, Savannah
As chairman of the Division, Saporito will serve as an ex-officio member of the Tennessee Bankers Association board of directors.
“It is an honor to serve as the chairman of the TBA Young Bankers Division, which has been shaped over the last 50 years by some of the most well-respected bankers in Tennessee,” Saporito said. “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 is replaced by a newly elected banker from the same division.
Directors elected to the board during this year’s Annual Meeting were:
- East Tennessee—C.J. Tate, Assistant Branch Manager & Banking Officer, Citizens National Bank, Pigeon Forge
- Middle Tennessee—Billy Snyder, Vice President & Branch Manager, Citizens Bank of Lafayette, Westmoreland
- West Tennessee—Adam Milligan, Vice President, Commercial Bank & Trust, Jackson
Bankers who have completed their three-year terms and rotated off the board were:
- Middle Tennessee—Race Wilson, Branch Manager, First Farmers & Merchants Bank, Lewisburg
- East Tennessee—John Seiber, Business Development Manager & Loan Officer, Peoples Bank of the South, Clinton
Directors continuing to serve out their terms on the board are:
- Hunter DeBerry, Private Banker, First Farmers & Merchants, Columbia
- Coty Grissom, Vice President & Loan Officer, Homeland Community Bank, McMinnville
- Jared Palazzola, Senior Vice President, Bank of Tennessee, Knoxville
- Brooke Regen, Senior Vice President & Chief Risk Officer, First Citizens National Bank, Dyersburg
- Debbie Reid, CPA & Assistant Controller, Citizens Tri-County Bank, Dunlap
- Lauren Smith, Senior Vice President & Chief Risk Officer, Decatur County Bank, Decaturville
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.
