Steve Brown

Banking official keeps busy as Benton Chamber board president

Steve Brown of Benton is the 2019 chairman of the Benton Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He will serve one year in the leadership role, then one year in an advisory role as a past board chairman.
Steve Brown of Benton is the 2019 chairman of the Benton Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He will serve one year in the leadership role, then one year in an advisory role as a past board chairman.

Steve Brown, 56, has been busy since January, when he began his duties as chairman of the Benton Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. The chamber has already hosted two big events, and more are planned for the rest of the year.

“It’s going to be an exciting year for the chamber,” said Brown, who is the chief executive officer of Alcoa Community Federal Credit Union. “[Gary James, chamber president and CEO], and his staff do a fantastic job. It’s a fine-tuned engine. … I just stay out of the way most of the time.”

James said the chamber “has a great board [of directors] this year.”

“Steve is doing a great job,” James said. “Because of his connections with the community and his experience, he brings great leadership skills to the board. He knows what it means to work at a fast-paced level.

“Board members have to be willing to participate in activities every month,” James said. “It takes a lot of time … more time than you would image … to lead the board. Steve willingly stepped up to do this job. It’s going to be a great year under his leadership.”

Brown said the chamber is “making a big push this year to help members feel the value of belonging to the chamber.”

“We are looking for new and interesting activities to enhance members’ participation in the chamber and to bring value to them for their membership,” Brown said.

“We added a third bingo this year,” he said. “The first time we had a bingo … two years ago … we had 600 people. I think we had about 700 at the first one we held this year on Feb. 12.

“We touch a whole different crowd with the bingo,” he said. “It’s been a great community event. It attracts people who might not normally come to a chamber event. It attracts not only community members, but also people from all areas of the state. We give cash prizes. … It’s fun.”

The next bingo will take place April 5 at the Benton Event Center.

The chamber sponsored its second big event of the year Tuesday night, when it hosted its annual banquet at the Benton

Event Center. The sold-out event featured Erin Brockovich, consumer advocate, author and TV host, as well as president of Brockovich Research and Consulting, as the guest speaker.

Brown said future chamber events designed to promote businesses include the Saline County Business Expo in May, Savor the Flavor in October and Glitz & Garland in November. The public is invited to those events.

“We try to reach all segments of the community with our events,” said Brown, adding that the chamber has 780 members.

“We try to see that every segment gets its opportunity to shine in the sunshine … from restaurants to retail to industry. We have chamber members from the largest employers in the county to a sole proprietor of a business. I think that makes us unique as a chamber,” he said.

“I have one year to lead the chamber board,” Brown said, smiling. “I am going to be wherever I need to be, whenever I need to be there. I really like it.

“I like giving back to the community. Wherever I have lived, I have tried to give back to the community.”

Brown will serve for 12 months as chairman of the chamber board; he will then serve one year as a past chairman. Other members of the Benton Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Board include Rick Bellinger of Riverside Grocery and Catering, vice chairman; Jordan Woolbright of Jordan Woolbright CPA, PA, treasurer; Teresa Middlebrooks of Middlebrooks Electric Co., secretary; and Jeff Richardson of Simmons Bank, past chairman.

Born in Searcy, Brown grew up in Augusta.

“Mom and Dad farmed until I was in first grade; then they ran a general store,” Brown said. “I was outside chopping cotton when I was 10. I worked in the store, too. We all had to work. … There were nine in the family.”

Brown graduated from Augusta High School in 1980 and studied business at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.

“I began my professional career in banking in 1984 at what was then Worthen Bank in Little Rock,” he said. “I started as a collector. Then I spent some time at what was then Savers Federal Savings and Loan in Little Rock.

“We moved to Norman, Oklahoma, and I worked for Security National Bank. Then we moved to Fayetteville, where I worked for a private-label credit-card company.”

Brown moved to Benton in 1997. He worked for a while for Arkansas Systems, a banking software company, in Little Rock and traveled worldwide.

“I then worked for Acxiom for 15 years,” he said. “I started in Conway and finished in Little Rock. I survived 31 reorganizations of the company but did not survive 32. I left there and did some consulting work for Alcoa Community Federal Credit Union. The company asked me to take the CEO position, which I did in 2014.”

Brown said his career thus far “has been interesting.”

“Banking has changed dramatically, with buyouts and mergers,” he said. “I lived through the savings-and-loan crisis when Savers went into receivership. All of that has provided me with perspective.”

Brown and his wife, Gasha, who works in the medical-billing department at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, have been married 35 years. They have two adult children. Their son, Josh Brown, 33, is a coach at Benton Junior High School. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have a 3-year-old daughter, Blake. Steve and Gasha’s daughter, Megan Williams, 29, is a surgical technician at Baptist Health in Little Rock. She and her husband, Konrad Williams, have three daughters — Rylee, 9; Kynzlee, 8; and Harper, 1.

Brown said he enjoys golf as a hobby, “but I am not very good.”

“My kids were always involved in athletics, and I was always going somewhere with them, so that’s where I spent most of my free time,” he said. “And now that my son is a coach, we try to go to his games as much as we can. And I am sure as the granddaughters get older, I’ll be going with them, too. They already keep me busy.”

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