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, Jr.

Chairman

Marion County

DuPree Atkinson is from Marion County and has served on the ArborOne Farm Credit Board since 1999. Mr. Atkinson 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 47 years, and his operation includes tobacco, corn, peanuts, small grain, 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. They have two sons, Daniel and Will Atkinson.

John (Lee) Newman

Vice Chairman

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 Audit and Governance Committees. He previously served as a member of the Credit Committee. Mr. Newman has been farming for nearly 40 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 as Commissioner of the Sumter County Soil and Water Conservation Board. Mr. Newman and his wife, Tina, attend Zoar United Methodist Church in Sumter.

Steven (Neal) Baxley, Jr.

Marion County

Neal Baxley is a native of Marion County. He was elected to the ArborOne Farm Credit Board in 2024 for a six-year term. He serves as a member of the Credit Committee. Mr. Baxley is a graduate of The Citadel, and a 7th generation farmer. He has been farming full-time for 25 years. The operation includes corn, cotton, peanuts, soybeans, tobacco, cover crops, and beef cattle, along with hogs grown for Smithfield Foods. Mr. Baxley has been a member of the National Peanut Board for 9 years and currently serves on the Executive Committee as Treasurer. He is a member of the South Carolina Peanut Board, the South Carolina Pork Board, the Marion County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, and the Pee Dee Academy Board of Directors. Mr. Baxley is a member of Mullins Presbyterian Church where he serves as an Elder. He is married to Amanda, and they have three children, Madison, Myra, and Magnolia.

Kyle W. Daniel

Georgetown County

Kyle Daniel is from Georgetown County. Kyle was elected in 2021 for a six-year term and serves as a member of the Audit Committee and Governance 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 is a graduate of Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy. He currently manages the family’s 1,338 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 was recently appointed to the South Carolina Extension Advancement Council. Mr. Daniel is also a member of the Georgetown Soil and Water Conservation District, SC Forestry Association, SC Landowners Association, and SC Farm Bureau. Mr. Daniel recently retired as the County Executive Director (CED) of the Georgetown County Farm Service Agency (FSA) after 36 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

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 2022 for a six-year term. He serves as chairman of the Governance Committee and a member of the Credit Committee. He previously served as Chairman of the Compensation 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 and soybeans. Mr. DuRant and his wife, Kim, attend New Harmony Presbyterian Church where he is an elder.

John Lay

Appointed Director

John Lay began serving on the ArborOne Farm Credit Board in 2017 and was re-appointed for a second term in January 2023. His term expires in 2029. 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 with a degree in finance. 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, Mr. Lay chaired the Asset / Liability Management Committee and served on numerous Farm Credit workgroups and committees at the bank, regional and national levels. Workgroup and committee topics included the Farm Credit System Treasurer’s Workgroup (multi-year chair), Farm Credit System capital regulations, data security, technology initiatives, financial performance, financial reporting and risk management. He also served on the board of directors of an employee credit union for 22 years and was elected board Treasurer for the majority of those years. Mr. Lay and his wife, Beth, reside in Richland County.

J. Whit Player

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 2023 for a six-year term. He serves as a member of the Compensation Committee and Audit Committee. He previously served as Chairman of the Governance Committee and as a member of the Credit Committee. Mr. Player currently serves as a director on the AgFirst Farm Credit Bank Board. A graduate of Clemson University, he has been farming for 35 years. His operation consists of cotton, corn, peanuts, soybeans, and sunflowers, along with 12 turkey grow-out houses for Prestage Farms. Mr. Player serves as a board member of Carolina Cotton Growers Cooperative. In addition to farming, Mr. Player is a Forestry Technician with the South Carolina Forestry Commission and part owner of St. Charles Gin Company. Whit and his wife, Beth, have four children and are members of First Presbyterian Church.

Kelly Wiseman

Appointed Director

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.

Leadership

Local Decision Makers

William (DuPree) Atkinson, Jr.

John (Lee) Newman

Steven (Neal) Baxley, Jr.

Kyle W. Daniel

Harry B. DuRant

John Lay

J. Whit Player

Kelly Wiseman

Board of Director Charters