St. Louis Fed Appoints Members of Banking Advisory Council

ST. LOUIS – The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has appointed four new members to the Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC), which advises St. Louis Fed President James Bullard on the credit, banking and economic conditions facing council members’ institutions and local communities.

The new members, who will serve three-year terms ending in 2019, are:

• Russell “Rusty” Bennett, president and CEO, First National Bank, Clarksdale, Miss.
• David Bentele, president and CEO, Citizens National Bank, St. Louis, Mo.
• David Doedtman, president and CEO, Washington Savings Bank, Effingham, Ill.
• Craig Esrael, president and CEO, First South Financial Credit Union, Bartlett, Tenn.

Additionally, existing member Elizabeth G. McCoy was appointed chair of the council for 2017. She is president and CEO of Planters Bank in Hopkinsville, Ky.

Other members who will continue their service this year are:

• Jeffrey Dean Agee, chairman and CEO, First Citizens National Bank, Dyersburg, Tenn.
• Kevin Beckemeyer, president and CEO, Legence Bank, Eldorado, Ill.
• Shaun Burke, president and CEO, Guaranty Bank, Springfield, Mo.
• Karen Harbin, president and CEO, Commonwealth Credit Union, Frankfort, Ky.
• Jeffrey L. Lynch, president and CEO, Eagle Bank and Trust, Little Rock, Ark.
• Eric R. Olinger, president, Freedom Bancorp, Huntingburg, Ind.
• Ann Cowley Wells, chair and co-CEO, Commonwealth Bank and Trust Company, Louisville, Ky.

The CDIAC was established by the St. Louis Fed in 2011 and comprises 12 executives of smaller financial institutions across the Fed’s Eighth District. The council meets twice each year to advise Bullard.

Additionally, the chair of the CDIAC has the responsibility of reporting twice yearly to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C.

For more information, see the St. Louis Fed’s CDIAC page, or for more information and background about all of the Federal Reserve CDIACs, see the Federal Reserve Board of Governors’ website.