About First Freedom Bank
Our People | Organizers
John Lancaster, Chief Executive Officer/President, Director, Chief Executive Officer
A banker who knows you is a banker who understands your needs, your dreams, your grand plans. That's what it means to be a community bank. John Lancaster has a vision for building First Freedom Bank into a true community bank: a bank whose roots go deep in Wilson County, a bank that's fully invested in the growth and prosperity of this
community.
John R. Lancaster is a native of Lebanon, Tennessee. He is a graduate of Castle Heights Military Academy, an Honor graduate of the University of Tennessee with a degree in Business Administration, and a graduate of Trevecca Nazarene University with a M.A. degree in Management.
Prior to the organization of First Freedom in 2005, Mr. Lancaster served as Wilson County Chairman with SunTrust Bank / National Bank of Commerce. He is a graduate of the Tennessee Commercial Lending School and the Southeastern School of Advanced Commercial Lending, both at Vanderbilt University. He is also an alumnus of the prestigious Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.
Active in community affairs, Mr. Lancaster has served as Board Chairman and Campaign Chairman for United Way of Wilson County and as a board member of the United Ways of Middle Tennessee. He has served as chairman of the Lebanon Wilson County Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Greater Lebanon Regional Planning Commission, president of Main Street Lebanon, Inc., president of the Wilson County Adult Reading Council, Inc, and was an instructor/facilitator for Junior Achievement through Lebanon High School for a number of years.
Mr. Lancaster is also a graduate of Leadership Wilson and has served on the board of the Wilson County Heart Association. He and his wife, Penny (Fisher), have two sons and are members of the First United Methodist Church in Lebanon. Mr. Lancaster is a director and board member of the bank and serves as the Bank's President and Chief Executive Officer.
John Bradshaw, Executive Vice President and Director, Chief Operating Officer
Loan-to-value ratios. Annual percentage rates. FDIC regulations. It's a good thing John Bradshaw has a handle on all the technicalities of the banking business. But banking, in the end, isn't about numbers. It's about relationships - people helping people.
You look to your banker when you're taking some of the biggest steps of your life: when you're buying a house, starting a business, sending the kids to college, thinking about retirement. Aren't you glad there are bankers like John Bradshaw, who understand that banking is more about relationships, not just rates and ratios? John Bradshaw is helping make First Freedom a different kind of bank.
John H. Bradshaw has twenty-two years of banking experience in all aspects of banking. He was most recently employed as senior vice-president of First Tennessee Bank, N.A. in Lebanon, Tennessee and headed the commercial lending and business development in Wilson County. A lifelong resident of Lebanon, he graduated from Castle Heights Military Academy and received his bachelor of science degree in finance at the University of Tennessee. Additionally, he earned his Masters of Business Administration from Cumberland University. He is a graduate of the Louisiana State University School of Banking and the Tennessee Commercial School of Banking at Vanderbilt University. Mr. Bradshaw has worked with Middle Tennessee Junior Achievement as an adult leader/teacher with students at Lebanon High School. He graduated from the inaugural class of Leadership Wilson in 1994. He currently serves on the Health and Education Board of Wilson County and the Lebanon/Wilson County Chamber of Commerce board. Mr. Bradshaw served on the board of trust for Summit Hospital and a member of the Lebanon Rotary Club. He is a past board member of the American Heart Association, the Empower Me Day Camp, and Leadership Wilson Alumni Board. Mr. Bradshaw is actively involved with the Boy Scouts of America. He has coached baseball in Lebanon for the last six years. Mr. Bradshaw and his wife Karen have been married for 20 years and have three children. They are active members of the First United Methodist Church in Lebanon. He is a Director of the bank, and serves as the Bank's Chief Lending Officer. He also serves on the Executive, Loan, IT, and ALCO Committees.
Ken Howell, Board Chairman and Director
What will Wilson County look like in ten years? In twenty years? In fifty? Nobody knows for sure, but exciting growth and changes are happening in this community. It's going to take vision and leadership to manage that growth and change. Ken Howell and First Freedom Bank plan to be an important part of Wilson County's future. A community bank, after all, is vital to community growth. That's why vision is so important in the community banking business. Our vision makes First Freedom a different kind of bank.
Kenneth C. Howell graduated from Columbia Central High School in Columbia, Tennessee and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Mathematics from Middle Tennessee State University in 1972. He attended Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University, the National Commercial Lending School at the University of Oklahoma, and the National Consumer Credit School at the University of Oklahoma. He was employed by Commerce Union Bank from 1972-1984 in various lending and management positions in the bank's Nashville, Springfield and Lebanon locations, being promoted to vice-president. He worked for the Humana Hospital Corporation in public relations and physician recruitment and later in private business as a series 7 licensed broker in the securities industry from 1984-1987. He joined Peoples Bank of Lebanon (later Third National Bank) in 1987 as executive vice president and as a member of the board of directors.
Mr. Howell was the Wilson County Regional President for First American National Bank from 1988-1992, a position that included being project manager for the new office in Lebanon. He joined First Tennessee National Bank in 1992 as executive vice president and commercial sales manager and later as regional president for Wilson County (1997-2002), a position that included the project management for the replacement of an old office in Lebanon with a new facility for the bank. He is the past president and member of the board of directors of Lebanon/Wilson County Chamber of Commerce.
In 1995 he founded the Wilson County Business and Education Coalition, Inc., a non-profit teacher grant program of the Chamber of Commerce. He was elected a lifetime member #23 of the Lebanon/Wilson County Chamber of Commerce in 1998 and was one of the founding members of the Business Resource Center for the Chamber. Mr. Howell is a past charter member of the Rotary Club in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee and a past member of the board of directors of the Middle Tennessee Heart Association. He is past president and member of the board of directors of the Wilson County United Way and past member of the board of directors of the United Way of Middle Tennessee, serving on the needs assessment and allocations committee for Middle Tennessee. He is past president and member of the board of directors of Prospect, Inc.; a member of the Wilson County Fair Board; and an honorary member of Delta Mu Delta National Honor Society at Cumberland University. He is a member of the First United Methodist Church in Lebanon.
Mr. Howell and his wife, Mallory, have been married 38 years and have three sons. He is a Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors for First Freedom Bank.
Dr. James Bradshaw, Organizer
Dr. James Bradshaw deeply cares about the health of this community. He ought
to; he's been practicing medicine here for the last forty years. In that time, he's
seen a lot of changes in Wilson County.
So when it came time to organize a new community bank, Dr. Bradshaw was a perfect fit. Nobody cares more about the health of this community than Dr. Bradshaw. And isn't that what a community bank is all about? First Freedom Bank is a different kind of bank.
Jim Lancaster, Organizer
This world is a risky place to live. That's why there are people like Jim Lancaster. In his insurance agency, Mr. Lancaster has been helping the people of Wilson county gain peace of mind - a little certainty in an uncertain world - for twenty-five years.
There's no controlling the future. But you can manage your risks. That's just as true in banking as it is in the insurance business. You expect security from your community bank. Jim Lancaster understands that. As one of the organizers of First Freedom Bank, he's helping to create a different kind of bank.
James (Jim) Edward Lancaster was born and raised in Lebanon, Tennessee. He graduated from Lebanon High School and attended Tennessee Tech University. In 1981, Mr. Lancaster established an insurance agency in Lebanon with Nationwide Insurance Company. Mr. Lancaster was a member of the 1994 charter class of Leadership Wilson. A former board member of the United Way of Wilson County for many years, he served in several capacities, including the Allocations committee and Board chairman. Additionally, Mr. Lancaster was a member of the board of directors that founded the Youth Emergency Shelter. He also served as a board member of Wilson County Promotions, Inc. (a sponsor of the Wilson County Fair). Mr. Lancaster and his wife, Debi (Weiser), have been married for 26 years and have three children and three grandchildren. They are active members of First United Methodist Church in Lebanon and live on their farm in the Watertown area of Wilson County, raising cattle, horses, and sheep. Mr. Lancaster is an organizer of the bank.
Veronica Bender, Principal, Friendship Christian, First Freedom Bank, Director
Nobody has invested more in the people of Wilson County than Veronica Bender. In more than thirty years as one of our most beloved teachers and principals, she has touched thousands of lives and earned the respect and trust of everyone who knows her. So when it came time to form the board for First Freedom Bank, Mrs. Bender was an obvious fit. Like Veronica Bender, First Freedom Bank exists to touch lives, to earn your trust. We're a different kind of bank, as committed to the legacy of Wilson County as you are.
Veronica Rochell Bender earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Education with an emphasis in Accounting from Tennessee State University in 1973. In 1985 she received a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction and a +45 in Administration and Supervision in 1987, both degrees from Trevecca University in Nashville, Tennessee. During the past 30 years Mrs. Bender has been a teacher for grades 3 and 4 at West Elementary School; has taught business subjects (typing, shorthand, general business and economics) at Mt. Juliet High School; has been the assistant principal at Mt. Juliet Junior High; interim principal at Stoner Creek Elementary; and opened W.A. Wright Elementary School in 1991. Upon completing her 30 years of service in the Wilson County School System, Mrs. Bender retired in July 2003 and became the Middle School Principal for Friendship Christian School. In 2008 Mrs. Bender became principal of both the High School and Middle School for Friendship Christian School. Mrs. Bender has served on numerous community boards and committees, including the advisory boards for Wilson Bank & Trust and the University Medical Center. She is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, The Board of Directors for Summitt Hospital, Wilson County Restoration, Buddies of Lebanon, the Economic Development Board, the Wilson County Sports Council, and is a graduate of Leadership Wilson. She was honored by the Nashville Tennessean as Tennessee Principal of the Year in 1997. She served as one of the six textbook commissioners for the state of Tennessee until she retired. She was instrumental in piloting the Modified School Program for the Wilson County School System. Mrs. Bender is member of Stateland Baptist Church where she is a member of the Trustee Board and serves as the church's treasurer. Mrs. Bender and husband Larry have been married for 38 years and has one daughter Joy and one grandson Elijah. She is an Organizer and Director of First Freedom Bank and serves on the Asset/Liability, and Human Resources Committees.
Margaret Dixon, Crye-Leike Realtors, First Freedom Bank, Director
Wilson County has always been home for Margaret Dixon. In thirty-three years as a REALTOR, she has helped hundreds of families to make their homes here, too. Her role as an Organizer and Director of First Freedom Bank gives Ms. Dixon another avenue for doing what she has always done in her distinguished career - helping people put down roots in Wilson County. What does Margaret Dixon bring to First Freedom Bank? A vision of what a hometown bank ought to be. With leadership like hers, no wonder First Freedom feels a lot like home.
Margaret Ann Dixon was born in Hermitage, Tennessee. She has been a lifelong resident of Wilson County and is a graduate of Mt. Juliet High School. She has been a REALTOR for 33 years, representing both buyers and sellers. She holds the highest level of achievement with Crye-Leike Realtors, Inc. for being named their ONLY #1 Lifetime Agent. She has been awarded the distinction of Eastern Middle TN Association of REALTORS “REALTOR of the Year” numerous times and was also named Tennessee’s REALTOR of the Year for 2010. She has also been ranked many times in the Nashville Business Journal's Top 25 REALTORS for Middle Tennessee. Ms. Dixon is active on the local, state and national levels with the Association of REALTORS. She has served as the local and state association’s committee chairperson and director, the local association president, the state division vice-president and a national association member. Ms. Dixon is active in her community through the Chamber of Commerce, the Wilson County Planning Commission and the board of trustees of the Hermitage Church of God. She served as chairperson of the building committee for her church. Ms. Dixon and her late husband, Ben Dixon, Sr., were married 29 years and have five children. She continues to make her life in Wilson County with her children and grandchildren. Ms. Dixon is an Organizer and Director of First Freedom Bank and serves on the HR & Executive and Asset/Liability Committees.
Greg Dugdale, Greg Dugdale Properties, Organizer
In the real estate business, progress usually means the development of new
properties. New homes and new places to do business make our community a
better place to live. Greg Dugdale shares that belief. But he also understands that
progress shouldn't cost a community its heritage. That's why Mr. Dugdale is so
committed to his award-winning work of historic preservation in the Lebanon
area. One eye on Wilson County's bright future, one eye on Wilson County's
storied past. That's Greg Dugdale's perspective on real estate - and banking too.
His vision is helping to shape First Freedom into a different kind of bank.
Jackie Gaither, Cumberland Real Estate, First Freedom Bank, Director
As past president of both the Mt Juliet/West Wilson County Chamber of Commerce and the Lebanon/Wilson County Chamber of Commerce, Jackie Gaither has his finger on the pulse of the business community throughout this county. He understands that small business is a big deal in vibrant communities like ours. Small business, after all, creates eighty percent of all new jobs in America.
First Freedom Bank is committed to the growth of small business in Wilson County. With leaders like Jackie Gaither, how could it not be? That makes First Freedom a different kind of bank.
Ricky Haskins, Owner, Lebanon Chemical, First Freedom Bank, Director
A newborn calf doesn't look like it's going to amount to much. But with care and
nurture and some time, that shaky-legged calf becomes a strong, productive cow.
Ricky Haskins knows all about starting with something small and growing it into
something big. It takes patience, hard work, and commitment if you're going to
succeed in cattle farming. Or business. Or banking.
To see the potential in a calf or a seed, to know how much it contains, if only someone is there to nurture it. That's the farmer's view of the world. It's what Ricky Haskins sees when he looks at First Freedom Bank. More than that, it's what he sees when he looks at the people First Freedom serves. That kind of vision sets this bank apart. Come experience the difference.
Randy Laine, The Laine Company, First Freedom Bank, Director
A builder always has an eye to the future. No short-term thinking will do. No
quick fixes. No half measures. If you want to build a structure that will stand the
test of time, you'd better learn to see the big picture and pay attention to the little
details too. In a career as a builder and engineer, Randy Laine has learned to think
for the long haul.
It's so important to build a strong foundation. And that's what Randy Laine and First Freedom Bank are doing, because they want to be a solid part of Wilson County's future.
Bill McKee, Wilson County Livestock Market, Organizer
When the gavel goes down at the Wilson County Livestock Market, the lot goes
to the highest bidder. But as Bill McKee will tell you, good business - even in the
auction business - doesn't all come down to getting the high bid. In the end, good
business comes down to trust and a commitment to shared values. That's how Mr.
McKee has built a successful career in the livestock business. Bill McKee is
helping to build a bank you can trust - a bank that shares your value of
community. First Freedom is a different kind of bank.
Dale Nunnery, Shenandoah Mills, Organizer
Flour. Corn meal. Sugar. Salt. They're the staples of your diet, the kind of thing
you take for granted. But where would you be without them? In twenty years at
Martha White and now at his own Shenandoah Mills, Dale Nunnery has a lot of
experience bringing staples to people all across America. When you think about
it, a good community bank is a staple for a strong community. Dale Nunnery's
commitment to providing one of Wilson County's basic needs is helping to shape
First Freedom into a unique bank.
Judd Sellars, Sellars Funeral Home, First Freedom Bank, Director
Judd Sellars has been taking care of Wilson County families for a long time. In the funeral home business, you learn how to listen to people's needs. And when you're dealing with people in their hour of greatest need, you can hardly help but focus on what matters most - not possessions, but people.
What does a funeral home director bring to a bank board? A listening ear. And a conviction that money isn't the be-all, end-all - not even for a bank. That makes First Freedom a different kind of bank.
Hardie V. Sorrels III, M.D., First Freedom Bank, Director
Dr. Hardie V. Sorrels could have gone anywhere after he finished medical school.
But he chose to come back here, to his hometown of Lebanon. This is where his
roots are, and this is where he's determined to make a difference. Physician,
husband, father to four boys, Scoutmaster, baseball coach - Dr. Sorrels knows
what it means to be a part of a community.
That kind of community focus makes Dr. Sorrels a perfect fit for First Freedom Bank. That kind of community focus makes First Freedom a different kind of bank.
Don Turner, First Freedom Bank, Director
When Don Turner retired from Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, he had risen to the level of President and Chief Operating Officer. How does one climb so high in an organization the size of Cracker Barrel? By earning the trust of one's colleagues. What makes a person deposit his or her hard-earned dollars in a certain bank? Trust, and without the asset of trust, a bank will never have any other assets. Don Turner and First Freedom Bank are determined to earn your trust.
Donald Madison Turner has 35 years of restaurant, retail and other business experience. He retired from Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., in Lebanon, Tennessee December 31, 2004. During the last five years at Cracker Barrel, he served as Executive Vice-President of Operations for a year and a half and President and COO for three and a half years. Currently, he is involved in real estate ventures, private investments and other business interests. Mr. Turner is a native of Woodruff, South Carolina and is a 1966 graduate of Woodruff High School. In 1970 he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Carson Newman College, Jefferson City, Tennessee. Mr. Turner is an active member of Crossroads Community Church in Lebanon. He has also served on the board of trustees of the Tennessee Baptist Children's Homes, Inc. in Brentwood, Tennessee, and served on the advisory board of the Potter’s House, Lebanon, Tennessee in past years. Mr. Turner and his wife, Kay (Gilbert), have been married for 40 years and have one son and two grandsons. He is an Organizer and a Director of the Bank and serves on the Audit Committee.
Rob Woods, M.D., Cardiologist, First Freedom Bank, Director
The heart sits right in the middle of a person, pumping the lifeblood that keeps the
body functioning - fresh, life-giving oxygen to fuel everything else the body does.
When Dr. Rob Woods looks at a human heart, he sees more than a muscle; he
sees vitality, strength, human potential.
A local bank is a little like a heart. It keeps fresh capital flowing to fuel the other things a community does - business loans to fuel new business enterprises, home loans to help families put down roots, savings accounts to give people long-term stability. Maybe that's why there's a cardiologist among the organizers of First Freedom Bank.
