This esteemed honor is given to the member of the Society who best exemplifies the full range of characteristics: self direction, determination, creativity, leadership, and integrity that are necessary for membership in the Society. This person is, in other words, a perfect example of the capacities, accomplishments, and breadth that result from the fullest development of the entrepreneurial spirit.  The following video is of Mike’s acceptance remarks at the Dinner, watching this clearly illustrates why Mike was the perfect choice for this award.

On behalf of The Society of Entrepreneurs and Junior Achievement of Memphis, congratulations to Mike Bruns, recipient of the 2012 Master Entrepreneur Award.

Mike Bruns started Comtrak in 1983 with one truck. By the time he retired in 2010, he had built a logistics giant with annual gross revenues above $170 million. He will be honored as the 2012 Master Entrepreneur by the Society of Entrepreneurs.

His cornflower blue eyes twinkling as the hint of a mischievous grin inches across his face, Mike Bruns offers an unvarnished answer when asked how he feels at being honored by the Society of Entrepreneurs as its 2012 Master Entrepreneur.

“I’m the luckiest goofball alive. I don’t know what all the fuss is about,” Bruns said, referring to the tributes he has received from family, friends and peers since he was announced as this year’s award recipient. “I don’t think of myself as anything special, but I’m smart enough to have surrounded myself with pretty special people. That’s the secret to success.”

That sense of self-effacing humor, combined with a commitment to treating employees and customers with honesty and respect, served Bruns well as he built a logistics empire in Memphis that eventually stretched across the nation.

“Mike’s qualifications as an entrepreneur are inspiring, from founding a small operation and transforming it into a mammoth logistics firm,” said Dr. Scott Morris, founder of the Church Health Center and the 2011 Master Entrepreneur. “What’s even more impressive about Mike is that way he treats people. He sees value and worth in everyone he meets.”

From a single-truck operation when Bruns started his company in 1983, Comtrak grew to more than 1,500 trucks and annual gross revenues exceeded $170 million by the time he retired in 2010.

In recognition of his business achievements and his steadfast commitment to myriad community and civic organizations, Bruns will receive the highest honor awarded by the Society of Entrepreneurs at the group’s 20th annual black-tie gala celebration on April 14 at the Holiday Inn at the University of Memphis, 3700 Central.

Longtime friend and associate Patrick Lawler praised Bruns for his contributions to the local business community, as well as his devotion to charitable organizations.

“Mike exemplifies compassionate leadership, and he built a career of caring for his employees and for people in his community,” said Lawler, head of Youth Villages. “He’s been chairman of our board and helped us raise more than $100 million, and that’s in addition to everything else he’s done here. He’s always ready to help, and Memphis is truly fortunate to have him here.”

The road to Memphis wasn’t one the Chicago native originally expected to travel, as Bruns early on began to establish his family and career in the Windy City. But an offer in 1980 to transfer to Memphis to manage a terminal for Chicago-based Spector Freight System put a bigger plan in motion.

“It was $40 more a week, the company was going to merge with another operation and I thought I’d be home in three or four years,” Bruns said. “Then, after the merger things started going bad, the company eventually went belly-up and I was out of work and all of a sudden things weren’t looking so rosy.”

And so Bruns got busy.

He landed a job at another logistics company, but when it wanted him to transfer to Cincinnati he decided to strike out on his own. With one truck, one driver and no staff, Bruns founded Comtrak and got to work perfecting his business model.

“Trucking isn’t a hard business to learn, but it’s a lot of hard work and I was determined to learn from the mistakes of companies I’d been in before,” Bruns said. “We were a different kind of company because we didn’t identify as a trucking business, but as a business that specialized in trucking.”

With his top priorities being to take care of customers and employees, Bruns created a corporate culture where no titles were allowed — workers were instead identified with nameplates that listed their years of service to the company — and fun was required.

“People who say you can’t have fun and make money are crazy. We had a blast and we made money doing it,” Bruns said. “I always wanted my people to have a good time at work and not to dread coming in to the office. I treated my employees like family, because that’s who they were to me.”

Bruns made certain that his employees would be taken care of when he sold his company to the Hub Group in 2006. He remained on as president of the Comtrak Logistics division for four years.

“It wasn’t about the cash. I had offers for more money, but I wanted to sell the company to people who I felt would take good care of my workers because they’re my family,” Bruns said. “It was a great run, and I like to think I did right by them.”

For more information on the SOE gala, visit societyofentrepreneurs.com

– James Dowd: (901) 529-2737

Learn more about small businesses and entrepreneurship in Memphis at The CA’s startupmemphis.com.

Mike Bruns

Age: 60

Occupation: Founder and former president of Comtrak

Company address: Headquarters at 5660 Universal

Phone: (901) 541-8000

Employees: More than 1,800 drivers in 24 facilities in Tennessee and nationwide

Online: comtrakinc.com

Ronnie Randall used computer technology to revolutionize building automation. He is one of the Society of Entrepreneurs’ 2012 inductees.

This is the second in a four-part series on the 2012 Society of Entrepreneurs inductees, who will be honored during a black-tie gala April 14.

By his own admission, Ronnie Randall has always been a nuts-and-bolts kind of guy.

From dismantling his bicycle when he was all of 8 years old — it took him two days to reassemble it properly, but he returned it to working order — to studying mechanical engineering at then-Memphis State University, Randall has long been fascinated by the laws of physics. And he capitalized on that love of science during a successful career as the former president and CEO of Kele. His work led him to embrace computer technology and revolutionize the building automation industry.

“We were on the leading edge of an old industry with new technology,” Randall said. “We took that technology and applied it to temperature control for buildings, which at the time wasn’t being done on a large scale. Our timing couldn’t have been better.”

For his innovations and contributions to the building automation control industry, Randall will be honored this spring at the 20th annual Society of Entrepreneurs celebration held at the Holiday Inn at the University of Memphis, 3700 Central.

Randall came on board at Kele in 1985 at the insistence of friend and mentor Roger Johnson, who had founded the company a couple years earlier. Quickly making a mark at the business, Randall made sales, dealt with vendors and helped boost revenues on his way to becoming president in 1987.

“The key to being a successful entrepreneur is that you have to be willing to do it all, and if that means waiting on customers and sweeping the floors in addition to running the business, then you wait on customers and sweep the floors,” Randall said. “You have to be willing and able to do it all.”

Randall did it all and led the company through a series of expansion projects and hiring campaigns. By the time the company was sold in 2004, it had grown to more than 200 employees and expanded from a 900-square-foot operation to a facility covering 120,000 square feet.

Kele CEO and president Tim Vargo, who has known Randall for two decades, said his predecessor’s attention to detail positioned it well for continued growth.

“Ronnie’s commitment to understanding customers’ needs and being able to deliver for them made this company revered and allowed it to grow,” Vargo said. “From a venture that started in a spare room to becoming an operation that ships out from Memphis to every country in the world, well, that’s a significant accomplishment and it’s because of strong leaders like Ronnie and Roger Johnson that it turned out this way.”

Working closely with Johnson, Randall got in on the ground floor of the building automation industry and transformed their company from a temperature controls contractor to a single-source supplier that provided customized input/output service and design.

Fast outpacing the $1.2 million in annual revenues the company generated in 1985, by the time the company was sold in 2004 it was a global enterprise producing nearly $70 million in annual revenues. That growth continues today, with annual gross revenues topping $100 million. The company maintains its Memphis headquarters and continues to increase its international client base.

“I’m proud of him and for him. Ronnie has been a mainstay of our community for years,” said Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald. “From the small company Kele was when he joined to the incredible growth it experienced under his leadership, Ronnie has been committed to corporate and community citizenship. He’s been good to us.”

And even though Randall has retired from the company, he hasn’t retreated from the community. He mentors other business professionals, volunteers for a number of civic and nonprofit organizations and is a consultant for Kele.

“It’s been fun and exciting and now I’m enjoying a different kind of career,” Randall said. “I enjoy helping people and watching them grow. Knowing that I can make a difference is a great reward.”

For more information about the gala, visit societyofentrepreneurs.com.

– James Dowd: (901) 529-2737

Learn more about small businesses and entrepreneurship in Memphis at The CA’s startupmemphis.com.

Ronnie Randall

Age: 65

Occupation: Former president and chief executive officer of Kele

Company address: Headquarters at 3300 Brother Blvd. in Bartlett; additional office in Singapore

Phone: (901) 382-6084

Employees: More than 200 in Tennessee and worldwide

Online: kele.com

Independent Bank was 34th largest in Shelby County when Charles “Chip” Dudley and Susan Stephenson launched it in 1998. Today it’s in the top four. That success has earned them induction into the Society of Entrepreneurs for 2012.

This is the last of a four-part series on the 2012 Society of Entrepreneurs inductees, who will be honored during a black-tie gala April 14.

Sometimes destiny disrupts the best-laid plans.

At least that’s how Charles “Chip” Dudley and Susan Stephenson, co-founders and co-chairpersons of Independent Bank, jokingly describe their improbable partnership.

Because despite different backgrounds, personality types and interests, theirs is a friendly collaboration achieved through decades of acquaintance that has yielded one of the most successful financial stories in recent Memphis memory.

“As a team they’ve been incredibly successful because they provide a great balance for one another and they’ve especially been a stable resource for small businesses,” said Dotty Summerfield Giusti, president of staffing agency Summerfield Associates. “They were cautious in years when many banks weren’t, and as a result they grew even stronger following the financial meltdown of a few years ago.”

From its opening day in 1998 when Independent Bank entered local consciousness as a single-branch operation with a quirky reputation as a bank that valued individuals, the institution has boosted its customers and assets to emerge as one of the largest financial institutions in the area.

“We started out as the 34th-largest bank in Shelby County and now we’re in the top four,” Dudley said. “We’ve done that by rolling up our sleeves and hiring the right people, training them and regularly interfacing with them. We believe that you can’t expect your employees to treat your customers any better than you treat them.”

Added Stephenson, “We’re not going to be able to outbrand our competitors, so we’re focused on being the personal bank that’s smart and convenient. Our strategic template is to build a heroic culture where we do something extraordinary.”

In recognition of their successful efforts in creating the big bank that’s marketed with a little “i” in its logo, Dudley and Stephenson will be honored this spring at the 20th annual Society of Entrepreneurs celebration held at the Holiday Inn at the University of Memphis, 3700 Central.

A Memphis native, Dudley went to boarding school at The Choate School and then studied civil engineering at Vanderbilt University on a path he thought would lead to a career building bridges. But a discussion with his future father-in-law — Dudley was informed he’d have to get a job before he’d be allowed to marry his sweetheart — led him to finance.

“I wanted to apply to be a bank teller at First Tennessee because I figured I could do that, but they put me in a management training program and I discovered that I was pretty good at it,” Dudley said. “I enjoyed helping people and giving them a shot at becoming entrepreneurs with business loans and I got paid for doing that, which was great.”

Across the state, Dalton, Ga., native Stephenson was preparing to leave her childhood home in Chattanooga to go west and begin a new life in Memphis.

A certified teacher, Stephenson couldn’t land a job teaching English or history, so she started handing out résumés and ended up in a job that she never thought she’d enjoy.

“My father was an engineer and my mother was a banker, and I always thought I would never, ever want a job in a financial institution,” Stephenson said. “Then I talked my way into an offer at a bank for a job I was exceptionally unqualified for, and I kept moving up and finally I realized that this was it for me. I actually did love it.”

After their paths crossed at First Tennessee and later at Boatman’s Bank, Dudley and Stephenson developed a strong professional relationship that evolved into an even stronger friendship, and that led to their decision to strike out on their own and form a new bank in Memphis.

With a solid foundation of financial and business support from numerous executives in the area, the two organized Independent Bank in the fall of 1997 and opened their first branch the following spring.

“They both had significant banking experience, but what set them apart was their creativity and ability to execute plans, which proved to be a winning combination,” said Johnny Pitts of Lipscomb & Pitts. “They have different interests and ideas, but when you add those together you get a dynamic sense of dual leadership that has manifested itself in the remarkable success of the bank and in their substantial contributions to our community.”

Lee Still, vice president at Trust One Bank and chairman of the Greater Memphis Chamber’s Small Business Council, agreed.

“As entrepreneurs, they’ve done a good job of growing their business and keeping their institution homegrown,” Still said. “They’re also excellent at positively marketing Memphis, and they’re inspiring others to do the same.”

For more information on the gala, visit societyofentrepreneurs.com.

– James Dowd: (901) 529-2737

Chip Dudley and Susan Stephenson

Ages: Dudley, 64; Stephenson, 54

Occupation: Co-founders and co-chairpersons of Independent Bank

Company address: Corporate headquarters at 5050 Poplar

Phone: (901) 844-5050

Employees: Nearly 200 in 10 locations

Assets: More than $825 million in total assets, including more than $100 million in capital

Online: i-bankonline.com

Gary Shorb, president and CEO of Methodist Healthcare since 2001, has made the hospital the area’s second-largest private employer. He is one of the Society of Entrepreneurs new members for 2012.

As a youngster growing up in Silver Spring, Md., Gary Shorb clocked plenty of hours in his father’s independent grocery store, performing tasks that included cleaning floors, stocking shelves and even for a while, working as a weekend butcher.

While he enjoyed working with his father and learning about the family business, the experience helped him realize that he wanted to pursue a different career path.

In civil engineering.

And that’s how his life progressed, up to a point, through civil engineering studies at Clemson University and later in Iceland, where he served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy.

“We laid undersea cables between Iceland and Greenland to listen to Russian submarines, and I got to travel all over the world,” Shorb said. “I was an admiral’s aide in Europe and Asia and Africa and I thought the Navy would be my career, but a wife and two kids and all the moving around changed that.”

He left the Navy and took a job with Exxon as a project manager in 1980. A transfer with the company brought him to Memphis, where a series of career turns led him to the CEO post at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis, and later to Methodist Healthcare, where he has served as president and CEO since 2001.

During his tenure at Methodist, Shorb has led the hospital to its current status as a $1.4 billion annual enterprise and the area’s second-largest private employer.

For those contributions, Shorb will be honored this spring at the 20th annual Society of Entrepreneurs celebration held at the Holiday Inn at the University of Memphis, 3700 Central.

“At one point, Methodist had grown to 17 hospitals in the area, but we made a decision to cut back to seven and that was the right choice and a good lesson. Sometimes you have to shrink in order to grow,” Shorb said. “Our merger with Le Bonheur, a campaign to build a $350 million facility, came about because of that and is the result of our vision to be one of the best hospitals in the nation. That’s our view of entrepreneurship, a combination of developing new ideas while also taking an existing product or service and making it even better.”

Shorb’s dedication to making Methodist one of the nation’s leading medical facilities is equally matched by his drive to create a better, healthier community for all Memphians, said Larry Papasan, retired president of Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics in Memphis.

“Gary is an inspirational leader who is a great example of taking ideas and best practices he discovers elsewhere and implementing them with great skill in his own organization,” Papasan said. “I consider him one of the top five CEOs in Memphis, and he’s at the very top of his game. He’s got a brilliant mind and a caring spirit, and the results of that combination are obvious.”

Shorb is intent on elevating Methodist’s reputation by cultivating a culture of excellence from doctors and medical staff to researchers and administrators. Above all, he wants the hospital to be known as a family- and patient-centered entity that offers unparalleled care.

Evidence of the hospital’s stature was globally reported in 2009 after Apple founder Steve Jobs underwent a liver transplant here. Shorb plans to continue building on Methodist’s stellar reputation for transplants, as well as boosting its renown in pediatrics and neuroscience.

“He’s one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met, and he’s always searching for ways to make Methodist and Memphis better,” said Larry Colbert, president of Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South. “He’s more than a business leader. He’s also a community advocate and an innovator who is helping create a better world for everyone.”

For more information on the gala, visit societyofentrepreneurs.com.

– James Dowd: (901) 529-2737

Learn more about small businesses and entrepreneurship in Memphis at The CA’s startupmemphis.com.

Gary Shorb

Age: 61

Occupation: President and chief executive officer of Methodist Healthcare

Company address: Corporate headquarters at 1211 Union

Phone: (901) 516-7000

Employees: More than 10,000 on seven campuses

Online: methodisthealth.org

Robert McEniry Jr.’s leadership has given nexAir a national presence. He is one of the Society of Entrepreneurs’ new inductees for 2012.

Back in 1942, a year after Robert McEniry Jr. was born in Knoxville, his father moved the family to Memphis, and he has called the Bluff City home ever since.

Following in his father’s footsteps, the younger McEniry entered the family business — what would eventually become nexAir — loading trucks and overseeing inventory control during his summer breaks from classes at Vanderbilt University.

After graduation, McEniry went to work at the company full time, rising through the ranks to become CEO. Along the way, he developed a love for this city and has spent the majority of his life contributing to its economic development and supporting numerous civic and community organizations.

“Bob has served in this community for a long time as a business professional and as a mentor, and he’s been particularly effective in his work with minority and women business owners,” said Luke Yancy III, president and CEO of the Mid-South Minority Business Council Continuum. “He’s been tireless in his efforts to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.”

For his myriad professional and civic contributions, McEniry will be honored this spring at the 20th annual Society of Entrepreneurs celebration held at the Holiday Inn at the University of Memphis, 3700 Central.

“When I started at our business, most companies in our industry had similar backgrounds,” said McEniry, whose father bought Standard Welders Supply/Standard Oxygen Service in 1950. “They went through generational changes and benefited from consolidation that allowed companies to grow larger in size. We went from being a local and regional operation to being national in scope today.”

Within eight years of coming on board at his family-owned company, McEniry was named president in 1971. His vision of expanding the operation led him to increase his sales team and embark on a series of acquisitions that contributed to the company’s growth, including its 1996 merger with Mid-South Oxygen Company to create nexAir.

From nearly $1 million in annual revenues in 1963 when he joined the company, the business has enjoyed remarkable productivity and last year posted revenues that topped $101 million.

Today, nexAir is the nation’s second-largest privately owned distributor of gases and welding supplies, with more than 260 employees at 23 locations in six states.

Throughout his tenure as the company’s leader, McEniry’s commitment to a generational-style of management remained intact. His son, Kevin, is now company CEO and new employees are brought in at early stages in their careers and groomed for top spots in the organization.

“We believe in giving employees the right training and making sure they know every aspect of the company and then plugging them into the best job for them in our organization,” McEniry said. “Our philosophy is that to build a great company, you have to build a great culture first and that’s why we get people early in their careers and put them into areas where they can excel.”

Richard Gadomski, a former business associate and fellow board member with McEniry at Christian Brothers University, praised his corporate ingenuity.

“He’s built a dynamic organization by taking young people and supplying them with extensive training and education that they’ll need to be successful and then offering them opportunities for advancement at his company,” said Gadomski, who was inducted into the Society in 2009. “Beyond the success of his company, he’s helped create a more educated and vibrant workforce here and at his company’s locations throughout the country.”

For more information on the upcoming SOE gala, visit societyofentrepreneurs.com.

– James Dowd: (901) 529-2737

Learn more about small businesses and entrepreneurship in Memphis at The CA’s startupmemphis.com.

Robert McEniry Jr.

Age: 70

Occupation: Former chief executive officer of nexAir

Company address: Headquarters at 1385 Corporate Ave.; nearly two dozen additional locations in six states

Phone: (901) 396-5050

Economic impact: More than 260 employees, with revenues exceeding $101 million in 2011

Online: nexair.com

The Society of Entrepreneurs has elected five (5) new members to the organization; the new members are Gary Shorb, Methodist LeBonheur HealthCare; Bob McEniry, Jr.,
NexAir; Ronnie Randall, Kele, Inc.; Chip Dudley, Independent Bank and Susan Stephenson, Independent Bank. The new members will be officially inducted into The Society of Entrepreneurs at the 20th Annual Dinner and Awards Banquet, which will be held at the Holiday Inn at the University of Memphis on Saturday, April 14, 2012.

The Society of Entrepreneurs was formed in 1991 to recognize the historical importance of the contributions of individuals who have over a prolonged period, demonstrated a gift of entrepreneurship and used this gift to not only create or build a successful business but have also used their gift in service to the community.

Gary Shorb
Methodist LeBonheur HealthCare

Since October 2001, Gary Shorb has served as president & CEO of Methodist Healthcare. Shorb joined Methodist in 1990 as executive vice president. Before his tenure with Methodist, he served as president of the Regional Medical Center in Memphis for four years. His community service is extensive, serving on the boards of Memphis Tomorrow, the National Civil Rights Museum, the Memphis Regional Chamber of Commerce – where he served as 2005 Board Chairman – the Memphis Bioworks Foundation, the University of Memphis Board of Visitors, the Foundation of Evangelism, and St. John’s United Methodist Church Administrative Council.

In November 2004, Shorb received the Corporate Leadership Award from Volunteer Memphis’ Corporate Volunteer Council, and in 2005, received the Alexis de Tocqueville leadership award from United Way of the Mid-South. Under Shorb’s leadership, Methodist Healthcare was named a 2004 Corporation of the Year during Minority Enterprise Development Week, an event co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce and Small Business Administration and locally hosted by the Memphis Business Development Corporation.

On October 25, 2007 at the Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare Board meeting, Shorb was honored with the Meritorious Service Award by the Tennessee Hospital Association. The award was presented by Craig Becker, president and CEO, THA. The award recognized Shorb for his leadership, inspiration and commitment to the faith-based mission of building a culture of patient care excellence at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare.

Prior to his health care career, Shorb was a project engineer with Exxon and a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Clemson University and a Master of Business Administration from Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis).

Bob McEniry, Jr.
NexAir

Bob McEniry, Sr. grew up in the industrial/medical gases and welding supply business. In 1942, McEniry purchased Standard Welders and sought to make Standard a major player in the welding and Supply industry. In 1963, “Young Bob” McEniry came to work for his father and was appointed President in 1971. Bob McEniry saw the company through tremendous growth, acquisitions, and transitions. Bob implemented an employee succession plan to ensure that all of the company’s leaders would progress through the ranks under the mentorship of a senior executive. This plan resulted in well trained and committed employees with very little turn over. In 1996, two family-owned Memphis-based companies combined operations to form nexAir. By merging Mid-South Oxygen Company and Standard Welders Supply/Standard Oxygen Service, nexAir became the second-largest privately owned distributor of gases and welding supplies in the United States. From 1996 until 2007 (when McEniry passed the reigns to his son, Kevin) McEniry was Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Bob remains as nexAir’s Chairman. In their latest fiscal year which ended in September, nexAir had gross revenue of $101.1 million and employed 266 people.

Bob is active in the Memphis community. He is the current Chair of Christian Brothers University’s Board of Trustees, has served as Chairman of the Board of Junior Achievement, on the boards of United Way, MidSouth Minority Business Council, SCB Computer Technology, and the Memphis Chamber of Commerce Advisors. He was inducted in the Christian Brothers High School Hall of Fame in 2009.

Ronnie Randall
Kele, Inc.

Ronnie Randall is the retired president/CEO of Kele, Inc. (formerly Kele & Associates). Ronnie became a partner of Kele & Associates in 1985. Previously, Mr. Randall was a branch sales manager and Vice-President of G. H. Avery Co., where he started as an application engineer during his college years at Memphis State (now the University of Memphis). The idea for Kele was formed many years before Roger Johnson actually opened shop in the den of his house in early 1983. As principals in the G.H. Avery Company, a Mid-South temperature controls contractor, both he and business partner Ronnie Randall had personally experienced the birth of the building automation industry. Roger led the transition from a conventional temperature controls contractor to a building automation specialty firm in the Memphis, TN, area while Ronnie was doing the same in the Nashville area. The idea for a single source supplier that could offer a carefully crafted product selection, innovative product designs and convenient customized service for everything input/output grew into Kele, Inc., the first to offer an all-inclusive package. Kele’s customers embraced the concept and Kele has enjoyed nearly 30 years of continuous growth in both the domestic and international market arenas.

Ronnie is a facilitator of Steven Covey leadership and effectiveness principles. He also has served on the board of the Bartlett Chamber of Commerce, the Bartlett Arts Council, Inc., the Bartlett Performing Arts Center Fundraising Committee, the Bartlett Education Foundation and is vice chair of the Youth Villages Board of Directors and serves on numerous committees.

Chip Dudley and Susan Stephenson
Independent Bank

Chip Dudley and Susan Stephenson are the Co-Founders and Co-Chairmen of Independent Bank in Memphis, Tennessee. Established in 1998, Independent Bank now has over $800 million in total assets and over $100 million in capital. It is the second largest bank headquartered in Shelby County with 10 branches and 180 employees.

Stephenson and Dudley have forged a remarkable and unique synergistic partnership. Both strong leaders in their own right, each believes their partnership is the reason Independent Bank has been so successful. Together they designed and executed the unusual denovo strategy to build and position I-Bank as the next great Memphis based banking organization. This year, Independent Bank was recognized by SNL Financial as one of the top 100 community banks in the United States based on its growth, superior profitability, excellent asset quality and strong capital position.

Prior to starting Independent Bank, Chip Dudley was Chairman, President and CEO of Boatmen’s Bank of Arkansas, the largest bank in the state. He was named to this position after producing extraordinary performance results in the same role for the bank’s Tennessee operation. Susan Stephenson was the Chairman, President and CEO of Boatmen’s Bank of Tennessee. When named to the position in 1995, the 37-year-old Stephenson was the first female Chairman and CEO of a Tennessee bank.

Based on their lifelong commitment to improving the communities where they live and work, both Susan and Chip have served on and led numerous civic organizations in Tennessee and Arkansas. Stephenson is the current Board Chair of the Leadership Academy, a past Chair and member of the Executive Committee and Board of the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis, Treasurer and Trustee of historic Elmwood Cemetery, a member of the Baptist Women’s Hospital Advisory Board, board member of the University of Memphis LEAD program and was recently elected to the St. Louis Federal Reserve Board. Dudley currently serves as the Board Chair of the Family Safety Center, is Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Advancement Chair of Christian Brothers University, serves on the Board of Directors of the National Civil Rights Museum and is Chairman of the Endowment Corporation for the West Tennessee Episcopal Diocese.