United Bank announced Monday Ricky Smith has joined the Board of Directors for United Bankcorporation of Alabama Inc. and for United Bank. The Jay, Fla. business owner and community leader begins his term on the bank’s governing bodies following more than three years of service as a member of United’s Agricultural advisory board and Santa Rosa County advisory board.

“We are honored to welcome Ricky Smith to the bank’s board of directors,” United Bank President and CEO Bob Jones said. “I know Ricky will bring the same passion and service to his new role with the bank that he does his neighbors and his community.”

“We are excited about having Ricky join the board and the perspective he brings,” said David Swift, chairman of the board for United Bank, Vice Chairman of United Bancorporation and president and CEO of Swift Supply Inc. echoed Jones’ excitement.

“Ricky’s business insight and agriculture experience is invaluable as we consider the direction of the bank,” Swift said.

A native of Jay, Smith is president and CEO of Smith Tractor Supply Co. Inc, a Medallion John Deere dealership with locations in Jay, Frisco City and Atmore. His appointments with United are the culmination of a 16-year relationship with the bank that began with the expansion of his company to Atmore in 1996.

“I made a commitment to Bob Jones and United in 1996 that when the bank secured a charter in Florida and could service all of our locations, we would move our banking,” Smith said. “Since then, I have seen what it means for our rural area to have access to a community bank that cares about its customers and that knows agriculture. I am humbled and flattered that the bank would think enough of me and my opinion to ask me to join the board.”

Smith began his 37-year career at age 20, working for his father who opened Smith Tractor as a Ford dealer in 1953. The company became a Deere dealership in 1987, and he has been named to the company’s Manager’s Club multiple years since that time.

Smith’s economic and community development efforts span multiple industries including healthcare, banking and insurance. He is chairman of the Jay Hospital Advisory Board and serves as secretary and treasurer for the governing board of Baptist Hospital Inc. Smith is also a founding partner in The Terrace, Jay’s assisted living facility, which opened in 2011.

“As people get older, they tend to want to be closer to home, not move farther away,” Smith said about his involvement with The Terrace. “We wanted to develop a place where our residents could be independent and have the help they need while not having to leave Jay.”

In the mid 1980s, prior to United Bank having a presence in Jay, Smith was part of an eight-member group of community leaders that intended to organize a bank in the location after a series of mergers resulted in the closure of the Bank of Jay. While the new bank was never opened, Smith said his experience with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Florida State Banking Department gave him valuable insight into the regulatory environment banks must operate within.

Smith also said, as the bank’s newest board member, he is looking forward to helping United grow and to also maintaining its current flexibility in order to best serve its clients.

“I think United Bank, just like the Jay community, certainly has seen its share of challenges with the economy and with the changing regulatory environment,” Smith said. “But both the bank and the Jay area have tremendous potential for growth. I want to be sure we’re taking advantage of every opportunity to be successful and to continue the level of service people have come to expect.”

In addition to his corporate and healthcare endeavors, Smith is an active member of Jay

United Methodist Church where he is chair of the staff, Parish Relations Committee. He also serves as director of the Southern Equipment Dealers Association.

Smith is married to the former Kim Cushman of Jay, and they have two teenage children, Paige, 15, and Logan, 14.

For more information about Smith or his appointment, please contact Greg Walker, VP for Business Development & Marketing, at 251-945-3323 or email greg.walker@unitedbank.com.