Fifteen years ago First Leadership was the vision of Dick Trammel, Carl Baggett and Raymond Burns as well as many other community leaders.  Their vision was to help create future leaders in the Rogers, AR area.  Arvest Bank teamed up with the Rogers/Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce to launch the program.

Each September Sophomores & Juniors from Rogers High School and Heritage High School are encouraged to apply for the program.  Students must have a minimum grade point average of 2.0, display of leadership potential, yet not be overly involved in extra-curricular activities, and show a desire to be involved in the community.

Up to 20 students are chosen to participate in the program.  Those students who are chose for the program must maintaining passing grades in all courses throughout First Leadership and attend all First Leadership sessions.

There are nine sessions where students learn everything from human services to personal finance.  Each year the students tour Little Rock where students get to meet Governor Beebe and visit various cultural and historic sites like the Clinton Library, Central High Museum and the Arkansas Arts Center.  First Leadership also allows students to interact with community and business leaders who they otherwise might not have the opportunity to meet.  Students are also required to complete 8 hours of community service.

The deadline for applications is September 3rd.  Applications are available at rogerslowell.com and the offices at Rogers High School and Heritage High School.
 

Every July, Shawnee welcomes the International Finals Youth Rodeo to town which brings rodeo youth and families from all over the United States as well as many other countries - including Mexico and Austrailia.  This year, since Arvest had just been named recipient of the J.D Power and Associates 2010 award for being ranked highest in Customer Satisfaction with Retail Banking in the Southwest in retail banking, we felt it would be a great opportunity to show off the award and promote the rodeo to have the trophy visit the event. 

As the sponsor of the final performance of the rodeo since it’s inception in 1993, Arvest Bank is proud to be a part of this annual community event and proud to have received this award from our customers.  Thank you!   View more photos of the trophy tour on our Arvest Facebook Page.

This Saturday Arvest Bank in Benton County, AR is sponsoring the Chilisalsapeno at the Frisco Festival in Downtown Rogers. Proceeds benefit Main Street Rogers, the non-profit group responsible for improvements to the downtown area ranging from new intersections to pocket parks.

For 26 years, the city of Rogers has been celebrating its heritage with the annual Frisco Festival.  Each year citizens of Rogers and surrounding communities converge on downtown Rogers the last weekend of August to enjoy free rides, live music, talent shows and of course food.

For the fifth year in a row, Arvest has sponsored the Chilisalsapeno contest at the Frisco Festival.  Banks, businesses and churches from Northwest Arkansas will decide who has the best chili.  Attendees will be allowed to sample chili and vote for their favorite recipe.  They will also vote on the booth that is the most visually appealing in the “Showmanship” category. Likewise, four judges taste the chili and cast their votes for the best chili. Chili Taster Kits can be purchased at the event for $5/each. Sampling begins at 10:45 a.m.

In addition to the chili competition, a salsa competition will be held.  Members of the community are asked to make their best salsa and allow four judges to determine who makes the best salsa in Rogers.  Judging will begin at 11:30 am.

And as if the chili and the salsa won’t add enough spice to the day, there will be a jalapeno eating contest.  Each contestant has two minutes to eat as many hot, spicy peppers as possible.  Competition begins at 1:30 pm.

Don’t wait to enter one or all of these fun contests.  The deadline is Friday, August 28th.  To download a registration form, click here!

It’s an exciting time for Arvest Bank in Springfield, MO as we celebrate the grand opening of our newest location at the corner of National Ave. and Chestnut Expressway. Our new branch has been built to LEED standards and is a full-service location offering everything from daily deposits and check cashing, to account opening services and mortgage loans.

We are happy to announce April Eaton and Deb Oman as the first two Apple iPad winners as part of our grand opening month for the new National Ave. and Chestnut Expressway location.

During our month long grand opening event, we are asking the community to come to the branch and support a “Charity of the Week.” For each visitor of the branch Arvest will donate $1 to the organization of the week and they will be entered into a drawing for a new Apple iPad.

There are two more iPad giveaways this month, come out to our new branch and register to win today!

The Arvest Bank in Poteau, OK celebrated their grand reopening and ribbon cutting today.  The branch went through a remodel and is now more customer friendly with a bigger lobby and features a customer waiting area with new furniture.  “We felt this remodel was necessary to help better serve our customers, which is our number one priority,” stated Ted Sheets, Community Bank President of Eastern Oklahoma.

The branch now has a different look inside and out.  The interior offices were removed and now there are 11 enclosed offices, instead of 3.  The remodel also added a conference room and restrooms for customers.  Flooring was replaced and the new teller line will be more convenient. In addition to all of the interior changes, the outside was painted.

A check presentation on behalf of the Walton Family Foundation followed the grand reopening ceremony.  A check for $5,000 was presented to the Leflore County Literacy Council.  Mike Beshers and Ted Sheets of Arvest Bank were on hand as representatives of the foundation to present the check to the Leflore County Literacy Council.  The funds will help with the purchase of materials for adult learners, to provide storage for materials and to fund a family literacy program called Jump Start.  The Leflore County Literacy Council’s mission is to provide reading instruction for adults with no or low level reading skills and provide English instruction for non-English speaking adults.

Arvest associates from the Tulsa market have been enjoying the many summer festivities including:

1^st Annual OinkFest! Not to be outdone, on June 18^th our branch in Muskogee started their own delicious tradition by serving up grilled pork links. Customers were greeted with leis and signed up to win door prizes.

Mary Price will be retiring from Arvest after 11 years of faithful service. A retirement reception for Mary will be held Friday, August 13, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, at our 739 Harmony St., Neosho, MO, location. 

Arvest Bank would like to thank Mary for her dedicated service in her years representing us. We invite you to join us in showing her our appreciation and wishing her our very best at the reception.

Our new branch grand opening on National Ave. and Chestnut Expressway is now in full swing as we enter into our month long celebration with various community-focused events. We chose Habitat for Humanity as our first “Charity of the Week” and are already seeing great community involvement!

You may have seen pictures and posts in the past about partnerships between our banks and the Habitat for Humanity organization in their communities as part of a bank-wide, three-year commitment to the organization. While we are celebrating the opening of our new branch, we are also busy helping a Springfield family get a new home, too.

Arvest has donated $10,000 to Habitat for Humanity in Springfield. Our funds are being used for the ReHabitat project on Clifton Street. The upgrades on this three-bedroom house will help make it a home for Corey and Tanisha Holland and their three children.

This last Saturday we held a groundbreaking event for the project. With the Hollands, Habitat volunteers and a group of our associates the ceremony began with a check presentation to Habitat for Humanity, with Arvest being the sole sponsor of this ReHabitat build. After the presentation, work began to construct a fence, do some exterior painting and bring a covered porch up to code to make it safe to play on.