Southern AgCredit, a rural lender serving Mississippi and Louisiana, recently promoted twelve employees.

Michelle Breazeale was promoted to loan administrator supervisor.  Breazeale holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from William Carey University.  She joined Southern AgCredit in January 2013 as an office administrator in the Hattiesburg branch office. Breazeale resides in Sumrall with her husband, Matthew, and their 5 children.

Jamie Bowman was promoted to senior loan administrator.  She began work at Southern AgCredit in 2013 as an office administrator and then was promoted to loan administrator in the Hattiesburg branch office.  Prior to that, she was a mortgage processor for a local commercial bank and a legal assistant at an attorney’s office.  Bowman is from Purvis and is married to her husband, Billy.  They have one daughter, one son and daughter-in-law, and one grandchild. 

Kelly Coleman was promoted to branch manager of the Ruston branch office.  He joined Southern AgCredit in 2021 as a relationship manager.  Coleman has over 35 years of lending experience.  Before joining Southern AgCredit, he was a senior vice president and loan officer for a commercial bank in West Monroe. He holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from Louisiana Tech University. Coleman resides in Ruston with his wife, Tralynn. They have six adult children and six grandchildren. He is also the senior pastor at Culbertson Baptist Church in nearby Farmerville.

Pate DeMuth was promoted to relationship manager.  He joined Southern AgCredit in 2018 as a loan officer in the Ridgeland branch office. DeMuth holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering, technology, and business as well as a master’s degree in agribusiness management from Mississippi State University.  He and his wife, Nora Grace, live in Raymond with their daughter.

Darlene Guyse was promoted to loan administrator.  She joined Southern AgCredit in 2021 as an office administrator in the Newton branch office.  Guyse has over 20 years of experience in administrative positions and office management.  She is married to Christopher Guyse and together they have 4 children and three grandchildren. They live in Lake, Mississippi.

Brooks Hall was promoted to relationship manager.  He joined the Association in 2021 as a loan officer in the Brookhaven branch office.   Hall attended Copiah-Lincoln Community College and graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.  He started his career as an examiner in the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance, a position he held for 3 years.  Prior to joining Southern AgCredit, Hall was a lender at the Bank of Brookhaven.  He and his wife, Summer, have one daughter and reside in Brookhaven. 

Mallory Kellar was promoted to credit analyst.  She joined the rural lending cooperative in 2020 as a loan administrator in its Gulfport branch office. Kellar earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Southern Mississippi. She was employed at PJ’s Coffee for seven years prior to joining Southern AgCredit. She is married to Evan Kellar, an independent insurance agent in Picayune, where they live with their daughter.

April Lunsford was promoted to senior loan administrator.  Lunsford has a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Louisiana Monroe.  She joined the Association in 2017 as a loan administrator in the Ruston branch office then later moved to the Ridgeland branch office.  Lunsford worked in the dental industry for 7 years before coming to Southern AgCredit. 

Brittany Miller was promoted to senior loan administrator.  Miller holds a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Mississippi State University. She joined Southern AgCredit as an office administrator in the Newton branch office in 2019 and was promoted to loan administrator in 2021. Before joining the rural lending co-op, she worked as a loan assistant for BankFirst in Newton. She and her husband, Joe, have two daughters and the family resides in Garlandville.

Lauren Smith was promoted to senior loan administrator.  Smith joined Southern AgCredit in 2010 as a customer service representative in the Brookhaven branch office then was promoted to loan administrator.  Prior to joining the rural lending co-op, she worked in commercial banking for 9 years.  Smith, a native of Winnsboro, Louisiana, now resides in Wesson with her husband, Andy, and their two children. 

Cooper Stringer was promoted to vice-president of lending.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Alabama.  Stringer joined Southern AgCredit in 2011 as a loan officer and then was promoted to branch manager of the Newton office.  He lives in Newton and is active in the Mississippi Poultry Association, NWTF and Ducks Unlimited.    

Jason Whittlesy was promoted to senior credit analyst.  Whittlesy has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in business administration from Louisiana State University in Shreveport as well as a bachelor’s degree in forestry from Louisiana Tech.  He joined Southern AgCredit in 2011 as a credit analyst and collateral evaluator for the Shreveport and Ruston branch offices.  Whittlesy and his wife, Nicki, live in Bossier City with their daughter. 

Southern AgCredit is a full-service lender that specializes in financing rural land and agricultural operations in Mississippi and Louisiana. It is a member of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of lending cooperatives that finance agriculture, agribusiness, rural real estate and country homes.