'I love helping people': Jenks to receive leadership award in Siloam Springs

Jenks to receive leadership award

Marc Hayot/Herald-Leader Lucinda. Jenks is one of two winners of an Outstanding Civic Leadership Event award (the other winner is her sister Audra Farrell) which she will receive on Thursday Sept. 23. Jenks has spent over a quarter of a century in the loan business and has a passion for helping people.
Marc Hayot/Herald-Leader Lucinda. Jenks is one of two winners of an Outstanding Civic Leadership Event award (the other winner is her sister Audra Farrell) which she will receive on Thursday Sept. 23. Jenks has spent over a quarter of a century in the loan business and has a passion for helping people.

SILOAM SPRINGS -- Lucinda Jenks never dreamed she and her sister Audra Farrell would be considered leaders of the community, but that is exactly how they are viewed as both were chosen to receive the Siloam Springs Outstanding Civic Leadership Event award for 2021.

Jenks has worked to distinguish herself as a leader in the mortgage loan industry.

Starting at Arvest Bank, Jenks worked there for 20 years before moving to First Western Bank and then on to Grand Savings Bank, she said.

Presently, Jenks works for Geneva Financial as a branch manager/ mortgage loan originator, she said.

Geneva Financial is a direct mortgage lender headquartered in Chandler, Ariz., which focuses on loan originators and support staff to ensure an unbeatable experience, according to genevafi.com .

"I love helping people," Jenks said. "I love helping people with their financial situations. That's my passion."

Growing up

Jenks lives in Oklahoma but grew up in Siloam Springs. Her family lived on a small farm on Raines Road where they raised cattle, goats and sheep, she said.

Her father, Louie Thomas, was a longtime building construction teacher at Siloam Springs High School and later served on the Siloam Springs School Board, Jenks said.

Thomas also had a house moving and construction business, Jenks said.

He was a well-known and highly respected member of the community and helped develop a can-do and hardworking spirit in Jenks that she utilized throughout her career, Jenks said.

Jenks' mother Mary Thomas tended to the home until her girls started school when she decided to further her education and earned a master's degree in education, she said.

"Mrs. Thomas" was a beloved kindergarten teacher who spent more than 30 years teaching in Siloam Springs. Mary Thomas continues to reside in Siloam Springs, Jenks said.

As a young girl, and often alongside her sister, Jenks participated in Girl Scouts, Brownies and the Future Farmers of America (FFA), she said.

"We were both FFA Sweethearts," Jenks said.

Jenks was also a standout athlete in high school competing in track, volleyball and basketball, she said.

Jenks held the two-mile track record at Siloam Springs High School for many years and competed in the Meet of Champs her senior year, she said.

The sisters also served at First Baptist Church whenever the doors were open, Jenks said.

When she was 16 years old, Jenks got her first job at Western Sizzlin and then spent her summers working for Allen Canning Company in the food testing lab, she said.

Long before this, though, her dad taught her the meaning of hard work and dedication to the job at hand, Jenks said.

Jenks said she was the boy that her dad never had and often worked alongside him as she grew up.

Employment

Jenks' work in banking began in 1995, after she had moved back to the area.

She started a part-time job as a word processor at First National Bank (now Arvest Bank) while finishing her bachelor's degree in accounting from Northeastern State University, Jenks said.

Over the years, Jenks moved up to bookkeeping, loan assistant, consumer lender and then mortgage loan officer/mortgage loan manager at Arvest, she said.

Jenks went to work for First Western Bank in 2015 where she worked as a mortgage loan officer and worked from home. In 2019, Jenks accepted a new roll at Grand Savings Bank as senior vice president/team lead at the Siloam Springs branch, she said.

In 2021, Jenks took a leap of faith when she left her lucrative position at Grand Savings Bank and accepted her new position at Geneva Financial, she said.

Geneva Financial is a perfect fit for people who are in the mortgage loan industry and want to work their passion with freedom, Jenks said.

"God had a hand in every job change that I had," Jenks said. "Every change taught me something extra to take me to the next level."

Volunteering

Like her sister Audra, Jenks also takes time to help those outside of work.

Jenks and her husband, Hank Jenks, mentor at Colcord (Okla.) Public Schools and New Life Ranch's after school programs, she said.

In 2014, Lucinda Jenks and her husband co-founded the Colcord FFA Alumni Chapter along with Dr. Brian Shackelford and John and Amy Dunn, both dear friends of theirs, she said.

Lucinda Jenks is also currently serving on the board of Main Street Siloam Springs, she said.

Jenks gives credit to Stacy Morris and Abby Trinidad for taking the organization to the next level.

Lucinda has served in the past for the Siloam Springs Chamber of Commerce and Civitan, she said.

Jenks also continues to volunteer her time to various nonprofit and volunteer organizations in the community, she said.

Family and hobbies

Jenks lives with her husband in Watts, Okla. They own a cattle ranch in Colcord, Okla.

Lucinda Jenks has been married to Hank Jenks for 30 years. Hank Jenks is a chief helicopter pilot for K & D Aviation, she said.

Prior to working for K & D, he was a state trooper in the aircraft division of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and a game warden with the State of Oklahoma, Lucinda Jenks said.

The couple have two sons: Clint Jenks, 24, a graduate of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, who works as a Soil Conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Andy Jenks, 18, a freshman at OSU who is continuing his education with an emphasis in Wildlife Biology, Lucinda Jenks said.

Both Hank and Lucinda share a love for the outdoors, she said. Hobbies for Lucinda include hunting, fishing and gardening as well as boating.

Jenks had to learn long ago to do "boy-things" if she wanted to be included in her all-boy home, she said.

Jenks enjoys time with her family and enjoys going out with her husband and friends to different downtown establishments like Cafe on Broadway, Creekside Taproom, Downtown Bakery, Fratelli's Woodfired Pizzeria, Ivory Bill Brewery, Parkhouse Kitchen + Bar and 28 Springs, she said.

The future

For Jenks, the future looks bright, and she plans to finish her career strong. To get here though, she had to take many leaps of faith.

"What if you never take that step to get out of the box," Jenks asks. "The 'what if' is so important and you're going to miss it if you don't get out of your comfort zone."

For Jenks, it was a little lesson she learned in 2016, when she had a heart attack. Jenks said this health scare taught her to slow down and enjoy life more.

She spends more time at the gym and working on being healthy, Jenks said.

Jenks said family matters, always. The most important thing is her family.

"My mother and sister are always ready to support me with whatever I ask of them and Hank has always been supportive of my wild and crazy changes. We have a lot of fun together," Jenks said.

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