The Board of Directors, for Community First Banking Company, has announced that Michael Hoff has been named President and Chief Executive Officer for the bank and also for the parent organization, Community Bancshares of West Plains, Inc. A native of Mountain View, MO., he has over 44 years of banking experience, including 38 years in lending. He attended Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, MO. He is a graduate of the Basic and Secondary School of Banking in Overland Park, KS., the ABA National Compliance School in Norman, OK., and the Graduate School of Banking in Madison, WI. Michael has previously served on the Missouri Bankers Association’s Bank Leadership Board and as a Director for the Missouri Independent Bankers Association. Hoff joined Community First in March, 2007, as Executive Vice-President and Chief Lending Officer, and was added to the bank’s Board of Directors in December, 2008. He is a Paul Harris Fellow with the West Plains Noon Rotary. Hoff is a member of the West Plains Planning Commission, serving the last seven years as Chairman. He is Vice-Chairman of the Board for the Ozarks Small Business Incubator, as well as Secretary of the OZSBI Micro-Loan Committee, and was selected as the 2015 Citizen of the Year, by the West Plains Chamber of Commerce.
Mark Sloan has been named Senior Vice President & Chief Lending Officer (CLO) for Community First. Sloan is a native of Missouri and spent a good portion of his summers in West Plains with his grandparents Clyde and Ruth Stewart. He served ten years in the U.S. Coast Guard where he worked in Law Enforcement and Search and Rescue. During his time in the Military, Sloan obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from St. Mary’s College of California in Moraga, CA. Sloan has 16 years of banking experience and started his career in banking with Bank of America in Kansas City where he managed multiple Banking Centers. Before joining Community First in 2016, he was the Branch Manager/Vice President of the Capital Farm Credit office in San Antonio, TX. Sloan is active with the Noon Rotary Club and the Ozark Farmers Agricultural Cooperative.
Daniel McKinney has been promoted to Vice President/Commercial Lender. McKinney has more than 10 years of banking experience, having begun his banking career at US Bank in Springfield, MO. He joined Community First Banking Company in 2012. McKinney is a native of West Plains and graduated from West Plains High School. He has an Associate’s Degree in General Studies from Missouri State University. McKinney is an active member of the West Plains Optimist Club where he serves as Vice-President.
Kelly Marsh has been promoted to Vice President/Operations Manager for Community First. Marsh is a native of Bakersfield and has over 16 years of banking experience in Operations with Community First Banking Company. She has completed numerous bank related courses in Operations, Management, and ACH.
Ruth Li-Whittington, has been named Information Security Officer for Community First. She joined the bank in 2015, after working for Heights Finance Corporation, a consumer finance company in West Plains, for 4 years. Li-Whittington has an associate’s degree in Criminal Justice from Drury University. She also volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for the 37th Judicial District.