Crews & Associates » News

Berkeley County School District Refinancing Saved District More Than $1 Million

ajones — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:14:22 +0000

By refinancing its 2002 Public School Bonds, the District saved more than $1 Million. Crews & Associates served as sole managing underwriter of the refinancing for the District. To read the full article from the Martinsburg Journal, click here.

City of Keyser Refinancing Will Save City More than $155,000

ajones — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:09:27 +0000

According to a refinancing update provided by Crews & Associates, the refinancing would save the City $155,665 over the next 13 years. If the ordinance is adopted, Crews & Associates would serve as underwriter of the refinancing for the City. To read the full article from the Cumberland Times-News, click here.

Wright Transfers to Crews’ Northwest Arkansas Office

ajones — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:56:10 +0000

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (February 9, 2012) — After nearly 25 years in Little Rock, Bob Wright, senior managing director at Crews & Associates, has transferred to the firm’s Northwest Arkansas office.

Wright offers public finance clients extensive experience in the sale and underwriting of municipal bonds. He joined Crews & Associates as an institutional account executive in 1987 and moved to the Capital Markets Group in 1990.

Bob has extensive experience in working with issuers in Northwest Arkansas. Some of his clients include the cities of Springdale, Fayetteville, Prairie Grove, Decatur, Gravette, Lowell, Ozark and Rogers; Washington County; Beaver Water District; the Benton Washington Regional Public Water Authority (Two-Ton); Northwest Arkansas Conservation Authority (NACA); Washington Water Authority; Northwest Arkansas Regional Solid Waste Management District; and James Fork Regional Water District.

Bob is recognized as one of the leading experts on water and sewer finance in the State. Bob also specializes on sales & use tax transactions, healthcare, housing, and other forms of municipal capital projects. In recent years, his public finance knowledge has led to numerous speaking engagements at regional and national public finance-related conferences, discussing creative financing options. Additionally, Bob has had several articles on finance published in national public finance-related publications.

Scott Beardsley, the head of public finance at Crews & Associates, said, “Bob has been a staple of our Little Rock office for 25 years; we will certainly miss him. But we know clients in Northwest Arkansas will benefit from his wealth of experience.”

His professional affiliations include, Arkansas Rural Water Association, Arkansas Water and Wastewater Managers Association, Water Works and Water Environment Associations for the United States and Arkansas, Healthcare Financial Managers Association, and American Association of Airport Executives.

Bob has been involved in several community and charitable organizations including the Little Rock Zoo Board of Governors, multi-year chair of the Arkansas Methodist Family Health Foundation Walk for Children and Families, and a member of Trinity United Methodist Church where he served for two years as chairman of the finance committee.

ABOUT CREWS & ASSOCIATES INC.

Little Rock-based Crews & Associates, Inc. is a full-service investment banking firm dedicated to the structuring, financing and distribution of fixed-income products. Crews is a wholly-owned subsidiary of First Security Bancorp, with branch offices in Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Texas and West Virginia.

Information Contact:

Amanda Jones, (501) 978-7953, ajones@crewsfs.com

Crews & Associates, Inc. Hires Matt Bonaminio

ajones — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:19:04 +0000

Crews & Associates, Inc., the Arkansas-based full-service investment banking firm with national operations, hired Matt Bonaminio as an account executive to work on the firm’s trading floor. In his role with Crews & Associates, he will work with institutional clients executing fixed-income strategies. His area of emphasis will consist of various fixed-income assets including government, corporate, and municipal bonds as well as mortgage-backed securities. His core client base will consist of institutional clients including banks, trusts, investment managers, and insurance companies as well as state and local governments. He holds the FINRA Series 7and 63 professional securities licenses.

He is a graduate of Catholic High School and received his Bachelors degree in Political Science and a minor in Sociology from the University of Central Arkansas. Prior to joining Crews & Associates, he served with the Marine Corps Special Operations Command and was an instructor for the Marine Corps Amphibious Reconnaissance School. He is also a member of the Wounded Warrior Project.

About Crews & Associates, Inc.

Little Rock-based Crews & Associates, Inc. is a full-service investment banking firm dedicated to the structuring, financing, and distribution of fixed-income products. Crews is a wholly-owned subsidiary of First Security Bancorp, with branch offices in Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Texas and West Virginia.

City of Martinsburg Refinance Will Save City $1.3 Million

ajones — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:40:59 +0000

Crews & Associates served as underwriter of the refinancing for the City. To read the full article from the Martinsburg Journal, click here.

Crews Hires Associate to Serve Baton Rouge Office

ajones — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:03:13 +0000

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Dec. 8, 2011) — Crews & Associates, Inc., an Arkansas-based full-service investment-banking firm with national operations, has hired M.E. “Toye” Taylor Jr. of Bogalusa, La., to serve as an associate in the firm’s Baton Rouge, La., office.

In this role, Taylor will maintain and obtain new public finance relationships with issuers and borrowers in the Louisiana market including cities, parishes, school districts and other entities that utilize municipal security markets to access financing.

Taylor has a long record of government service at the local, parish and state level — a valuable perspective he will bring to issuers. Since 2008, Taylor had worked for the State of Louisiana’s Governor’s Office as Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs.

His professional public elected service began in 1982 as city councilman at large for Bogalusa. In December 1986, he was elected mayor of Bogalusa, serving three terms for a total of 12 years. During his time as mayor, the city was named the state’s cleanest city and was in the top 10 percent in the nation for government efficiency. As mayor, he oversaw numerous economic development projects, including the constructing and financing of a new $5 million landfill for the city and parish, $11 million in water improvement bonds, and $15 million in wastewater and sewer bonds.

In 1998, Taylor was elected the first president of Washington Parish, a role he served for nine years. During his term, $25 million in bonds were issued for road rehabilitation. He also served as chairman on the Louisiana Community Development Authority.

Taylor and his wife, Susan, have five children and four grandchildren. They attend Annunciation Catholic Church.

ABOUT CREWS & ASSOCIATES INC.

Information Contact:

Amanda Jones, (501) 978-7953, ajones@crewsfs.com

Crews & Associates Presents the City of Arkadelphia with City of Distinction Award

ajones — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:13:14 +0000

Nathan Rutledge of Crews & Associates recently presented the City of Arkadelphia with the Arkansas Business City of Distinction Award for ‘Workforce Development Under 20,000′. The award was presented to Mayor Charles Hollingshead.

The Arkansas Business City of Distinction Awards is a program designed to honor outstanding initiatives in cities across the state of Arkansas. The awards recognize the successes of Arkansas cities as demonstrated by financial innovations, resourceful efficiencies, improved public service, and overall enhanced public trust and support.

Crews & Associates Representatives Present City of Distinction Awards to the City of El Dorado, Arkansas

ajones — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:19:35 +0000

Crews & Associates representatives Bob Wright and Nathan Rutledge recently presented the City of El Dorado and Main Street El Dorado with the Arkansas Business City of Distinction Awards for ‘Quality of Life’ and ‘Main Street Preservation’.

To read the article, click here. (subscription required to read full article).

Crews & Associates Employee Named as Grand Marshal of Kilmarnock Parade in Virginia

ajones — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:20:53 +0000

The 33rd annual Kilmarnock Lighted Christmas Parade will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, December 9. The theme will be “Sights and Sounds of Christmas.”

The parade will begin at Chesapeake Commons Shopping Center and proceed along Main Street to Irvington Road and end on School Street, said assistant town manager/community development Susan T. Cockrell.Pre-parade activities will be held throughout the Steptoe’s District and Santa will visit with children at the Kilmarnock firehouse on School Street from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

The parade is sponsored by Dominion Virginia Power and the Lancaster by the Bay Chamber of Commerce.

Parade royalty

“The Steptoe family of Morgantown, W.Va., has been named the grand marshal for this year’s Christmas parade and we couldn’t be more excited,” said chamber president Tom Richardson. “It’s appropriate that as the parade comes through Steptoe’s District that we have a family that traces their roots back to Kilmarnock.”

The chamber also named William “Bill” Pennell as the honorary grand marshal.

“Bill has just recently retired after 20 years as Lancaster County’s administrator and we thought this was a terrific way to honor his service to our community,” said Richardson.

Pennell is an active member of St. Mary’s White Chapel Episcopal Church. He also serves as treasurer of VISIONS, a Jessie Ball duPont Foundation project. The project’s mission is to reduce poverty and improve lives in the Northern Neck by building the capacity of area nonprofits through increased collaboration, communication and training, by facilitating economic development initiatives, and through other initiatives that fill needed service gaps.

Pennell will be joined by his wife, Jannine, for the parade festivities.

“We are delighted and honored to be a part of the wonderful community tradition of the Christmas parade,” said Pennell.

Steptoe legacy

Robert Mason Steptoe III, known as “Rob,” is the 11th generation of Steptoes who trace their roots from Anthony Steptoe of Kilmarnock.

Robert Mason Steptoe III and family live in Morgantown, where he is an investment banker with Crews & Associates Inc. His career has taken him from working as a law clerk to working as a legislative director for a member of Congress. He also served as the West Virginia State Director of USDA Rural Development.

While living in Alexandria, Steptoe visited Kilmarnock briefly for the first time in 2002.

“My grandmother told me years ago that Kilmarnock was where our family’s origin in America began,” said Steptoe. “Naturally I was curious about this place called Kilmarnock and one Saturday while living in Alexandria, my wife, Andrea, and I drove down for a day trip.”

He noted it is quite a special honor to serve as grand marshal.

“We are looking forward to meeting everyone and participating in the holiday festivities,” said Steptoe.

It also will be a great opportunity to learn more about his family’s roots in the Northern Neck, he said.

Anthony Steptoe came to Virginia from Hampshire, England, as an indentured servant sometime after 1669.

By 1676, he had purchased 278 acres of land which represent a portion of today’s Kilmarnock. Anthony Steptoe’s grandson, William Steptoe, opened the “ordinary” or hotel, and the developing town took the name of “Steptoe’s Ordinary,” the precursor to Kilmarnock. The ordinary is believed to have been on Main Street where Rose’s Steakhouse is today.

While the next two generations of Steptoes lived in Westmoreland County, Anthony Steptoe’s great-grandson, James Steptoe, left the Northern Neck to establish his family in the frontier region of Bedford County where he befriended Thomas Jefferson at an early age and served as Clerk of Bedford County for 54 years. A lineal or collateral member of the Steptoe family would hold the Clerkship of Bedford County for over 100 years.

One of James Steptoe’s sons, Thomas Steptoe, remained in Bedford County long enough to marry and have a son named Charles Steptoe who eventually studied under General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson at VMI. He then served as an officer in the Civil War. Charles Steptoe later attended Virginia Theological Seminary and became rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Culpeper County.

Charles Steptoe’s son, Philip Steptoe, was born in Culpeper County in 1877. Philip Steptoe, who was the great-grandfather of Robert Mason Steptoe III, along with Louis Johnson of Roanoke, founded the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson in Clarksburg, W.Va., in 1913.

Robert Mason Steptoe Sr. practiced law in Martinsburg, W.Va., and later became a state senator and judge.

Robert Mason Steptoe Jr. became the managing partner of Steptoe and Johnson in the early 1990s.

Source: http://www.rrecord.com/-news/2011/12-1-11/local2.asp

Crews & Associates Continues to Grow

ajones — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:51:37 +0000

Crews & Associates, Inc., an Arkansas-based full-service investment-banking firm with national operations, has hired one new Account Executive to work on the firm’s trading floor.

Information on the firm’s new Account Executive is below:

Jeff Francis received his Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Westminster College in Fulton, MO, and his Master of Business Administration in Finance from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. Before joining Crews & Associates, Francis worked for 18 years selling wood products to heavy industry.