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Special to the Signal

The Alabama Bankers Association recently welcomed the new chairman of its board of directors, William Petrey, at its annual convention in Orlando, Fla. Petrey is the president and CEO of First Citizens Bank in Luverne.

Petrey graduated from Crenshaw Christian Academy in Luverne, the University of Alabama Business School in Tuscaloosa and the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.

Before entering the banking industry he worked at his family’s wholesale grocery distribution company, Petrey Wholesale, Inc. He later worked for Springford Foods in Montgomery before joining First Citizens Bank in Luverne as a loan officer in 1988.

In 2003 he was named president and CEO of the bank. It was under his tenure that the bank expanded from one branch in Luverne to five branches across a three-county area as part of a merger with First Lowndes Bank in 2010.

Branches are located in Luverne, Fort Deposit, Greenville, Hayneville and Highland Home.

Since joining the banking industry Petrey has been an active member of the Alabama Bankers Association. In addition to serving on the association’s board in recent years, earlier in his career he helped begin a division for the association’s emerging leaders that at the time was called Community Bankers 2000 and received that division’s Rising Star Award in 1994.

“I have worked alongside William (Petrey) since the early 90s. At the time I was a banker as well, and we traveled the state developing our young bankers program. He is well respected across Alabama, loves community banking, and is a visionary. I consider him a very good friend and am proud that he will lead ABA as our chairman,” Scott Latham, ABA President and CEO, said.

Petrey and his wife Neva have two grown daughters, Samantha and Chelsea.

Other officers elected during the convention include: Chairman-elect Tim Compton, president and CEO of Traditions Bank in Cullman; Vice Chairman Jerry Powell, executive vice president, secretary and legal counsel for Cadence Bank in Birmingham; Treasurer David Nast, president and CEO of Progress Bank in Huntsville; and Past Chairman Claude Edwards, president of Bryant Bank in Tuscaloosa.

The Alabama Bankers Association represents 155 banks. Banks in Alabama have combined deposits of more than $83.5 billion and have 1,554 locations across the state.