Todd Earl starts new role with Central National Bank

After nearly 20 years with NBC Oklahoma, Enid native Todd Earl is starting a new job with Central National Bank & Trust, Co.. 

Part of the change was because Earl said he wants to become even more involved with the community, and CNB directors and staff have a focus on the local community that appealed to him. 

"I thought if I'm going to finish my career here in Enid, Okl., I want to be able to do it with people that'll enable us to do the most good we can do in our community: building businesses and homes ... ultimately building the community," Earl said. 

Earl began his new gig as market president earlier this week.

"I'm going to be working with all the people that are involved in customer-facing activities so that we can ensure that we're doing it as well as we can. Taking care of our customers, and again our community," he said. 

While transitioning into the new bank, Earl said the most difficult part was leaving his old coworkers, customers and bank staff, who he'd developed close relationships over his 20 years there.

"Leaving that was difficult, but the opportunity to do what we can do here was just of great appeal," Earl said, "I suppose the most difficult thing is that you have people that you worked side by side with for 20 years and you're not working with them anymore, and (now) you're developing new relationships."

During his time in Enid, Earl has served or volunteered on a number of boards, commissions and organizations in the area. According to his LinkedIn profile, some of these include Cherokee Strip Community Foundation, United Way of Enid and Northwest Oklahoma, Greater Enid Chamber of Commerce and Enid Public School Foundation. He was named Volunteer of the Year by the Greater Enid Chamber of Commerce in 2004.

While he said it's difficult to pick the most personally impactful of his civic involvements the past several decades, Earl said his work with education has been the most impactful for him. 

"Any time you can make a difference in a child's life and express some interest in them, I think that's ... it's a long horizon but you're helping to improve your community," Earl said. 

He said involvement with the community is important to him both in his role with the bank, and personally, and that it's important to be serve his community to help it grow and thrive.

"The sum total of what our community is is what we put into it, and as a community banker, as a community bank, you can't succeed if your community doesn't succeed," Earl said. "We've got a great group of people that work in our community to do good things and I enjoy working with them."

The last several years has seen other roles being filled with the bank, too. In January 2015, Kip Herburger was promoted to president and chief operating officer of the bank, as well as several other bank workers being promoted. Chief Executive Officer R.S. "Brud" Baker, who has been with the bank more than 45 years, also was promoted to chairman of the board, while remaining CEO, around the same time in 2015. 

Overall, Earl said he's looking forward to his new start with a bank he hopes to finish his career eventually with.

"They've (CNB) got a long history of being an integral part of this community," Earl said, "and the opportunity to align myself, my mission and my purpose with what they have as a mission and purpose was ... like I say, I intend to finish my career here. Aligning that mission and doing the things that we can do collectively, it was just really exciting, the opportunity."