Arvest Bank is pleased to announce a retirement reception for Don Walker on Wednesday, Jan. 29, from 2-4 p.m. The event will be held on the second floor of the Arvest branch located at 4201 S. J.B. Hunt Drive in Rogers, Ark.

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Walker, who serves as a regional executive until his retirement is effective on Jan. 31, is wrapping up a career of more than 40 years.

“[Don] has been involved in every major strategic decision at Arvest Bank for decades,” Arvest president and CEO Kevin Sabin said in a November Northwest Arkansas Business Journal story about Walker’s career. “Including coming up with the name Arvest.”

“And if you looked back on his career, if you talked to all the people that worked with or for Don, every one of them would say they consider him a friend. That doesn’t always happen.”

Walker’s career at Arvest began in 1978, when he accepted a job as loan officer for the Bank of Bentonville. He later served as president and CEO of First National Bank in Siloam Springs, president and CEO of the Bank of Bentonville, and president and CEO of Arvest Bank in Tulsa before becoming a regional executive in 2015.

In addition to helping form the ‘Arvest’ name, Walker also helped create our mission statement: People helping people find financial solutions for life. During Walker’s time at Arvest, according the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal story, the bank has grown from about 100 associates and eight branches in Arkansas to more than 6,000 associates spread across about 280 locations in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

Walker has served on numerous boards during his career, and will continue to serve in the following capacities after his retirement:

  • Arkansas Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors – Treasurer
  • Arkansas State Chamber Board of Directors
  • Westark Area Council, Boy Scouts of America – Chairman
  • John Brown University Board of Directors, Director Emeritus

What else is next for Walker after his retirement becomes official?

“We’ve built an extraordinarily successful company; a large company,” Walker told the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. “I am so proud of the people who are leading it, and I will enjoy watching them continue to develop this company. That’s what I will reminisce about and be proud of.”