BANKING 

First Community Bank announced March 5 the return of Tara Mallett to the bank. Mallett returns to the bank as its assistant vice president of secondary mortgage origination.  

Mallett will assist potential borrowers with loan applications, and guide them through the process. She will be based at the new banking center on Harkrider Street in downtown Conway. 

She previously worked at First Community from 2019 until 2022 with roles in branch operations and electronic solutions, and mortgage loan origination. 

First Service Bank recently announced the promotion of Angela Moss to executive assistant to the chief operating officer. Moss previously served as a customer care specialist and part-time video teller. 

In her new role, Moss will support the COO and act as a liaison between them and various departments within First Service Bank. 

First Service Bank also announced the promotion of Susan Abner to senior wire specialist. Abner has more than a decade of experience at the bank. She has served in a number of roles, including deposit operations specialist.  

EDUCATION 

Central Baptist College announced Feb. 12 the hire of Nelson Ortiz as its new vice president for finance. 

Ortiz has more than 20 years of experience in finance, spending several years working in the United States and Paraguay. Ortiz emigrated to the United States from Paraguay in 1995.  

Most recently, he worked for Asuncion Christian Academy in Paraguay. He was formerly the director of educational services for the Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners. 

Ortiz has a bachelor’s in marketing from Ouachita Baptist University, and a master’s in public administration from Arkansas State University. 

Hendrix College has named Meredith Brunen as its new vice president for advancement. She will begin in the role May 1. 

Brunen joins Hendrix College from the University of West Georgia, where she serves as vice president for advancement and CEO of UWG Foundations. 

FINANCE 

The Northwestern Mutal Conway District Office has promoted Jason Dudley to college unit director. In the role, Dudley will oversee the recruitment, development, and mentorship of college interns in Northwestern Mutual’s program. The internship program transitions college interns into full-time advisors after graduation. 

Dudley will also continue as a financial advisor for the district office. 

UTILITIES 

Conway Corp Announces Employee Anniversaries, Promotions, Certifications 

Dispatch coordinator Kyndel Smith recently completed the first of three modules of the Northwest Lineman College System operator certification, finishing more than 150 hours.  

The cable department recently promoted Jake Stewart and James Buggs.  

Stewart was promoted to telecom trouble technician 3. Stewart was hired in 2014 as an installer trainee. He was most recently promoted to telecom trouble technician 2 in 2021. 

Buggs was also promoted to telecom trouble technician 3. He was hired in 2011 as an installer trainee and had been a telecom trouble technician 2 since 2021. 

Several Conway Corp employees recently celebrated 25 years with the company, including Chris Boudreaux, Randy Horton, Ginger Harrell, Nancy Avra, and Robert McCray. 

Boudreaux serves as an operations system coordinator in the engineering department. Horton serves as materials assistant manager, Harrell is a customer accounts specialist, Avra is an executive assistant, and McCray is a lead telecom installer technician in the cable department. 

TECHNOLOGY 

Mainstream Technologies recently hired Colin Burch as a software developer. Burch will be responsible for the design, development, and deployment of full-stack software solutions. 

Burch has nine years of experience in software development. He was most recently a software engineer for Auxilius. 

Mainstream also recently hired Derek Ottesen as a solution owner. Ottesen will work with software teams at Mainstream as a technical lead and project manager. Ottesen has 18 years of experience in software development. He was most recently at AGI Digital.