Rick Chochon, Columbus, Neb. has been named the new President and CEO of American State Bank and Trust Company. Chochon succeeds Don LacKamp who will remain with the organization in a dual role as its Executive Vice-Chairman and as President and CEO of American State Bancshares, the parent company of American State Bank.
Since 1992, Chochon managed Pinnacle Banks in Shelby and Arnold, Nebraska and in 1999 became market president of the Columbus branch.
He is originally from Palmer, Neb. and graduated from Kearney State College in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with an emphasis on finance.
Chochon is the past chair of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce and past chair of the Columbus Area Community Foundation. He is also a member of the Mid-America Boy Scouts Council Board of Trustees, Friends of Aksarben, the Nebraska Diplomats and past chair of the 2012 United Way Fund Drive. Rick and his wife Tracie previously attended St. Isidore’s Catholic Church in Columbus where he was President of the Finance Committee. They have five sons, Bryan, David, Aaron, Chris and Eric who are all Eagle Scouts.
“Through my meetings with the bank’s leadership during the interview process, I feel the move is a good fit for me and my family. American State is in excellent financial condition and I look forward to the challenge of taking its growth to the next level,” Chochon said.
LacKamp was named President and CEO of American State Bank in February, 2005 following the death of former president Mike Walts in 2004. During LacKamp’s tenure, American State Bancshares’ total consolidated assets reached $686 million in 2012 with four banking charters and 15 locations in central and western Kansas. LacKamp’s office along with the American State Bancshares corporate office will move from Great Bend to Wichita.
In addition to American State Bank and Trust, American State Bancshares’ commercial banking subsidiaries include People’s Exchange Bank, Rose Hill Bank and First National Bank of Holcomb. American State Bancshares has locations in Augusta, Belleville, Clyde, Concordia, Garden City, Great Bend, Holcomb, Larned, Macksville, Rose Hill, St. John and Wichita.