St. George, UT, January 17, 2013 — On Wednesday January 9, 2013, The Village Bank Board of Directors welcomed two new directors, Robert C. Huddleston and Gregory A. Kemp. James Grey Larkin was also officially appointed Chairman of the Board. Grey has been fulfilling the duties of Chairman since February 2012. Louise G. Zeenati was also officially appointed Chief Financial Officer.
The Village Bank was founded in 1996, by a group of local businessmen. The Village Bank is Washington County's oldest, locally owned full-service community bank with a reputation built on a tradition of sound banking practices and personal customer service. The Village Bank offers a full range of personal accounts and loans. Business accounts and loans are offered to corporations, associations and small businesses.
The Village Bank is a full-service, FDIC-insured financial institution with headquarters in a facility, designed with customer convenience and comfort in mind, at 294 E. Tabernacle. Additional information on The Village Bank is available at www.thevillagebank.com.
About Our New Directors:
James Grey Larkin was born and raised in St. George, Utah. He graduated from Dixie Junior College in 1957 with an Associate of Science Degree. Grey founded L & L Mechanical Contractors in St. George in 1967 and managed the business until 2002. Grey was a founding member of the Board of Directors of The Village Bank in 1995. He served as Chairman from 1995 to 2002 and as director since then. He holds interests in several businesses in the community including: Tierra Development; M & D Excavating; James G. Larkin, LC; Larkin & McArthur; OBW Kolob, LC and; LGO, LLC. Grey has served on the St. George City Planning Commission, City Council and as Mayor of St. George. He has also served on the Utah State Transportation Commission as well as many civic boards and other commissions. Grey is active in his church and has served in many leadership positions as well as serving several missions. He and his wife of fifty-seven years reside in St. George. They have five children and fifteen grandchildren.
Robert C. Huddleston was born in Kankakee, Illinois. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration at Northern Arizona University and a Ph. D. in Higher Education Administration at Colorado State University. He is currently a Regent Professor of Business and teaches courses in accounting, business and ethics at Dixie State College. He also serves as Director for the Institute for Business Integrity and served as past president of Dixie State College. He has served as Vice President, Dean of Instruction and Division Chair at several other colleges. He is active in his church and has served in several leadership positions. He founded the Leadership Dixie Program and was the founder of the current Washington County Economic Development Council. He served on the Zion’s Bank Advisory Board and has received the following recognitions: Innovator of the Year, Maricopa Community College District; Administrator of the Year, State of New Mexico; Outstanding Executive, Washington County St. George Chamber of Commerce and; Friend of the Medical Center, Intermountain Health Care (Dixie Regional Center). He currently resides in St. George with his wife and has seven children and twenty grandchildren.
Gregory A. Kemp is CEO of Vantage Advisors LLC, a Registered Investment Advisory firm. Prior to Vantage, he was founder and managing partner of Kemp Burdick, a regional CPA firm. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Personal Financial Specialist (PFS), a specialty designation from the AICPA, awarded exclusively to CPAs who have proven their expertise in personal financial planning. He is an active member of the Utah Association of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). Greg previously served on the Utah State Governor's Advisory Council on Audit Standards, and was a nominee for the Small Business Administration's “Advocate of the Year.” An active member of the local community, Greg has served as Treasurer of the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce and President of the St. George Exchange Club. He was a member of Wells Fargo Bank’s Community Advisory Board, and also served as Capital Campaign Chair and Trustee for The Foundation at Dixie Regional Medical Center, helping to raise $20 million for the new hospital. Greg and his wife reside in Santa Clara.
Louise G. Zeenati is a five generation resident of Washington County. She graduated from Dixie High School, attended Dixie College and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University. She started her banking career in 1980 with Dixie State Bank. She was then employed at First Security Bank from 1993 to 1996. Louise has been with The Village Bank since its inception in 1996, serving as Cashier, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer. She is active in the community and has served on several boards including the Chamber of Commerce. She is currently the Chair of the Dixie State College Scholarship Associates, on the board of Dixie Development Corporation and a member of Dixie Sunshiners. She and her husband reside in St. George.
WILLIAM J. CHRISTENSEN, Ph.D., is Dean of the Udvar-Hazy School of Business, and the school of Communication at Dixie State College of Utah. He teaches courses in supply chain and strategic management. Dr. Christensen holds a bachelor’s degree in East Asian Studies and an MBA from California State University, Hayward, and earned his doctorate in Business Administration at Oklahoma State University. He also studied at Michigan State University. Before embarking on an academic career, Dr. Christensen held executive positions at Mercury Marine and Clark Material Handling Company, and was an international buyer at Whirlpool Corporation. Dr. Christensen has consulted for a number of companies including Whirlpool, Pennzoil and Dell Computers, and has published research in top-level journals including the Journal of Operations Management. He and his wife Robin Merrill Christensen, have been married for close to 35 years and have two children and five grandchildren. He served an LDS mission in Nagoya, Japan, from 1974-76, after attending BYU his freshman year.
