Q: What led you to Argent and what makes it unique?
A: This might sound mundane, but I was looking for a steady job to get on my feet after the economic downturn (savings & loan crisis/oil bust). I had married in late January 1990, I was looking for a good job to start my family. I was in Dallas at the time and jobs were hard to come by.
Q: What does the company mean to you?
A: This is a difficult question. It means so many things. A safe place to work. A place where dreams were made and dreams came true. A place where I grew up (not too much ?!).
Q: Why do you enjoy working at Argent?
A: Argent gave me the opportunity to grow both professionally and personally. I had the privilege to experience every facet of wealth management (even IT!), find a great place to use my talents and build a team, and that team became extremely successful. Many of us have had the opportunity to pursue our strengths and either build or work with a team to create something special for those we serve and those we serve with.
Q: Recount a favorite memory or project from your time at Argent.
A: Just starting at Argent, the personal computer was just catching on. I produced a slideshow presentation for a board meeting that could be shown on a computer screen. No one had ever seen anything like that before, even on the monochrome monitors. It was otherworldly and management (we were owned by Ruston State Bank at the time) came to our office just to see it.
Q: What has been your proudest moment at Argent?
A: My proudest moment was when we converted our trust accounting system the first time in 2002. The hard work of our conversion team allowed for a seamless conversion of all our data over a weekend so that there was no internal or external disruption of service to the client or staff.
Q: What is on your wish list for the next 10 years with Argent?
A: To ride off into the sunset knowing that Argent’s client-centric focus is still intact, that those we have brought up and trained are more capable than those of us that began.
Q: What’s the biggest trend you see in your field right now?
A: In philanthropic and governmental work, value and technology are the trend. Does your offering bring value to the table? Typically that value will include technology, but it will never outweigh personal service and relationship building.
Q: What is a random fact about you?
A: I’ve held 13 different positions in my career at Argent.
Q: What is your favorite quote?
A: “Stay in the moment.” Or, one that always would put a smile on my face: My father used to reply when asked how he was doing “Well, I feel pretty good, but not as good as I look…”
Q: If you could have any other job for one day, what would it be?
A: It’s a tie between NBA/MLB executive and an American history teacher. The tiebreaker is if the students are interested in learning history or not!
Q: If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
A: Jesus Christ. Who else can tell of death AND life?
Q: What’s your favorite thing to do in Ruston?
A: Eat! I don’t miss many meals. The local restaurants are wonderful!
Q: What motivates you?
A: Seeing those on my team succeed.
