30 Dec 2023 Five-Oh-Ones to Watch 2024: Alexander Baney, Malvern National Bank

Everywhere you look, Alexander Baney is hard at work making Conway a better place to live, work and raise a family.

From his emphasis on giving teachers the tools they need to succeed, to his advocacy for children in the community, it’s easy to see why Baney is a Five-Oh-One to Watch.

By day, he serves as a commercial loan officer for Malvern National Bank, where he has worked as a lender since 2018. The son of two bankers, forming relationships comes easily for the Conway native, allowing him to give back to his community in a multitude of ways.

“My daily routine involves building new relationships with different members of our Faulkner and Pulaski County communities,” Baney said.

In 2023, he became board president for Children’s Advocacy Alliance, which oversees the management of the Court Appointed Special Advocates program as well as the Children’s Advocacy Center in Conway.

“The children of Central Arkansas are our future,” Baney said. “By giving them a safe space to tell their stories and help put them back together with their parents and families or walking them through the foster care system, we help give a voice to children who have been abused or neglected. Going forward, if our community is to thrive, we must invest in our children and give them the best possible future we can.”

Recently, he was named president of the Conway Public Schools Foundation Board of Directors. In his new role, he aims to empower educators and elevate student experience. For the past two years, he has served as chair of the foundation’s Classroom Impact Grants program, helping teachers put thousands of dollars back into their classrooms. “As a former student of Conway Public Schools who also has two sisters who are teachers, I have a heart for the teachers in this district,” Baney said. 

“Serving as chair of the grants program, I quickly fell in love with the foundation’s mission of helping teachers and giving them the ability to bring new educational experiences and opportunities into their classroom through grants.”

A positive voice for the foundation, Baney’s experience as a banker has been essential to the organization’s ability to serve its teachers and students.

“One of our biggest accomplishments has been the growth of our grants cycle through the foundation,” he said “The amount continues to increase, and I’m excited to see where we land this year. More teachers are applying each year, and I am hoping to be able to give out an additional ^$40,000 this year. That is our goal.

“Some of my goals as president will be to increase our awareness and our endowment size,” he said. 

No matter how much Conway continues to grow, Baney believes in cherishing the characteristics that make the 501 wonderful.

“Despite the amount of growth and expansion the 501 has seen in the past 20 years, it still feels like a small community of people looking out for you,” Baney said. “That’s the secret. The growth we’ve experienced, combined with the tight-knit community we’ve managed to keep along the way, is what makes this community so special.”