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L. Michael Arthur

Benchmark Community Bank is pleased to announce the promotion of L. Michael Arthur, Jr. to executive vice president/chief administrative officer. The announcement was made by President/CEO Jay Stafford with the new role taking place Jan. 1, 2022.

“Mike’s contributions to Benchmark have been exemplary,” said Stafford. “His knowledge of the many elements that compose financial institution administration and the many regulations incorporated into our day-to-day operations has been invaluable. His journey with Benchmark started as our compliance officer after having worked with other financial institutions, including the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond.

A Victoria native and current South Hill resident, Arthur joined Benchmark in 2004 as an assistant vice president/ compliance officer before being promoted three years later to vice president and adding bank secrecy act coordinator to his official role. In 2014, he was promoted to vice president/credit administration. He then moved, in 2017, into senior management as senior vice president/chief administrative officer.

Presently, Arthur provides oversight for the Loan Compliance, Loan Operations, Loan Collections, and Loan Processing areas of the bank. Recently, the Secondary Mortgage Program was added to his areas of responsibility. He attends the Business Banking Committee meetings, as well as managing the monthly Board Loan Committee meetings and serving as the bank’s liaison with Banker’s Title Insurance.

A graduate of Virginia Tech, Arthur completed the Graduate School of Banking at Madison, WI in 2011. Earlier this year, he completed his Master of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts.

Lee Minix

Benchmark Community Bank is pleased to announce the promotion of Lee Minix to executive vice president of Credit Administration. The announcement was made by President/CEO Jay Stafford with the new role taking place Jan. 1, 2022.

“We are very proud of Lee and the contributions he has made to Benchmark,” said Stafford. “He has been a strategic player in the restructuring of our business lending department. His contributions to the bank’s success have been immeasurable. By taking the lead in credit administration, Lee was able to incorporate his strengths in that area. He has built a strong team of professionals who skillfully oversee the bank’s business credit activity.”

A Farmville resident, Minix most recently served as senior vice president, chief credit officer in the Credit Administration area of Benchmark. He joined the bank in 2007 as vice president/business banker for the Farmville area. His area of responsibility included growing loans and loan portfolio analysis. In 2015, he was promoted to vice president/senior credit officer. Two years later, he was promoted to senior vice president/credit officer prior to becoming chief credit officer.

Minix received his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Virginia Tech. Prior to joining Benchmark, Minix worked as an Internal Officer and City Executive with other banking institutions. He has been involved with the Virginia Banker’s Association’s Credit Committee and, on behalf of Benchmark, has attended many events related to his activity with the state organization.