TUPELO, Miss., Oct. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BancorpSouth, Inc. , announced today that Markham R. McKnight, of Baton Rouge, La., and president of BancorpSouth Insurance Services, Inc.; is the 2009 chairman of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers.
McKnight, head of BancorpSouth Insurance Services since 2005, was elected chairman during a general membership meeting held in conjunction with the 95th annual Insurance Leadership Forum. The ILF is the premier networking event for the commercial insurance industry.
"This is truly an honor for Markham McKnight as well as BancorpSouth," said Aubrey Patterson, Chairman and CEO of BancorpSouth, Inc. "Markham's election to this prestigious position indicates the kind of leadership he exhibits each and every day for BancorpSouth Insurance Services."
"This comes as no surprise to those of us who work closely with Markham," added James Threadgill, BancorpSouth Vice Chairman, who has corporate responsibility for BancorpSouth insurance operations. "Markham has been instrumental in the continued growth of our insurance efforts here at BancorpSouth."
McKnight took office at the conclusion of the conference succeeding George A. (Shad) Steadman III, president and COO of Rutherfoord of Roanoke, Va.
McKnight has been a leading commercial insurance executive for nearly three decades. He was executive vice president of Wright & Percy Insurance, Louisiana's oldest and largest insurance agency, from 1982-1994, and president and CEO of Wright & Percy Insurance from 1994 to 2005. BancorpSouth Bank, a subsidiary of BancorpSouth, Inc., acquired Wright & Percy in 2003.
A graduate of Louisiana State University, McKnight is treasurer of the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association and a member of the board of directors of the American Bankers Insurance Association.
As chairman of The Council, McKnight leads a team of officers including Vice Chairman H. Wade Reece, president of BB&T Insurance Services of Raleigh, N.C.; Treasurer James R. Pender, honorary chairman of the board of Oswald Companies in Cleveland, Ohio, and chairman emeritus of Oswald, Trippe & Company in Florida; and Secretary David E. McGurn, Jr., president, special marketing and international division, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Itasca, Ill.
BancorpSouth is a $13.4 billion-asset bank holding company. The company operates approximately 300 banking and mortgage locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas. In addition to providing traditional banking services, credit cards, mortgages, trust and fiduciary services, the company provides investment services through its subsidiary BancorpSouth Investment Services, Inc., and insurance services through its subsidiary BancorpSouth Insurance Services, Inc. BancorpSouth's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol BXS.
