Ward, Bates promoted at FNB

Chris Ward and Anita Bates have assumed new responsibilities at First National Bank.

In addition to his previous responsibilities as Senior Vice President and Supervisor of Poteau lending, Ward is now Branch Manager of the bank’s Poteau location.

Ward, a graduate of Wister High School, has a BS degree in Business/Organizational Management from John Brown University in Siloam Springs and an MBA from Webster University in St. Louis, Mo.

He is currently attending the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University. Ward and his wife, Jill, reside in Poteau, where he has served on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors for 2 years.

Bates, an employee of First National Bank since 2002, was promoted to Assistant Branch Manager of the Poteau location. She has previously worked as supervisor of proof and bookkeeping and also in lending.

She was raised in southeastern Oklahoma but spent much of her adult life in Alaska where she worked in the insurance industry. She is active in the community and in her church, Solid Rock Church of God.

First National Bank is celebrating 100 years of service to the area, having been established in 1910.