AVB Bank Announces Promotions

Founded in Broken Arrow, OK in 1905, AVB Bank is a fourth-generation family-owned community bank with locations in Tulsa and Broken Arrow.

Nema Dobbins was promoted to the position of Senior Vice President.

AVB Bank is pleased to announce that Rebecca Collins has been _promoted to Senior Vice President and Bank Secrecy Act Officer. With over 22 years of service to AVB, she is ­responsible for deposit ­operations. Collins attended Tulsa Community College and is a graduate of the Oklahoma Bankers Association Operations and Intermediate Banking Schools.

Nema Dobbins was promoted to the position of Senior Vice President. She serves as the Secretary to the Board of Directors and Executive Assistant to the President/CEO and Chairman of the Board. A native of Coweta, Dobbins attended Northeastern State University and has over 37 years of banking experience.

Linda King has been ­promoted to Vice President,Loan Compliance Officer and Community Reinvestment Officer. King has over nine years of credit administration and loan compliance and audit experience. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Oklahoma.

Michelle Glover has been ­promoted and now serves as Assistant Vice President and Internal Control Officer. A ­graduate of OSU and the University of Phoenix with a degree in accounting, Glover has been with AVB since 2004.

Tami Taylor has been ­promoted to Assistant Vice President and Credit Administration Officer. Taylor is a native of Tulsa and a North-eastern State University graduate. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Oklahoma Chapter of the Risk Management Association (RMA).

Ben Dejene has been ­promoted to Vice President and Retail Banking Director. Dejene is responsible for corporate retail sales and service and cash management. With AVB since 2003, he is a graduate of the Oklahoma Bankers Association (OBA) schools of Consumer Lending and Intermediate Banking. He is, also, a graduate of Leadership Broken Arrow. Dejene holds a bachelor’s degree from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.

Kelli Sowell was promoted to Senior Vice President. With over 18 years of banking experience, she serves as AVB’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations. Sowell is a graduate of the OBA’s Leadership and Management Development Program and Intermediate School of Banking; Leadership Broken Arrow; the American Bankers Association National Consumer Credit School; and the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Southeastern Oklahoma State University and pursued graduate studies at the University of Oklahoma.     

Licia Kellerstrass has joined AVB as Vice President and Quality Service Specialist. With previous experience in retail, recruiting and placement, ­curriculum development, leadership management, and banking, Kellerstrass is responsible for AVB’s high quality service standards, training and implementation; business development; and public relations. Active in the Broken Arrow community, she is a graduate of the first Leadership Broken Arrow Class of 2001. Kellerstrass has completed the OBA Basic School of Banking and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Oklahoma State University.

Sharon Ray has joined AVB and been appointed Vice President of Credit Administration. She will manage the loan services and credit departments. A long-time resident of Chouteau, Ray has attended the OBA schools of Compliance and Consumer Lending and is a past board member of both schools. Ray was, also, a past president of the Eastern Oklahoma Chapter of BAI.

The promotion ­announcements were made by AVB’s Chairman of the Board, Kelley Rash.   

Founded in Broken Arrow, OK in 1905, AVB Bank is a fourth-generation family-owned community bank with locations in Tulsa and Broken Arrow. 

For more information, contact

AVB Bank

(918) 251-9611

www.bankavb.com