Our Board

High Plains Bank is a family and employee owned community bank. So the fact that eight of the eleven members of our Board of Directors are part of the Creighton family tree comes as no surprise. Ed and Gail are both long-time senior level employees and Debbie balances us out with her deep banking roots and work with the Federal Reserve.

Ann Creighton

Ann is a newer member of the board, joining her brother Tom, sister Winifred and twin sister Virginia in 2019. Ann grew up in Denver, has a B.S. in Geology from Yale University, and a M.S. in Geology from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Following a brief career in the health insurance and employee benefits fields, Ann was a stay-at-home mom for her two children, one with multiple disabilities. Ann was the primary manager of her son’s complex needs and advocate for his future care. He is now in supported living in a nearby group home.

Ann lives in Washington state with her husband, where she enjoys having mountains both to the west (Cascades) and the east (Olympics). She stays busy with year-round competitive rowing, and is a board member with the Sammamish Rowing Association in Redmond, WA.

John Creighton

303-776-2265 ext. 422

johncreighton@highplainsbank.com

John works out of our Longmont location and enjoys frequent visits to our surrounding branch locations. He serves on the boards of the Longmont Downtown Development Authority, the Education Foundation for the St. Vrain Valley, and the Imagine! Foundation. He is past president of the St. Vrain Valley Board of Education. John and his wife, Joni, have called Longmont home since 2001, where they raised their children Emma, Joe and Ada Grace - all of whom are proud Jayhawks. John is a graduate of Kansas University and Harvard's Kennedy School.

Joni Creighton

Joni has served on the High Plains Bank board of directors for two tenures and a combined ten years. Joni has worked for 25-plus years as a registered nurse. She began her career in Silver Spring, Maryland working with AIDS patients. She has also worked in drug research and is now a school district nurse for St. Vrain Valley Schools. Joni earned her nursing degree at the University of Maryland following several years at Kansas State University - which balances out all the Jayhawks in her family. Joni and her husband, John, raised their three children, Emma, Joseph and Ada Grace in Longmont, Colorado.

Sam Creighton

303-776-2265 ext. 429

sam@highplainsbank.com

Sam is a Colorado native and he completed his undergraduate degree in Durango. For almost 25 years, Sam worked at the Texas-based Bohannon Development Corporation, a company that designed, built and managed large apartment complexes. In 2019, Sam and his wife Danye moved to Longmont so he could join the HPB team as Chief Administrative Officer.

Sam enjoys running, cycling and looks forward to getting back into skiing and trying snow shoeing.

Tim Creighton

Tim is one of Alex Creighton’s six grandsons and has been a member of the High Plains Bank Board or Holding Company Board for over 30 years. He has a Chemistry degree and a teaching certificate in Math and Science from the University of Colorado.

Tim worked as a customer service representative in the Longmont branch and brings a variety of non-banking experience to the board. He was an analytical chemist for 15 years and worked for Celestial Seasonings, Rudi’s Organic Bakery, a car dealership, and a collection agency. He also taught math and science and was a very successful “cookie dad” for his daughter's Girl Scout Troop.

Tim and his wife Nancy have two children who both attended CU. Tim and Nancy moved to San Francisco in 2018 to spend time with grandchildren. Even in San Francisco, Tim remains a diehard Broncos fan and comes close to dying every time he rides his bike in the city.

Tom Creighton

Chairman of the Board

Tom Creighton is an economist, with undergraduate and graduate degrees from Yale University. He is Chairman of the Board (non-executive) of High Plains Bank. Tom is Alex Creighton’s grandson. Alex joined Flagler State Bank in 1920 and the name of the bank was changed to The First National Bank of Flagler and it is now known as High Plains Bank. Tom is also treasurer of Park Hill Congregational Church, Director of the Colorado Mountain Club Avalanche School, an advisor to a non-profit theater training company and a volunteer mechanic at the Park Hill Bike Depot. He is a native of Denver, and an avid skier, climber and hiker.

Debbie Meyers

Debbie is a graduate of Iowa State University, Colorado Graduate School of Banking and the Institute of Social and Emotional Intelligence. Debbie served nearly 35 years with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Denver Branch in various capacities including the Reserve Bank’s discount window operations, regulatory applications, and finally as the supervising officer over the Examinations and Inspections Department. She also served on the Town of Bennett, Colorado Planning and Zoning Commission for 10 years.

Virginia Newton

Virginia grew up in Denver, CO and attended public schools. After graduating from Yale with a B.S. in Geology, she moved to Aspen to work for Sport Obermeyer. She then worked with government and nonprofit organizations and specialized in operations. Organizations include Kids First/ City of Aspen, Roaring Fork Leadership and the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. Virginia has served on numerous non profit boards including Aspen Valley Medical Foundation, The Aspen Chapel, Compass/Aspen Community School and Colorado Rocky Mountain School. These have included roles as board chair, governance chair, and fundraising/capital campaign chair.

She and her husband Rick, also from Denver, CO, have three grown children. Virginia enjoys golf, hiking, gardening, golf, and golf.

Ed Rarick

719-765-4000 ext. 117

ed@highplainsbank.com

Ed is the Chief Credit Officer for High Plains Bank. Ed has been a part of the team for over 20 years and enjoys being able to work with his friends and neighbors. He has a degree in Agricultural Business from Colorado State University and is an alumni of the Graduate School of Banking. The most rewarding aspect of his job is using his experience with farming and business to provide customized lending solutions for our customers.

Ed has served in many different community organizations over the years. He is currently the Chairman of Prairie Development Corporation which helps low and moderate income individuals with businesses obtain financing.

Gail Stencel

970-483-7334 ext. 315

gstencel@highplainsbank.com

NMLS #580543

Gail started working for High Plains Bank in 1973 and she has a rich history with the Wiggins community. Gail is a Wiggins native and her family has farmed in the community for four generations. In addition to leading the Wiggins location, Gail enjoys working with customers to provide loans. She especially likes assisting people with the purchase of their first home or providing funding to launch a new business or expand an existing business. The staff in Wiggins has worked together for many years and Gail says they are more like family than co-workers. Come on by and say hello.

Winifred Walters

Winifred is a Colorado native, and a member of the third generation of Creightons involved in High Plains Bank. She holds degrees in economics from Colorado College and Queen Mary College (London, England). She lives in California and is retired from a second career as the community relations and fund development manager for the Oakland Public Library system serving 400,000 residents. Previously, she worked for a San Francisco corporation as a manager in regulation, human resources, and finance. Currently, she volunteers with the Friends of the Oakland Public Library and the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program.