Brian White took out an insurance policy a couple of decades ago that he most likely will never collect on. Even though people who were reared in North Logan tend to be conservative, he’s not sorry that his investment won’t be repaid, at least directly.
By the time he had finished his sophomore year majoring in accounting at Murray State University, he was pretty certain he wanted a career in banking. Yet he completed his degree in accounting instead of business or banking.
“I thought it would be good to have accounting to fall back on in case banking didn’t work out or I didn’t like it,” he explains. ”I didn’t want my options to be limited.”
It was evident Wednesday that his banking career has “worked out” and that he “likes it.”
On July 1, 2015, Brian White officially became president of Auburn Banking Company. At age 43, he’s one of the youngest bank presidents ever in the Land of Logan.
He’s not new to banking, though. Even though he stayed busy as a basketball and baseball standout as well as a 4.0 student at Logan County High School, he started working part-time at Lewisburg Banking Company as a high school junior in 1989. He’s been a bank employee ever since.
After his graduation from MSU, he went to work full-time for his hometown bank and was soon a loan officer.
When Kenny Coleman, who had hired him at Lewisburg Banking Company both part-time and full-time, accepted the presidency of Auburn Banking company, Brian worked under new Lewisburg president Carroll Yates for four years. “He was a former bank examiner and knew what could go wrong at a bank, so he was a good one for me to learn under,” White says.
Bankers tend to move around, and Coleman started hiring some of his former employees to work at Auburn. Teller Carolyn Hunt was the first. Brian White the second in 1998.
“I learned a lot working for and with Kenny over the years,” he says.
When Auburn Banking Company branched out with a new location on the west side of Russellville, Billy Bingham was the first manager. He soon made a shift to become president of Lewisburg Banking Company, a position he still holds.
White was named manager of the Russellville branch and has served in that role throughout the 21st century. He also has been a vice president.
John Sheffield, who had been in management at what was then Area Bancshares and is now BB&T, succeeded Coleman as president of Auburn Banking Company in 20002.
“John has been and will continue to be a great one to learn from,” White says of his fellow North Logan native. “He has a great understanding of banking, and he’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever known.”
Sheffield will stay on as chairman of the bank board, and White has been added to the board. Auburn Banking Company is the only holding of Hopkinsville-based First Community Bank Corporation.
With Sheffield as president and White as vice president/branch manager, Auburn Banking Company has experienced steady growth, especially at the Russellville branch.
The Russellville building has grown physically, too, with more office space and an expanded vestibule being constructed recently. White’s office is now in the new area, and Sheffield will have an office there, too, but he’s only expected to occupy it three days per week.
“We’ve talked about my succeeding John as president for four or five years, but now that’s it’s here, I’m going to rely on his experience and knowledge of the office even more,” Brian says.
While most of his duties in the past have been involved in making and managing loans along with managing the employees at the Russellville branch, his new duties will expand to oversee the finances of the bank. He will also ultimately be in charge of the bank’s 17 full-time employees.
White will also have an office at the main bank in Auburn, and he will spend time there each week, too.
White’s long-time office near the entrance of the building has a new occupant. Sandra Kinser, who has held management positions at many of the other banks in Logan County, has come out of retirement to be vice president and Russellville branch manager.
Others on the management team are Glenn Vick, Tammy Collins and Lisa Cropper.
The combination of Brian White and Sandra Kinser gives Auburn Banking Company an extensive history of community service.
He is a former president of the Logan County Chamber of Commerce and served on the Chamber board for seven years. A member of the first class at Russellville Christian School in the late 1970s, he served on that school’s board for 12 years, most of that time as chairman. He is the youngest elder of Crittenden Drive Church of Christ. He was the leader of the large youth program at Crittenden Drive in the time between Todd Loyd’s and Daniel McCarley’s tenures as youth minister. He has served as an assistant basketball coach at Lewisburg Middle School.
Kinser is also a former Chamber president and board member. She is a member of Russellville City Council, often the leading vote getter in biennial elections. She serves on the board of Logan Memorial Hospital and has been active with the Russellville Optimist Club.
Brian White is the son of Logan Aluminum retiree Darrel White and former Lewisburg School staffer Janey White. His sister Tressy is married to Dr. Gerame Wells. Brian and Gerame’s brother, Grayson Wells, and their cousins, Chad and Dr. Thad Wells, were close friends throughout their school years.
Brian has been married for 21 years to his high school sweetheart, the former Carolyn Lyne, who is Lewisburg School librarian. Their household includes two teens, 16-year-old Coleman and Addie, 13.
Chances are that Brian White will never be an accountant, but the numbers are adding up for him. He has been and continues to be an asset for Auburn Banking Company and its customers.