Leadership

Local Decision Makers

The team at ArborOne is made up of financial professionals who understand agriculture and country living. And Members of our Board are elected by our stakeholders. We're federally chartered, but locally operated by people you know and trust.

The expertise of our Leadership Team, along with the direction of our Board of Directors, works to set the association's direction, goals and strategies.

William DuPree Atkinson, Chairman

Member, Audit Committee

Marion County

DuPree Atkinson is from Marion County and has served on the ArborOne Farm Credit Board since 1999. He was most recently re-elected in 2019 for a six year term. As chairman, he serves on all board Committees. Mr. Atkinson has been farming for over 38 years, and his operation includes tobacco, corn, peanuts, small grain, horse hay, strawberries, soybeans, and beef cattle. He serves on the S.C. Farm Bureau Board of Directors, the S.C. Tobacco Board, the S.C. Peanut Board, and as President of Pee Dee Peanut, LLC, a peanut buying station in Marion County. Mr. Atkinson and his wife, Cecilia, are members of Macedonia United Methodist Church in Mullins.

John Lee Newman, Vice-Chairman

Chairman, Compensation Committee; Member, Audit Committee; Member, Governance Committee

Sumter County

Lee Newman is from Sumter County and has served on the ArborOne Farm Credit Board since 2008. He was re-elected in 2020 for a six year term. He also serves as Chairman of the Compensation Committee and as a member of the Credit Committee. Mr. Newman has been farming for over 36 years, and his operation includes tobacco, corn, soybeans, cotton, peanuts, and turkey brooder and grow-out houses for Prestage Farms. Mr. Newman serves as a board member for Sumter County Farm Bureau, is a member of the Sumter County Young Farmers, and serves on the Sumter County Soil and Water Conservation Board. Mr. Newman and his wife, Tina, attend Zoar United Methodist Church in Sumter.

Kyle W. Daniel

Georgetown/Williamsburg County

Kyle Daniel is from Georgetown County. He was elected in 2021 for a six year term and serves on the Audit committee. Mr. Daniel grew up on the family farm located in Hemingway, South Carolina, and farmed it for 20 years. The operation included cotton, corn, soybeans, and tobacco. He currently manages the family’s 1,105 acres of timberland in Georgetown and Williamsburg Counties. Mr. Daniel serves on the Advisory Board for the Carvers Bay Chapter of the Future Farmers of America. He is also a member of the Georgetown Soil and Water Conservation, SC Forestry Association, SC Landowners Association, and SC Farm Bureau. Mr. Daniel began his career as a Compliance Investigator for the Risk Management Association, and recently retired as the County Executive Director (CED) of the Georgetown County Farm Service Agency (FSA) after 33 years of service. During that time he also served as the CED in Williamsburg and Greenville Counties, as well as the Acting CED in Horry, Charleston, and Berkeley Counties. Mr. Daniel and his wife, Jodi are members of Hemingway First Baptist Church.

Harry B. DuRant

Member, Credit Committee; Member, Governance Committee

Clarendon County

Harry DuRant is from Clarendon County and has served on the ArborOne Farm Credit Board since 1997. He was most recently re-elected in 2016 for a six year term. He serves as a member of the Governance Committee and the Credit Committee. Mr. DuRant has been farming since his graduation from Clemson University in 1979. Mr. DuRant and his brother operate Double D Farms, where his operation includes corn, soybeans, peanuts, cotton and vegetables including bell peppers and broccoli. Mr. DuRant and his wife, Kim, attend New Harmony Presbyterian Church where he is an elder.

John Lay, Appointed Director

Chairman, Credit Committee; Member, Governance Committee

John Lay began serving on the ArborOne Farm Credit Board in 2017. His first term expires in 2023. He currently serves as Chairman of the Credit Committee and as a member of the Governance Committee. Mr. Lay is a 1979 graduate of Clemson University. He retired from his position as Vice President and Treasurer of AgFirst Farm Credit Bank in 2016 after nearly 34 years of service. During his career at AgFirst, Mr. Lay also chaired the AgFirst Asset/Liability Management Committee, served as a member of the Disclosure and Operations Committees and served on the board of directors of AgFirst Federal Credit Union. Mr. Lay and his wife, Beth, reside in Richland County.

Whit Player

Chairman, Governance Committee; Member, Credit Committee

Lee County

Whit Player is from Lee County and has served on the ArborOne Farm Credit Board since 2011. He was most recently re-elected in 2017 for a six year term. He serves as Chairman of the Governance Committee and as a member of the Audit Committee. A graduate of Clemson University, Mr. Player has been farming for 30 years. His operation consists of cotton, corn, peanuts and sunflowers, along with eight turkey grow-out houses for Prestage Farms and a small amount of acreage in the Conservation Reserve Program. In addition to farming, Mr. Player is a Forestry Technician with the South Carolina Forestry Commission and the President of St. Charles Gin Company. Whit and his wife, Beth, have four children and are members of First Presbyterian Church.

James (Mickey) Ward

Member, Compensation Committee; Member, Credit Committee

Florence County

Mickey Ward is from Florence County. He has served on the ArborOne Farm Credit Board since 1998 and as chairman for 11 years. As chairman, he also served on all board Committees. He is currently a member of the Audit Committee and Compensation Committee. Mr. Ward was most recently re-elected in 2018 and his term expires in 2024. Mr. Ward has been farming for over 45 years, and his operation includes timber, cotton, corn, and soybeans. He previously served on the Southern States Advisory Board, FSA Committee, and Tobacco Marketing Review Board. Mr. Ward and his wife, Barbara, are members of Palmetto Street Church of God in Florence.

Kelly Wiseman, Appointed Director

Chairman, Audit Committee; Member, Compensation Committee

Kelly Wiseman is from Greenwood County, and has served on the ArborOne Farm Credit Board since 2007. Her current term will expire in 2025. She currently serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee and as a member of the Compensation Committee. Mrs. Wiseman graduated from Auburn University in 1991 with a B.S. in Accounting. She worked in public accounting for fifteen years focusing on banking, mortgage banking and Farm Credit institutions in the southeast. Mrs. Wiseman and her husband, John, reside in Greenwood with their two children.