Business Digest: Austin Bank honors employees | Local

Austin Bank honors employees

Austin Bank recently honored employees for their work and years of service with the company. They were recognized at the bank’s 2023 Service Award Luncheon Dec. 19 at Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler.

This year’s annual luncheon recognized Austin Bank employees who completed five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 years of service in 2023. The honored group of 67 employees makes up a combined total of 841 years of experience.

Longview employees who were recognized are:

Twenty-five Year Service Award: Patty Morgan, senior vice president and internal auditor, joined Austin Bank in 1998 with five years of previous banking experience. Starting as a new account representative, Morgan worked as a loan assistant and administrative assistant in the Risk Management Department before moving into her current role. A graduate of Longview High School, Kilgore College, and the Austin Bank Leadership and Star programs, Morgan has also completed numerous banking courses throughout the years. She and her husband, Steve, reside in Longview and have two children.

Twenty Year Service Award: Tara Hughes serves as a treasury management implementations administrator working from the bank’s Longview Oak Forest location. During her tenure, she has worked in the Bookkeeping Department, as a customer service representative, loan assistant and operations assistant. Hughes is a graduate of Hallsville High School, attended the Brown Institute of Court Reporting and has one daughter, Madison.

Fifteen Year Service Awards: Stacee Chapman is a bookkeeping clerk overseeing debit card fraud and a former customer care center supervisor for the bank who has more than 19 years of banking experience. Originally from Kansas, Chapman graduated from Topeka West High School and has completed the Austin Bank Leadership program. Now residing in Diana, she and her husband, Mark, have three children and six grandchildren.

Sheila James works as a loan assistant at the Greggton office. She joined the bank in 2008 bringing with her seven years of previous banking experience. A graduate of Pine Tree High School, James is a Longview resident and has one daughter. In addition to her daily duties, James is also a mentor in the bank’s mentorship program.

Vickie Moore, assistant bookkeeping supervisor, has more than 22 years of banking experience. She has spent the last 15 with Austin Bank in the bookkeeping department. A graduate of Union Grove High School, Moore lives in Gladewater with her husband, Bryan. They have two children and three grandchildren.

Morgan Nelson joined the Austin Bank team in 2008 as a teller. Later moving into management, she worked as a teller operations supervisor and customer service representative before assuming her current role as assistant vice president and retail office manager of the Longview Greggton office. A longtime resident of White Oak, Nelson graduated from White Oak High School and has completed the Austin Bank Leadership program. She also serves as a mentor for new bank employees and helps to train new office managers. Nelson and her husband, Jace, have one son, Luke.

Emi Noe is a loan assistant at the Longview Loop office having previously worked as a teller and teller operations supervisor at the location. She is also a mentor in the bank’s mentorship program and helps in training new loan assistants. She is a graduate of Pine Tree High School and attended Kilgore College. Noe and her husband, Daniel, are longtime residents of Longview and have one daughter.

Debbie Webb is a vice president who works as the secondary market lending manager in the bank’s Longview Oak Forest location. She is a graduate of Shiloh Baptist Academy in Huntsville, Alabama. Longtime residents of Longview, Webb and her husband, Todd, have two sons, two daughters-in-law, and two grandchildren. Webb volunteers her time serving as an organist/pianist for Emmanuel Baptist Church.

Ten Year Service Award: Sally Donnert, telephone customer service representative, has spent her 10-year tenure with the bank in the Customer Care Center where she not only assists customers but also serves as a trainer and mentor for new employees in the department. Originally from Kansas, Donnert graduated from La Crosse High School and Kansas State University. Now, she and her husband, Herf, reside in Longview and have one daughter and two grandchildren.

Five Year Service Awards: Daisy Alvarez, customer service representative, works in the Longview loop office. She and her husband, Alfonso, have one daughter and live in Liberty City. Alvarez is a graduate of Longview High School.

Ricardo Baeza is a vice president and relationship manager serving customers’ lending needs from the Longview loop location. With more than 26 years in the banking industry, the last five have been spent with Austin Bank. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from UNITEC along with an MBA from Texas A&M. In addition, he has completed the American Bankers Association Commercial Lending school. Baeza lives in Longview where he serves on the Habitat for Humanity board of directors.

Kristin Boyd is a universal banker in the Longview Bar-K office. During her tenure with the bank she worked as a teller in the Longview Oak Forest location before transferring to the universal banker role. Prior to joining the bank, Boyd spent two years at East Texas Professional Credit Union. She is a graduate of Pine Tree High School and lives in Kilgore.

Diana Murray works in the Compliance Department of the bank as a vice president and compliance and project analyst. She has more than 17 years banking experience with most of that spent insuring the bank remains compliant with all federal regulations. Murray is currently enrolled in the South Western Graduate School of Banking and has earned professional credentials as a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist. She and her husband, Bryan, live in Hallsville with their son. Murray is a former board member and treasurer for the Hallsville Bobcat Baseball Booster Club and now serves as a board member and volunteer at Newgate Mission.

Financial advisor earns certification

Cheyenne Summers, a financial advisor with Sherwood Wealth Partners, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, in Longview, recently obtained the Certified Financial Planner certification.

Summers completed the requirements that include course work and a series of examinations covering financial planning, risk management, investments, tax planning and management, retirement and employee benefits, and estate planning.