Larry Wilson began his banking career pushing a broom.
The regular janitor at what was then First Jacksonville Bank had to have surgery in the mid-1960s. The owner of the bank, Larry’s father, Kenneth Pat Wilson, recruited his son, who was still in high school.
“I’d go to the bank before school and clean up, and then came back after school,” Wilson said. “I earned my PhD in janitorial services.”
The job only lasted about six weeks while the regular janitor recuperated from his operation, Wilson said. But it began his lifelong commitment to the bank, its customers and the residents of Jacksonville.
Now, at 74, Wilson is the president of First Arkansas Bank & Trust (FAB&T) that employs 240 people, features 20 branch banks and has more than $960 million in total assets. The bank also owns a credit card operation near Atlanta with nearly 100,000 accounts across the U.S. and Canada.
“It’s quite a fulfilling occupation to help people financially,” he said.
The bank has been helping people since its inception more than 70 years ago.
Kenneth Wilson, the president of the newly established Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, realized there was a need for a local bank in 1948. It took nearly half a day then for Jacksonville residents to drive to Little Rock to conduct their banking business and then return home.
Melda Rice was the first employee in 1949 of what was then Jacksonville State Bank. She passed away in January at age 104. She retired from the bank in 1984 but remained on its board of directors until 1998.
Wilson and other investors raised the $65,000 needed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to start the bank. The Jacksonville State Bank, as it was first called, opened on Nov. 5, 1949, at 109 Main St. with three employees.
At the same time, the U.S. Air Force began looking for sites to place a new air base and was debating over several spots near Little Rock. There were a couple along the Arkansas River between the capital city and Pine Bluff and a site that served as an ordnance plant during World War II beside Jacksonville.
The other sites had problems, Larry Wilson said, including lowlands that often flooded when the Arkansas River left its banks. Jacksonville was on higher ground and presented a more suitable site. As an added incentive, Kenneth Wilson and others raised $1 million to purchase the land and donate it to the U.S. Department of Defense.
“That’s how it got started,” Wilson said. “Dad was the go-between in negotiations between those who raised the money and those who would sell their land.”
In all, nearly 100 people lived and farmed on the 6,400 acres needed by the base.
“Dad convinced them all to sell, but only if the base came,” he said. “There was a greater attitude of patriotism then. Still, those folks had been on the land for some time.”
Construction began on the base in 1953, and it opened in October 1955. The bank soon opened a branch at the base.
“It was quite a shot in the arm for Jacksonville and the area around it,” Wilson said.
At first, there was no housing available on the base, so residents let airmen stay in their homes. Wilson said the relationship developed early on between the base and the community remains today.
Larry and his brother, Mike Wilson, have served as president of the Little Rock Air Force Base Community Council, and both continue to serve as members of the executive committee.
Within 10 years of its opening, Jacksonville State Bank outgrew its facility. On July 4, 1959, in a scene reminiscent of an episode of The Andy Griffith Show, bank workers emptied the vault, placed the money in Police Chief Myron Traylor’s car and drove it to its new location at 600 W. Main St., and opened the following day.
That bank featured the first drive-thru banking window in the state, and in 1977, it boasted one of the first ATMs in Central Arkansas.
The dedication to its customers was evident again in May 1993 when the bank building burned. All but the safe deposit vault was scorched, Wilson said.
An empty savings and loan building sat across the parking lot from the bank, and Wilson had the key. He called the utility company, had the power turned on, opened the building at midnight and moved everything to the new location. Again, they opened quickly.
“We opened for business at 9 a.m. that day,” he said. “We were ready to go.”
In fact, taking a day off is a foreign idea for Wilson. He earned his master’s degree in industrial management at the University of Arkansas on Saturday, June 7, 1971. He took Sunday off and then began working full time at the bank the next day as a marketing officer.
Wilson said he learned how to treat customers from his father, whom he considers his role model.
Kenneth Wilson, who died in 2002, served as the president of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce and was on the board of directors for the predecessor of CenturyTel for more than 20 years. He was also instrumental in establishing the Rebsamen Memorial Hospital — and later the North Metro Medical Center — in Jacksonville.
Larry has followed his father’s example. He served as chamber president in 1987 and in 2001. He also held a seat on the Jacksonville City Council for 24 years and was given a six-year term in 2012 on the Hendrix College board of trustees.
“I always wanted to be involved in the community,” he said. “I wanted to help people become financially educated to improve their quality of life.
“I saw what my dad had done and thought it was a very worthy effort.”
He is now passing that on to his own children. His son, Mark Wilson, is the vice president of the bank. Another son, Patrick Wilson, is a lawyer, and his daughter, Alexis Jenkins, is in residential construction in Oxford, Miss.
Wilson and Shelia De Armond, assistant vice president and assistant trust officer.
Wilson has also been a leader in promoting women to administrative positions at his bank.
“We always look for the best fit,” he said. “We didn’t care where they were from or what their gender was. We were looking for people who shared our values and understood customer service.
“Success in banking is due to the people we attract and retain as part of our team. It’s not a one-person deal.”
Lorrie Trogden, the president of the Arkansas Banking Association, lauded Wilson for his role in helping women advance in banking.
“Larry was on my hiring committee, which selected the first female president and CEO in Arkansas Bankers Association history,” Trogden said.
“He is committed to hiring the most talented candidate, and being female is not a deficit. Everyone starts on a level playing field. Larry has been a great resource for me and [First Arkansas Bank and Trust] has always been a strong partner with the association.”
Wilson said he intends to keep his banking in the state and not expand into other areas like other banks. He’s satisfied with his banking empire, which is usually ranked 16th in the state by size.
“We’re not interested in being the biggest bank,” he said. “We want to maintain our service level. We want to stay within the state to do our best on keeping contact with our customers.”
