William L. Kerst, Jr., CPA - President
& CEO, Little Rock, Hot Springs
Bill earned his Bachelors of Science in Accounting
from Arkansas Tech University in 1984 and began his banking career as an
internal auditor in 1988 with First Commercial Corporation focusing on trust
examinations. He became a Personal
Trust Administrator in 1990 and was promoted to Senior Vice-President and
Manager of the Trust Department of Arkansas Bank & Trust in 1991. He left in 1998 and founded Community
First Trust Company. Bill is a
Certified Public Accountant and maintains membership in both the Arkansas
Society of CPA’s and the American Institute of CPA’s. He attended the National Graduate Trust School on the campus
of Northwestern University, graduating in August, 1997.
Leslie
Ballentine, CPA - Chief
Financial Officer, Hot Springs
Leslie, prior to her joining Community First Trust Company in 2004, had 15 years of experience in public accounting with her emphasis in Trust, Estate and Individual Income Taxes. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Arkansas Society of CPA’s and a member of the DeGray Chapter of CPA’s where she has served as an officer for six years. She is a graduate of Henderson State University and is a native of Hot Springs.
Julie Saul - Director
of Operations, Hot Springs
Julie is a native Arkansan and resident of Hot Springs Village. Prior to joining Community First Trust
Company, Julie began her banking career as a teller for Arkansas Bank &
Trust. She was promoted in 1994 to
a Personal Trust Assistant in the Trust Department and later promoted to Trust
Officer for First Commercial Trust Company in Hot Springs Village. She received
her B.A. in Accounting at William Woods College in Fulton, MO. She is also a graduate of the Arkansas
Bankers Trust School. Julie has
been with Community First Trust Company since inception in 1998.
Jane Gunter, CTFA - Personal Trust Officer, Little Rock
Jane Gunter joined the staff of Community First Trust in 2004, bringing
over 15 years of experience in trust and financial relationship management.
She is a graduate of the ABA National Graduate Trust School at
Northwestern University and the Cannon Financial Institute Estate Planning School. She has also earned the Certified Trust and Financial
Advisor designation (CTFA) and maintains a Life and Health License with the Arkansas Insurance
Department.
Jane is the President of the Central Arkansas Estate Council 2008-09, member of the Leadership Council for Alzheimer’s Association, involved in the Business and Industry Council for Cabot High School, and Co-director of the Women Can Run Program for Cabot.
Amy Wren, Esquire - Personal Trust Officer, Little Rock
Amy Wren is a 1995 graduate
of the University of Arkansas School Of Law and an honor graduate of Cannon
Financial Institute. In 2000, Amy achieved the designation
of Certified Trust and Financial Advisor by the Institute of Certified Bankers. Her account responsibilities include
trusts, estates, guardianships, custodial accounts and investment management. Amy has been in trust administration
since 1997, and has been with Community First Trust Company since March, 2008.
Lisa Whitworth – Employee Benefits, Little Rock
Lisa has four years of banking operations experience and fourteen years of trust operations and trust administration. Lisa began her trust career as an Operations Assistant and, after three years, was promoted to Trust Officer and Trust Operations Manager with Mercantile Trust Company. Mergers and restructuring became Lisa’s specialty for the next two years. In 1999, after attending Cannon Trust School for Employee Benefits, Lisa became an Employee Benefit Administrator and Assistant Vice President for Mercantile. Lisa was hired in 2004 as Employee Benefit Specialist and Vice President for First Trust Financial Services. At the time First Trust was outsourced to Community First Trust Company Lisa was hired to continue in the area of Employee Benefits.
Ann Morris, CTFA - Personal Trust Officer, Hot Springs Village
Ann S. Morris is a Tennessean by birth but an Arkansan by choice since 1973. She is a graduate of the Cannon Financial Institute’s Personal Trust School and earned the designation of Certified Trust & Financial Advisor with the Institute of Certified Banks, a Division on the American Bankers Association in 2002. She attended Memphis State University and University of Arkansas and has worked in the financial services industry in Central Arkansas since 1978 and the trust business since 1992. She has been a Vice President and Personal Trust Officer with Community First Trust Company since 2004.
Ann is also active in Community and Charitable Organizations. She has served as President of the Board of the American Lung Association of AR and was on that Board for six years. She now serves as a Board Member of the Arkansas Respiratory Health Association – Breathe Arkansas. She also serves on the Advisory Council for Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation, Board Member for the Arkansas Hospice Foundation, a member of the Hot Springs Advisory Council for Arkansas Hospice and is a member of the Central Arkansas Estates Council.
Cindy Harper - Personal Trust Officer, Hot Springs
Village
Cindy Harper is a native of Garland County. She attended Henderson State University before transferring and graduating cum laude from John Brown University with a Bachelors degree in Organizational Management. Cindy has 22 years financial industry experience and is Series 7 and Series 63 securities licensed. She also is life, long term care and annuity licensed with the Arkansas State Department of Insurance.
Linda Butler - Personal Trust Officer, Russellville
Linda joined the
Russellville office of Community First Trust Company in September 2000. She began her banking career in 1982 as
a loan assistant and in 1985 she joined First National Bank in Russellville as
assistant to the president. She
also served as Human Resources Manager, Corporate Training Coordinator for
Total Quality Management, and coordinator for Management of Human Resources for
five affiliate banks. She earned a
Bachelor of Science in Education degree from the University of Arkansas and
taught in the Greenland School system before moving to the Russellville area. Linda graduated from Arkansas Bankers
Commercial Lending School and has completed many other bank-related courses.
Yvonne Rainwater - Personal Trust Officer, El Dorado
Yvonne is a life-long resident of Union County and has over 26 years of banking experience with 11 years in the trust business. Yvonne earned her Principals of Banking certificate in 1982. She graduated from the Arkansas Bankers Association Trust School in 1998, and also graduated from Cannon Financial Institute Trust School in 2002. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Women.