Local banker retires after 38-year career

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    A retirement reception for Tim Pinkerton packed the First State Bank lobby in Nashville Monday morning. One of the visiting well-wishers was Brenda Tate of Ashdown who serves on the UA-Cossatot board with Pinkerton.

    By Don Hall

    News-Leader staff

    In January of 1960, a baby boy was born at Howard Memorial Hospital. His parents lived in the outskirts of Umpire, and that’s where Tim Pinkerton would grow up. “It was rural, with a very small school. We barely had a school,” he says. There were 14 in his graduating class, and, he adds, “That was a good-sized class for Umpire.”

    When you grow up in an area like Umpire, where you know everyone and the families have known each other for generations, the outside world can be intimidating. In 1978, Tim began college at Henderson State University. “I was a boy from the country going to the big city of Arkadelphia, a little scared.”

    After four years and a degree in business, Pinky, as he’s known to most of us, had one semester of graduate work. “That was all I could stand. I was tired of school.” 

    He went to work as a department manager for Walmart in Arkadelphia, and soon was offered a career-track position. “They approached me about going into management, but I was getting ready to get married, and they move you around a lot,” he states. “I turned them down.”

    After marrying his fiancée Dena, the newly-weds moved to Pine Bluff, where Tim worked for a credit union. “That’s where I started my career in banking,” he says. He would spend the next eight years in Pine Bluff. Then he got the opportunity he was hoping for.

    “I was at home one night in December of 1992 and my daddy called me and said, ‘Here’s a number I want you to call.’” A local bank was looking for a loan officer. “This is your chance to come home,” his dad added. On Jan. 23, 1993, the Pinkertons moved back to Howard County, and Tim began working for Citizen’s Bank.

    In March 1994, after a year at Citizen’s, John Ross from Pike County Bank called. They were opening a branch in Dierks. “That’s where you’re from,” Ross said, “And I want you there.”

    Tim would go on to work for Pike County Bank (now Diamond State) for 12 years. In 2006 he went back to Citizen’s (now Farmer’s) for four more years. 

    Then, when First State Bank opened, he was offered a position as vice president, and he has been there for almost 13 years. “I’ve worked in Nashville, Dierks and Mineral Springs. I was fortunate to work the entire county.”

    Pinkerton has been a banker for 38 years. “Banking has been a good career, but it requires a lot of attention to detail, dotting all of the i’s and crossing the t’s. You need to be detail-oriented in addition to being people-oriented.”

    While banking has been his profession, Tim has been active in many community and civic organizations over the years. A member of First Baptist Church, he has served on the boards of directors for Cossatot Community College, Howard County Children’s Center, Howard Memorial Hospital, and has been a member of the Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce and the Bread of Life Food Bank.

    Although retiring from banking, Tim will continue to be active in the community. He’ll become the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce following the Chamber banquet in February. 

    Many people look forward to traveling when they retire. Not Tim. “I feel safe here in Howard county. I’m a home boy.” Instead, he’ll spend his free time with his two favorite people: granddaughters Abigail and Ella Grace Zylks.

    Howard County has always been home to Tim, even when he and Dena lived in Pine Bluff. “We were there for eight years, but still, this was HOME home. If you ever get a chance to go home, go.”

    Welcome home, Pinky. We’re glad you’re here.

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