M&F Bancorp, Inc. announced the appointment of the 2008-2009 Board of Directors of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mechanics and Farmers Bank (M&F Bank). Three new Directors are joining the Board, including William V. “Bill” Bell, Bishop George W. Brooks, and Lenny F. Springs II. The returning Directors include Board Chairman James A. Stewart, Vice-Chair Connie J. White, Willie T. Closs, Jr., Michael L. Lawrence, Cedric L. Russell, Kim D. Saunders, Maceo K. Sloan, and Aaron L. Spaulding.
Maceo K. Sloan, Chairman of M&F Bancorp, Inc., said “We have every expectation that our new members’ business experience and community visibility will greatly enhance our efforts to grow and strengthen M&F Bank, and will help us to maximize the potential of our recently expanded footprint. They will augment and complement the Board’s expertise extremely well.”
“Bill” Bell is currently mayor of the City of Durham, NC, and served as chairman of the Board of Mutual Community Savings Bank, Inc., SSB (MCSB), which recently was acquired by M&F Bancorp. A long-time public official in the Durham community, Bell currently is a member of the Greater Triangle Regional Committee and Triangle Transit Authority and has served on numerous boards of regional nonprofit organizations. He has received numerous awards for service and citizenship, including the NC Outstanding Leadership Award, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Keeper of the Dream Award, the Josephine D. Clement Award for Exemplary Community Leadership, the Frederick Douglass Leadership Award, and the Order of Long Leaf Pine Award, to name a few.
Also a former MCSB Director, Bishop Brooks is the senior pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC, where he has served since 1975. Recognized and respected in the faith-based community throughout the state, Bishop Brooks is the Bishop of Administration of Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International. He holds a B. S. degree in Industrial Technology from NC A&T SU in Greensboro, a Master of Divinity degree from Shaw University in Raleigh, and Doctorate of Ministry degree from Friends International Christian University in Merced, California. Under his guidance and leadership, Mount Zion’s membership has grown from 35 in 1975 to over 5,000 today.
Lenny Springs is a well-known, highly respected former banker who currently is President and CEO of The S-Group, an organizational development and strategic management firm in Charlotte, NC; and president of Queen City Venture Partners, a minority-owned investment company. Springs joined First Union Bank (now Wachovia Corporation) in 1983, and served in several senior finance positions, most recently as SVP/Director of Supplier Diversity. He specializes in promoting public awareness and instituting progressive initiatives for community and business development. Springs is currently a member of the national Board of Trustees for the NAACP Special Contributions Fund, is the former Vice-Chairman of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, and has served on the Boards of Trustees of numerous Historically Black Colleges & Universities. He has authored many articles on business and banking published in local, regional and national publications, and has received numerous awards from both the public and private sectors. Springs has a B.A. in Business Administration from Voorhees College, where he also was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
“We look forward to the fresh insight and guidance our new colleagues will offer the Board. M&F Bank is working through many organizational and process improvements, and we’re on the threshold of more positive changes as we execute our strategic plan. This is a great time to view our efforts through new eyes,” said James A. Stewart, Chairman of M&F Bank’s Board of Directors.
Retiring from the Board are long-time Directors Genevia Gee Fulbright (who also served on the Board of the parent company) and J. C. “Skeepie” Scarborough III; Joseph M. Sansom will step down from the Bank’s Board but remains on the parent company’s Board. “We can’t begin to measure the value of the expertise, dedication and connections to the community they’ve brought to M&F Bank over the years,” said Kim D. Saunders, President and CEO of M&F Bancorp, Inc. and M&F Bank. “Their service has contributed significantly to the company’s success, and we will miss their wisdom and their unique perspective. I’m very happy to know that they intend to continue to lend their support in other ways, and to hold us accountable to the very high standards which they have set.”
M&F Bank is a state-chartered commercial bank founded in 1907, and has operated continuously and profitably since 1908. M&F Bank is the only NC bank designated by the United States Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution. Its vision is to be the preferred community bank in its markets. M&F Bank is the wholly owned subsidiary of M&F Bancorp, Inc., a one-bank holding company headquartered in Durham, NC, with assets of approximately $277 million as of March 31, 2008. M&F Bancorp’s common stock is quoted in the over-the-counter market through the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol “MFBP.” For additional information contact M&F Bancorp Corporate Headquarters, 2634 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd., Durham, NC at (919) 687-7800 or visit www.mfbonline.com.
M&F Bancorp, Inc.
Kim D. Saunders, 919-687-7800, ext 816
President/CEO
kim.saunders@mfbonline.com
