About First Freedom Bank
Our People | Management
John Lancaster, President and CEO, Organizer
A banker who knows you is a banker who understands your needs, your dreams,
your grand plans. That's what it means to be a community bank. John Lancaster
has a vision for building First Freedom Bank into a true community bank: a bank
whose roots go deep in Wilson County, a bank that's fully invested in the growth
and prosperity of this community.
You are the future of Wilson County. You are our future. That's why we want to know you by name.
John Robert Lancaster, age 38, is a native of Lebanon, Tennessee. He is a 1985 graduate of Castle Heights Military Academy, a 1988 Honor graduate of the University of Tennessee with a B.S. degree in Business Administration, and a 1998 graduate of Trevecca Nazarene University with a M.A. degree in Management. A 17-year veteran of the banking industry, Mr. Lancaster most recently served as Wilson County Chairman with SunTrust Bank. Prior to the acquisition of National Bank of Commerce by SunTrust, Mr. Lancaster served as the Wilson County regional President for National Bank of Commerce. His previous banking experience includes a 9-year stint with First Tennessee Bank, N.A., where he served as vice-president/commercial sales manager. He is a graduate of the Tennessee Commercial Lending School and the Southeastern School of Advanced Commercial Lending, both at Vanderbilt University. He is also a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University. Active in community affairs, Mr. Lancaster has served as Board Chairman and Campaign Chairman for United Way of Wilson county and as a board member of the United Ways of Middle Tennessee. He continues to serve on the Allocations Executive Committee and has been a member of the Allocations process with United Way for more than 10 years. He has served as co-chairman of the Greater Lebanon Regional Planning Commission, past president of Main Street Lebanon, Inc., past president of the Wilson County Adult Reading Council, Inc, and was an instructor/facilitator for Junior Achievement through Lebanon High School for a number of years. Mr. Lancaster is also a graduate of Leadership Wilson and has served on the board of the Wilson County Heart Association. He and his wife, Penny (Fisher), have been married for 15 years and have two sons. They are members of the First United Methodist Church in Lebanon. Mr. Lancaster is an Organizer and proposed Board member of the new Bank and will serve as the Bank's President and Chief Executive Officer. He will be a member of the Executive, Loan, and Asset/Liability Committees.
John Bradshaw, Chief Operating Officer and Organizer
Loan-to-value ratios. Annual percentage rates. FDIC regulations. It's a good thing
John Bradshaw has a handle on all the technicalities of the banking business. But
banking, in the end, isn't about numbers. It's about relationships - people helping
people.
You look to your banker when you're taking some of the biggest steps of your life: when you're buying a house, starting a business, sending the kids to college, thinking about retirement. Aren't you glad there are bankers like John Bradshaw, who understand that banking is more about relationships, not just rates and ratios? John Bradshaw is helping make First Freedom a different kind of bank.
John H. Bradshaw, age 38, has sixteen years' of banking experience in all aspects of banking. He was most recently employed as senior vice-president of First Tennessee Bank, N.A. in Lebanon, Tennessee and headed the commercial lending and business development in Wilson County. In addition to his extensive lending background, Mr. Bradshaw served as regional sales manager during his tenure with First Tennessee. A lifelong resident of Lebanon, he graduated from Castle Heights Military Academy and is a 1989 graduate of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville where he earned a bachelor of science degree in finance. Additionally, he earned his Masters of Business Administration from Cumberland University in 2002. He is a graduate of the Louisiana State University School of Banking and the Tennessee Commercial School of Banking at Vanderbilt University. Mr. Bradshaw has worked with Middle Tennessee Junior Achievement as an adult leader/teacher with students at Lebanon High School. He graduated from the inaugural class of Leadership Wilson in 1994. He currently serves on the Health and Education Board of Wilson County as well as in the President's Council at Cumberland University. Mr. Bradshaw is a member of the board of trust for Summit Hospital and a member of the Lebanon Rotary Club. He is a past board member of the American Heart Association, the Empower Me Day Camp, and Leadership Wilson Alumni Board. Mr. Bradshaw is Cubmaster of Cub Scout Pack 643 and a leader with Boy Scout Troup 643 in Lebanon. He has coached baseball in Lebanon for the last six years. Mr. Bradshaw and his wife Karen (Ross) have been married for 13 years and have three children. They are active members of the First United Methodist Church in Lebanon. He is an Organizer of the new Bank, a proposed Director, and will serve as the Bank's Chief Operating Officer. He will serve on the Executive, Loan, and Public Relations Committees.
Ken Howell, Board Chairman and Organizer
What will Wilson County look like in ten years? In twenty years? In fifty?
Nobody knows for sure, but exciting growth and changes are happening in this
community. It's going to take vision and leadership to manage that growth and
change.
Ken Howell and First Freedom Bank plan to be an important part of Wilson County's future. A community bank, after all, is vital to community growth. That's why vision is so important in the community banking business. Our vision makes First Freedom a different kind of bank.
Kenneth C. Howell, age 55, graduated from Columbia Central High School in Columbia, Tennessee and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and Mathematics from Middle Tennessee State University in 1972. He attended Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University, the National Commercial Lending School at the University of Oklahoma, and the National Consumer Credit School at the University of Oklahoma. He was employed by Commerce Union Bank from 1972-1984 in various lending and management positions in the bank's Nashville, Springfield and Lebanon locations, being promoted to vice-president. He worked for the Humana Hospital Corporation in public relations and physician recruitment and later in private business as a series 7 licensed broker in the securities industry from 1984-1987. He joined Peoples Bank of Lebanon (later Third National Bank) in 1987 as executive vice president and as a member of the board of directors. Mr. Howell was the Wilson County Regional President for First American National Bank from 1988-1992, a position that included being project manager for the new office in Lebanon. He joined First Tennessee National Bank in 1992 as executive vice president and commercial sales manager and later as regional president for Wilson County (1997-2002), a position that included the project management for the replacement of an old office in Lebanon with a new facility for the bank. Mr. Howell is the co-founder and general manager of All American Classics of Tennessee (dba Classic Cars Southeast) which is the classic, antique and muscle car sales and restoration business. This business opened in 2004. Mr. Howell is a licensed real estate agent with Cumberland Real Estate and Auction Company and a member of the National Realtors Association. He is the past president and member of the board of directors of Lebanon/Wilson County Chamber of Commerce. In 1995 he founded the Wilson County Business and Education Coalition, Inc., a non-profit teacher grant program of the chamber of Commerce. He was elected a lifetime member #23 of the Lebanon/Wilson County Chamber of Commerce in 1998 and was one of the founding members of the Business Resource Center for the Chamber. Mr. Howell is a past charter member of the Rotary Club in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee and a past member of the board of directors of the Middle Tennessee Heart Association. He is past president and member of the board of directors of the Wilson County United Way and past member of the board of directors of the United Way of Middle Tennessee, serving on the needs assessment and allocations committee for Middle Tennessee. He is past president and member of the board of directors of Prospect, Inc.; a member of the Wilson County Fair Board; and an honorary member of Delta Mu Delta National Honor Society at Cumberland University. He is a member of the First United Methodist Church and currently serves as church treasurer. Mr. Howell and his wife, Mallory, have been married 31 years and have three sons. He is an Organizer and the proposed chairman of the Board of Directors for the new Bank and will serve on the Executive and Loan, and Human Resources Committees. Mr. Howell will also serve as an Executive Officer of the Bank.
Maliea Oakley, Senior Vice President
Maliea Oakley is the kind of banker you can trust. You can see it in her face. But
it's more than that. In twenty-six years in the business - from bank teller to bank
Vice President - Maliea has built a track record of excellence, honesty, and
customer-focus that bank customers throughout Wilson County have come to rely
on. Maliea Oakley has touched a lot of lives in this community. One transaction at
a time, she has built a lot of trust. That's why First Freedom Bank brought her on
as Senior Vice President. People like Maliea Oakley make us a different kind of
bank.
Maliea Oakley is a lifelong resident of Wilson County. Educated in Wilson County schools, Oakley went on to obtain AIB diplomas in general banking, consumer credit and commercial lending from Volunteer State Community College. She graduated from the Southeastern School of Consumer Credit and the Southeastern School of Banking. Oakley is also a graduate of the prestigious Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University. Prior to joining First Freedom Bank, she held executive leadership positions as vice president and main office manager at Wilson Bank & Trust, where, among many other duties, she handled a $29 million loan portfolio. Oakley also served as a relationship banker and commercial officer at Peoples Bank, which later became Third National, handling an extensive loan portfolio for her clients. Oakley and her husband have two children. She is currently a trustee for the Southeastern School of Consumer Credit, secretary of Immanuel Baptist Church's budget and finance committee, treasurer of Lebanon High School Band Boosters, and member of Junior Achievement and Leadership Wilson.
Mike Wiggington, Senior Vice President, CFO
As Senior Vice President and CFO, Mike Wiggington is ultimately accountable for every dollar that comes into and goes out of First Freedom Bank. His daily decisions are guided by one very important fact: it's not the bankers' money sitting in those vaults. It's the customers'. There are plenty of banks that want your business. That's why Mike Wiggington is committed to making sure First Freedom is the most customer-driven, community-focused bank in Wilson County. That kind of leadership makes First Freedom a different kind of bank.
Wiggington comes to First Freedom from SunTrust/National Bank of Commerce, where he was the Commercial Loan Manager and Senior Lending Officer for the Wilson County region. Prior to his tenure at the bank, Wiggington was Chief Financial Officer for two trucking companies and provided financial consulting services for various businesses in Middle Tennessee.
Wiggington holds a MBA from the prestigious Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University. He received a BS degree in Mathematics from Ball State University and has taken additional professional courses through the American Bankers Association and Robert Morris Associates.
A twenty year resident of Wilson County, Wiggington has been a member of the Lebanon Planning Commission, the Lebanon Breakfast Rotary Club, Wilson County CASA, and the Sumner Academy Board of Trustees. He and his wife, Theresa, have two children and attend St. Francis Cabrini Catholic Church in Lebanon.
Luke Winchester, Vice President
Manager, West Wilson Division
Nobody's more involved in the community life of Wilson County than Luke
Winchester. That's why the Mount Juliet/West Wilson County Chamber of Commerce
honored Luke as their Volunteer of the Year for 2005, and he recently complete
his term as Chairman of the organization. Luke Winchester is a natural leader.
And he cares deeply about making Wilson County a better place to live. That's
why First Freedom Bank is proud to have him as a Vice President and Manager of
the growing West Wilson Division. People like Luke Winchester make us a
different kind of bank.
Before coming to First Freedom, Luke Winchester was Vice President at SunTrust
(previously National Bank of Commerce), where he specialized in small business
and commercial relationships. Prior to that, he was a consultant to ComCo
Equipment Leasing Group, where he worked with banks to expand their equipment
lease financing. Winchester received his B.S. degree from of the University of
Tennessee at Knoxville. He is also a graduate of the Southeastern School of
Commercial Lending at Vanderbilt University and a number of other banking
programs offered through the Tennessee Bankers Association. He is a 2005
graduate of Leadership Wilson and served for four years on the Board of
Directors of the Mt. Juliet / West Wilson Chamber of Commerce. Winchester is
also a charter member of the Mt. Juliet Noon Rotary Club and represents the
City of Mt. Juliet on the Governor's 5 Star Beautification Committee in Wilson
County. He and his wife Pamela have two children and are members of Cook's
United Methodist Church.
James Robin Carr, Vice President, Trust Administration
Robin is committed to offering opportunities for our customers and friends to invest in their future through the investment programs that make the most sense for each one. Sure, you want your investments to grow, but there's more to it that that. Robin can help you develop an investment strategy to accomplish your investment goals and meet your financial needs now and in the future. No investor is too small or circumstances so complex for First Freedom's team of trust professionals to help.
Gary F. Poling, Vice President, Senior Trust Officer
Gary has worked in trusts and investments his whole career, thirty-five years, and he loves his job. It's his career, his hobby, and his passion. His clients understand this; they're also his friends. And they depend on Gary to care about their financial progress, to be passionate about their investments. Because their investments aren't just figures on a balance sheet; they're security, possibilities, dreams. Gary gets that. That's why his clients become his friends.
Christy Thompson, Deposit Operations Manager
What does Christy Thompson bring to First Freedom Bank? She brings the kind of leadership that expresses itself in service - in putting other people first. Whatever the event, if Christy Thompson is there you can be sure she's in the middle of things, finding ways to serve and help. She brings that same attitude to her work as Deposit Operations Manager at First Freedom Bank. That kind of leadership - that kind of service - makes us a different kind of bank.
Christy Thompson manages all aspects of deposit operations for First Freedom. Her experience includes more than 18 years of bank operations, including 13 years at Wilson Bank and Trust, where she managed the bookkeeping department. A lifetime resident of Wilson County, Thompson graduated from Lebanon High School and received a General Banking Diploma from the American Institute of Banking. She has been active in her community through a number of local activities including serving as a volunteer instructor for the Junior Achievement program and serving as Treasurer for the Carroll Oakland PTO. Christy and her husband, Mark, have two children and are members of Immanuel Baptist Church where Christy teaches a youth Sunday school class.
Kristen Bare, Loan Operations Manager
There's something special about being involved in a venture from the first days the doors open. It's no picnic starting a bank from scratch - but then again, you have the opportunity to get it right from Day One - a fresh start, a chance to be the kind of bank Wilson County has always deserved. Kristen Bare is determined to make your experience at First Freedom the best banking experience you've ever had. People like Kristen Bare make us a different kind of bank.
Kristen Bare comes to First Freedom from Wilson Bank and Trust where she was the assistant manager of the Note Department. She graduated from Lebanon High School and Volunteer State Community College, where she earned a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Office Management Technology. She and her husband, Tony, have two children and are members of Immanuel Baptist Church where she serves as a preschool teacher.
Jill Bracey, Assistant Branch Manager
Jill
Bracey has built her life in West Wilson County. She grew up here and is a graduate
of Mt. Juliet High School. Jill and her husband John are raising their four children
in Mt. Juliet, and Jill is currently the Team Manager and Secretary for the Wilson
Central Hockey Team. That kind of total community commitment—plus her 13 year
career in bank leadership, including real estate lending, consumer and construction
lending and branch management—is why Jill is
the ideal Assistant Branch Manager for First Freedom Bank's new 12888 Lebanon
Road office.
Jill was most recently employed by Renasant Bank and, during her 13 year career,
has been involved in real estate lending, consumer and construction lending and
branch management. She will be responsible for day to day operations of First
Freedom Bank's 12888 Lebanon Road location. Bracey is a native of Mt. Juliet
and a graduate of Mt. Juliet High School. She continued her education at
Middle Tennessee State University and The University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Jill and her husband, John, have four children and continue to maintain their
residence in Mt. Juliet. In addition to her work with the Wilson Central
Hockey Team, Jill is active in many other community and local youth sports
activities.
J. B. Owens, Assistant Vice President
J. B. has a history of getting involved, in college, in graduate school, and as he worked in bank auditing and credit analysis. He hasn’t changed. He’s active at church, in the Lebanon Kiwanis Club and with the Lebanon Rotary Breakfast Club. He does it because he cares, and that makes him a better banker, too, especially at a bank like First Freedom, where the community is so important. If you want a great community bank, you need bankers—like J. B.—who think the community matters.
J. B. Owens comes to First Freedom
Bank from Kraft CPAs, where he spent more than two years in the Bank Audit
and Consulting Services Group. While at Kraft, J. B. worked with numerous public
and nonpublic banks ranging from $75 million in assets to well over $2 billion
in assets. J. B. graduated from Tennessee Tech University in May of 2003 with
a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting. While
attending Tech, J. B. was the President of the Zeta Phi Chapter of Beta Alpha
Psi, a National Honors Accounting Fraternity, and he was an active member of
the Student Ambassadors of the College of Business Administration. Upon graduation,
J. B. accepted a Graduate Assistantship position with the Accounting Department
at Tennessee Tech which enabled him to teach college accounting classes while
working on his graduate degree. In December, 2004, J. B. obtained his Masters
of Business Administration from Tennessee Tech University while already working
for Kraft CPAs in Nashville. J. B. is also very active in his work with the
youth at Mount Juliet Church of Christ.
Bob DiSalvo, Relationship Specialist
Bob DiSalvo has grown deep roots in West Wilson County. He's lived in Mt. Juliet
for more than 20 years, in Middle Tennessee for 33 years. He has served as
Chairman of the Mt. Juliet Chamber of Commerce and on its Board of Directors
for six years. He's making Mt. Juliet a better place to live with his work on
the City's Parks and Greenway Board. Now he's a Relationship Specialist at
First Freedom Bank's 12888 Lebanon Road location, focused on you and the West
Wilson community, on listening to your needs and meeting them. It's a different
kind of position, because First Freedom is a different kind of bank.
DiSalvo comes to First Freedom following a distinguished 31-year career with TDS
Telecom. He has received the Mt. Juliet Chamber of Commerce's prestigious Paul
Bauman Award of Excellence and is a Board Member and past president of the Mt.
Juliet Breakfast Rotary Club as well as a Paul Harris Fellow. Other civic
activities include past president and board member of Wilson County CASA and
past president and board member of the 100 Club of Wilson County. DiSalvo is a
graduate of the 1999 Class of Leadership Wilson.
A native of Pittsburgh, PA, DiSalvo is a veteran of the US Air Force. He is a member of St. Stephens Church in Old Hickory. He and his wife Judy have two children and two grandchildren.
A native of Pittsburgh, PA, DiSalvo is a veteran of the US Air Force. He is a member of St. Stephens Church in Old Hickory. He and his wife Judy have two children and two grandchildren.
Christy Doyle, Personal Banker
For Christy Doyle, a new customer is a new relationship, not just a new account. That's what makes her job so rewarding - the give and take of interpersonal relationships. That's what it means to be a personal banker. People like Christy Doyle make First Freedom a different kind of bank.
Christy Doyle was sales and branch operations manager at Wilson Bank & Trust before joining First Freedom. A graduate of Lebanon High School, she has extensive experience in branch and bank operations, branch administration, sales, customer support, account reconciliation, and cash balancing. While at Wilson Bank and Trust, Christy was honored as the Salesperson of the Year and continues to be active in many community events and organizations including the Watertown Youth Football League and the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. She has two children and is a member of the Adams Grove Church of Christ in the Norene community of Wilson County.
Kelly Lamey, Personal Banker
Kelly Lamey has lived her whole life here in Wilson County. She's raised two boys here. So when she saw the opportunity to be a part of a bank that was truly committed to being an integral part of this community for many years to come, she jumped at it. Community focus, hometown values. Kelly Lamey helps make First Freedom a different kind of bank.
Kelly Lamey comes to First Freedom with more than 16 years experience in relationship banking. A graduate of Lebanon High School, she received an A.A. degree in Accounting from Volunteer State Community College and a General Banking Diploma from the American Institute of Banking. Prior to joining First Freedom, Kelly served for eight years as a personal banker at Wilson Bank and Trust where she was twice honored as the bank's Salesperson of the Year. She also served for eight years as a relationship manager with the Private Client Group of Nations Bank. She is involved in a number of community activities, including Relay for Life, American Heart Walk, March of Dimes, and Bark in the Park. Kelly has two sons and is a member of the of the First Church of the Nazarene in Lebanon.
Lola Mullican, Executive Assistant
Lola comes to First Freedom Bank from University Medical Center where she spent more than 10 years assisting executive management. Her superior organizational skills, her strong work ethic and her sincere desire help people make her a great addition for First Freedom.
