James Myatt
Family: Wife, Gwen; and son, Jordan, 19
Hometown: Batavia, Ark.
Town Life: “I have been market president of the Berryville Cornerstone Bank for eight years. I began here as an agriculture and commercial lender when the branch just opened but became president when the past president retired. God gave me the ability to read and understand numbers with an analytical mind but an agriculture heart. Here I get to put both together. Other previous positions include working for the Arkansas State Bank Department regulatory arm for Arkansas Chartered Banks and at another time purchasing the John Deere dealership in Harrison. I am civically active and am the outgoing president of the Berryville Chamber of Commerce and an appointee to an Arkansas commission that provides grants for different entities such as rural fire departments, county fairs and community centers. I am also the finance chairman at the First United Methodist Church. My wife Gwen has worked for Acxiom, a data management company, for 20 years and is currently the customer service manager on a remote basis. She is also on the Wesley Board, which connects college students to on campus ministries. Our son Jordan, a criminal justice major at the University of Arkansas, likes helping us but prefers Razorback games and being the resistance assistant at the Wesley House.”
Country life: “Gwen and I have an 11-acre farm in Batavia only five minutes from town but with a rural atmosphere. We raise Dorper and Dorper /Katahdin cross meat sheep because they do not require shearing and have natural parasite and heat resistance. We have 16 females and ram. The sheep are our pets like in the Bible and they recognize their names. These sheep are therapy for both of us. In the mornings we count the number of feet and divide by four and after work we water and feed with Powell Sheep and Goat Mix which helps keep them tame but also keeps our rescue donkey named Donkey happy, important because Donkey keeps persistent predators away. However, Nutter Butters are the ticket to the best cooperation from everybody. We also feed Bermuda/orchard grass hay because it is easier to digest and they clean it up better especially since we feed out of a manger that is above their heads so they have to reach up to feed. We sell our lambs at the Harrison sale barn during their all breed goat and sheep sale on the third Friday of every month.
