Mont Echols, an established figure in the Arkansas banking circles, member of the First National Bank board since 1962, and board chairman since 2011, died Thursday (Sept. 25). He was 90.
His passing was confirmed by Sam T. Sicard, CEO of the Fort Smith-based banking operation that also has a banking presences in Northwest Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma, in an email to bank employees on Friday.
Echols graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering in 1958, and joined First National Bank in 1959. He would be elected to the bank’s board of directors in 1962, and would be elected board chairman in August 2011 after the passing of longtime bank president Sam M. Sicard.
“He’s very sharp, very analytical, and more behind the scenes. He knows this place,” Sicard, son of Sam M., said of Echols in August 2011. “I certainly welcome him as chairman of the board. He has been and will continue to be a great resource to me. There is a lot of experience and wisdom with him. … We were all truly blessed to have his wisdom, knowledge, and guidance over the many decades of his leadership at First National.”
Echols, who was a first cousin to Sam M., helped the bank transition from written ledgers to the use of computers and other digital processes in the late 1960s, according to the bank.
“In 1972, he was there to celebrate our 100 year anniversary when we were able to reach $100 million in total assets (now $2.25 billion),” Sam T. Sicard said in the employee note. “In 1976, the year I was born, he led our efforts in introducing our first automated teller machine.”
Sicard said Echols was effectively the chief operating officer for the bank for much of the past six decades, and was “highly, highly intelligent.”
“It was amazing how sharp he still was in his 80s,” Sicard told Talk Business & Politics. “His recall, his knowledge, I mean, it was pretty exceptional.”
Talk Business & Politics will include a link to Echols’ obituary when it is available.