Personal Bankers of Little Rock: Thelma Brown
March 23, 2018
Born in Sherrill, Arkansas, Thelma Brown and her family moved to the larger town of Tucker (pop. about 200!) when she was two years old. Thelma was the oldest child among five sisters and six brothers and early life in Tucker was fun, she says. “I had a loving family and there was never a dull moment!”
Thelma graduated from Plum Bayou High School in 1971 and immediately entered the work force, first at Kellwood Sewing Company located in Southwest Little Rock (she and her brother commuted from Tucker to Little Rock every day). Following her experience there, Thelma took a job at the Remington Arms Company where she was part of their quality control team and later worked for Timex Corporation, where she served as a “curber,” installing tiny springs into the watch movements.
After marrying Alfred Brown Sr. in 1973, Thelma and her husband both took jobs back at Remington. But after giving birth to a son in 1974, she and Alfred decided that it would be best if she stayed at home to raise their children. Sure enough, Thelma had three more sons, born in 1976, 1981 and 1982. Life was busy but the family was happier than ever.
Once the three older boys were in school, Thelma took a part-time job at La Petit Academy, followed by a stint at Sears and then supervising the snack bar in the Wal-Mart Center located on what was then Asher Avenue.
Next door to the Wal-Mart was a First Commercial Bank branch and one of the branch officers had been paying attention to Thelma, observing her cheerful personality and skill when dealing with customers. She eventually talked Thelma into going to work for First Commercial, which is where her banking career began.
In 2000, Thelma’s husband, who worked for the Union Pacific Railroad, convinced Thelma to help him start a check cashing agency, based in Lonoke. While the business was successful, helping many customers from North Little Rock to Lonoke, the six-day work weeks and the long hours became wearisome. So, after five years of running that business, and at age 50, Thelma, with Alfred’s help, closed the agency. That’s when, in 2005, Thelma had the opportunity to join Bank of Little Rock.
As a teller in our downtown branch, Thelma has gotten back to what she loves most about working – taking care of customers. And she loves the small-bank culture found at Bank of Little Rock. “Mr. Maris doesn’t just talk the talk – he really walks the walk when it comes to taking care of our team,” she says.
Although Thelma confesses that it was sometimes challenging to adapt to different customer personality types, she’s been so successful at it that some of her customer relationships have developed into great friendships outside the bank.
Thelma is passionate about her love for God and her volunteer work in North Little Rock’s New Hope Baptist Church, where she often encourages and motivates younger women who attend. This, and spending time with her 12 grandchildren, keep her very busy!
Thelma loves to laugh and, although banking is pretty serious business, she finds ways to infect others with her joy. The next time you’re in our downtown branch, visit Thelma and see for yourself!