As women in banking, it is important that we lift each other up and celebrate each other's accomplishments. The entire purpose of the Girl Banker blog is to do just that! The Girl Banker of the Week series serves as a way to highlight Girl Bankers everywhere by telling their stories and motivating and encouraging other women in banking. It also is a great way for women in banking to connect! Read below about this week's Girl Banker of the Week! Martha Londagin | SBA, VP Commercial Loan Officer | Legacy National Bank I have had the privilege of knowing Martha Londagin since I was a student at Prairie Grove High School where she was an English teacher back in the early 2000's.  She also served as the Student Council Sponsor and that's where I really got to work with her one and one. I always knew she stood apart as a teacher given her real-world experience and her approach to coaching future leaders. She certainly has served as a role model for women in business by showing that you don't have to fit a certain mold in terms of a career path. Martha not only is a former public school teacher, but she also practiced business and banking law in Northwest Arkansas and Northeast Oklahoma and was with the Walton College Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center where she served as a training coordinator and business consultant. In her four years at the ASBTDC she served hundreds of small businesses in the NWA eight-county region with one-on-one consultations and group trainings on starting and growing small businesses. Today, she serves as a Small Business Administration (SBA), VP Commercial Loan Officer with Legacy National Bank based in Springdale, Arkansas. She is a Siloam Springs High School graduate and a licensed attorney in Arkansas and Oklahoma.  Her family has lived in Washington and Benton Counties, Arkansas for over 160 years. To say that she is an NWA/NEO staple and an incredibly well-rounded girl banker is an understatement!

Martha has been married to her husband Doug for over 30 years and they own a small business together, which makes her a fifth-generation small business owner in her family. They live in Grove, Oklahoma and Fayetteville, Arkansas and have one child Carter, a Walton College graduate, who works for Amazon.com in California. She holds a Secondary Education bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas and is a graduate of its School of Law as well. Martha serves as a children’s Sunday school teacher and volunteers with outreach projects for persons in need at Genesis Church in South Fayetteville, an outreach ministry of Central United Methodist Church. She is an active volunteer with several Northwest Arkansas chambers of commerce enthusiastically assisting members with starting and growing their small businesses with education and information about Northwest Arkansas resources. She also frequently volunteers in outreach and service to NWA public school students and teachers in their classrooms on topics regarding business, career information, and marketing. Her accolades include being named the  2016 Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce “Small Business Advocate of the Year” and the 2017 Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year and currently serves as co-chair of the RLACC Small Business Council. In her spare time, Martha enjoys distance running, road cycling and mountain biking, motorcycle trips with her husband, reading good books, and ANY time spent with her extended family or any children and teens. MOTIVATION | “I am a naturally enthusiastic person who truly loves spending time with people. Small business owners and entrepreneurs come from absolutely every walk of life and background, so my work with them easily keeps me motivated to assist in any way I can; it is never a chore or a work assignment only for me- it is a daily joy. If you have enthusiasm for what you do and are genuine in your attitude, everyone benefits.  I think what I most want people to know and remember about me is that I genuinely care, even if I am not able to always say “yes” to a project or a request for my time. I strive to always leave everyone I meet with some positive encouragement, idea, or impression.” Join me as we celebrate this week's Girl Banker of the Week, Martha Londagin! Know someone who should be the next Girl Banker of the Week? Send nominations to thegirlbanker@gmail.com!