Jeff Whitener

Self-described ‘small-town guy’ enjoys life in Magnolia

Jeff Whitener was born and raised in Batesville, so he has always enjoyed small town life. He is married to the former Kelsey Rogers, a Magnolia native.

Whitener earned his undergraduate degree in finance at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, where he met his future wife. They moved to Little Rock for Jeff to study for his M.B.A. degree at UALR while Kelsey studied for a Doctorate of Pharmacy at UAMS. He worked as a financial analyst and in banking while taking night classes.

“We always joke that our marriage really didn’t start until we moved down here, because we never saw each other,” he said.

One of Whitener’s proudest accomplishments was scoring in the top 10 percent nationally on the Major Field Tests for the M.B.A. program.

Kelsey was offered a job in Magnolia about the same time Whitener was offered a job in Batesville to work for the same company his father does. But they decided to make the move to Magnolia. Whitener called all the bank presidents in town as well as a few business owners in the area, but he was unable to reach any of them.

“I left them all voice mails,” he said. “By some miracle, every single one of them called me back.” He took a day off from his work in Little Rock to come to Magnolia one Friday to meet with some of them. Steve Keith at Farmers Bank told him to stay in contact with him, and that ended up turning into a job.

Whitener started out at Farmers as a credit analyst, and worked in that capacity for a little over a year. Just a few months ago he was promoted to loan officer. “I’m thoroughly enjoying that,” he said. “I’m a people person. I like dealing with the public, so that’s kind of the best of both worlds, because I’m also a numbers guy.”

He said he has enjoyed meeting people through his work.

The Whiteners are the parents of a newborn daughter, Alyssa Katherine, which explains why they’re both a little sleep deprived.

“She has pretty much turned our world upside down,” he said. “Really, she’s never waked up more than twice a night. We’re down to once a night now.”

“When we moved to Magnolia we joined First Baptist Church. She [Kelsey] grew up in First Baptist,” Whitener said. “We thought we would visit around but she already had a love for that church, and now I have a great love for the church and the people there,” he said. “My biggest fear in moving down here — being a people person — was ‘Who am I gonna be friends with’? We’ve been really lucky that there’s a great core group of young people at the church.” Whitener serves on the stewardship committee and is helping head up a new men's ministry that is focused on outreach and community service.

“I like to hunt and fish,” Whitener said, hunting mostly for deer and turkeys. “What little free time I have right now, most of it is spent in the woods. There’s some family land here where I have free reign. It’s a joy for me.”

He and his wife are members of the Magnolia Country Club. “I like to play golf, and I’ve met some people there. It’s been a really good experience,” he said.

Whitener said that being a part of Leadership Magnolia was probably a better experience for him than for anyone else in his class because he was new to town.

“It exposed me to more people but it also let me see where everything is in town, what everybody does, in industry and in government, and just basically how the town functions. It was really beneficial for someone who was not from here.”

In addition to his participation in Leadership Magnolia, Whitener also serves on the boards of the United Way and Relay for Life.

The four years spent in Little Rock were nice, he said, because there was a lot to do and a different place to eat every night.

“I was excited to move down here because, growing up in Batesville — you know, I'm a small town guy. You can’t beat it. I really enjoy being here."

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