Florida Banking March 2023

MILTON RAY “HOPPY” COLE, JR. M. Ray “Hoppy” Cole, Jr. , currently serves as President and CEO of The First Bancshares, Inc. and The First Bank — and serves as the chairman of both Boards of Directors. Prior to joining the bank in September 2002, Cole was secretary/ treasurer and chief financial officer of the Headrick Companies, Inc., for 11 years. Cole began his career with The First National Bank of Commerce in New Orleans, Louisiana and held the position of corporate banking officer from 1985-88. In December of 1988, Cole joined Sunburst Bank in Laurel, Miss., serving as senior lender and later as president of the Laurel office. Cole graduated from the University of Mississippi where he earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Business Administration. Cole attended the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Delaware. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Mississippi Bankers Association. He is a member of Venture Church. He and his wife, Cindy, have four sons and three granddaughters and currently reside in Ellisville, Miss.

ELLEN COLE

Ellen Cole is Community Development Coordinator for The First’s Mississippi Gulf Coast branches and will celebrate a career of 65 years in banking this year. She started her career in 1957 at Merchants & Marine Bank in Pascagoula, later working for Sunburst Bank where she became the first woman bank president in Jackson County. Cole attended Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and graduated from the LSU School of Banking. In 2004, she became President of The First and opened its first branch on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Over the course of her career, she has been heavily involved in the community, serving in leadership roles for organizations including United Way of Jackson/George Counties, Jackson County Chamber, Moss Point Rotary, March of Dimes and American Heart Association, National Association of Bank Women, and Salvation Army Advisory Committee. Cole has received numerous awards over the course of

her career, including the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce Jolly McCarty Award for Leadership, recognition as a “Woman of Excellence” by the Gulf Coast Group of Financial Women, and also “Outstanding Woman of the Gulf Coast” presented by the American Bankers Association and the Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor. “All of this would not have been possible without the support of my family,” Cole said. “I have been married to M.R. Cole, Sr. for 63 years.” Cole and her husband are the proud parents of two sons, M.R. ‘Hoppy’ Cole, Jr. and Robert Alan Cole (deceased), who have blessed them with ten grandchildren. “I am grateful to the many mentors I have had throughout my career that have supported me and allowed me to spread my wings. I must also acknowledge the supportive and loyal customer base I’ve served over the years who have given me the opportunity to serve their families’ financial needs.”

WWW.FLORIDABANKERS.COM MARCH 2023 — 11