Employee Spotlight

Jeff Harris, Senior Vice President of Lending/Branch Executive| SouthStar Bank Kerrville A member of the SouthStar Bank family, Jeff Harris works at the Kerrville Branch as SVP and Branch Executive. He enjoys helping people and seeing them obtain their goal of home ownership. Jeff prides himself on the relationships he builds with his clients. While they start as regular bank customers, by the end of the lending process, Jeff views everyone as a friend. Before joining the banking industry, Jeff served in the United States Marine Corp. for six years, achieving the rank of Sergeant. Jeff has a passion for helping his fellow veterans achieve their financial goals. Helping a veteran buy their forever home is Jeff’s favorite part of his job. In the Kerrville community, Jeff holds leadership roles with multiple organizations that work to help veterans. This list includes his appointment by the County Judge to the County Veterans Advisory Council, Together with Hill Country Veterans and The Hill Country Gala. Beyond his work with local veterans, Jeff is also the current President of the Rotary Club of Kerrville, Vice President of the Hill Country Crisis Council, Commissioner with the city’s Planning & Zoning Committee, and a Deacon at First Presbyterian Church. Marrying his wife is Jeff’s highest personal achievement. Together they enjoy fishing and traveling. They have a tradition of going to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, every year to celebrate their anniversary. He hopes to one-day cross cage diving with Great White Sharks off his bucket list while in Mexico. If Jeff could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, he would go back to his Marine Corps. past and meet General Lewis “Chesty” Puller. Jeff Harris NMLS# 1678994

Faith Shrader, Personal Banker | SouthStar Bank Southwest Austin Faith Shrader is a Personal Banker at our SouthStar Bank Southwest Austin Branch. She joined the team in 2021 and has quickly become an integral member of the operations team. “Getting to know and assist all of our wonderful customers is the best part of my job,” she says. When she’s not at work, Faith volunteers with Solid Ground, a ministry that provides showers, laundry, clothing, and haircuts to the homeless community. A unique fact about Faith is that she is a licensed cosmetologist and did hair professionally for six years before joining the SouthStar team. Some of her other favorite past times include spending time with family, reading, and traveling.

Estefania Torres, Personal Banker | SouthStar Bank Hearne Estefania Torres is a Personal Banker positioned out of SouthStar Bank’s Hearne branch. Estefania has been with the team for a little over a year and enjoys continually learning something new about her role every day. As one of SouthStar Bank’s bilingual team members, Estefania has been essential in building lasting relationships with all of the bank’s customers. When Estefania isn’t working, you will find her shopping with her family, journaling, and listening to music. The number one item on her bucket list is to one day visit her grandparents in Mexico.

Donny Lehmann, Vice President of Lending | SouthStar Bank Kerrville Donny Lehmann joined the SouthStar Bank Kerrville team in October 2021 during the acquisition of Community First National Bank. After 20 years in banking, Donny knows that no two loans are alike. He views every new customer as an individual and works to find the unique loan solution that fits their specific needs. Walking homebuyers through the process and eventually assisting them with fulfilling their homeownership goals is Donny’s favorite thing about lending. Maintaining an active role in the community, Donny is involved with the Kerrville Board of Realtors, the Kerrville Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of First United Methodist Church. He is also active in his kids’ extracurricular activities specifically the Golf and Drill teams. Donny enjoys hunting, golfing, fishing, watching the Dallas Cowboys, and spending time with his family. A surprising fact about Donny is that he really enjoys cooking and his favorite food to make is BBQ. His favorite vacation that he has taken was to the French Quarter in New Orleans because of the food and atmosphere. Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender | NMLS# 428594

Deanna Ellison, Loan Operations Processor | SouthStar Bank Calvert Deanna Ellison is a Loan Operations Processor at our Calvert location. In 2017, she graduated from Sam Houston State University with her Bachelors in Business Administration. One of Deanna’s favorite things about her role is getting to interact with her co-workers. A career highlight for Deanna was the amount of non-real estate loans that she booked in 2021. Deanna and her family enjoy sports, fishing, and taking advantage of the outdoors whenever possible. One of their favorite activities is taking care of the family animals. Currently, they own, one dog, Brahman cattle, two horses, chickens, and ducks. One of her kids’ favorite hobbies is collecting all of the different colored eggs, as of recent, they had collected blue, green, white, and brown eggs. Deanna also loves to spend time in her garden. Her favorite things to grow are cucumbers for canning and sunflowers which is her favorite flower.

David Kapavik, Chief Executive Officer/President | SouthStar Bank Moulton The leader of the SouthStar Bank team, David Kapavik, offices out of the Moulton Branch as President and Chief Executive Officer. David is an alumnus of Southwest Texas State University, where he received his MBA. He has worked in the banking industry for the last 34 years, spending the first seven years working as a bank examiner. In 1995, David joined the bank under its former name of First State Bank of Moulton/ Lone Star Bank as President. Following the 2015 merger of Lone Star, Texas Star, and First Star banks, David was selected to continue his role of President and CEO for the newly unified SouthStar Bank. In his position, he enjoys interacting with team members and helping develop new ideas and niche products into successes. It makes him proud to lead a team that has grown a small community bank that once held only $23 million in assets to where it is today at $1.2 billion in total assets. David is a member of multiple professional organizations, including Independent Bankers Association, Texas Bankers Association, Federal Home Loan Bank, and BCL of Texas. In his community, he has served on the stock show board and was a member of the school advisory committee for Shiner Catholic School. An active member of Sts. Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church, David currently sits on the Finance Council and serves as a Eucharistic Minister. One of David’s many loves in life is nature. He enjoys hunting, fishing, raising cattle, developing ranches, and improving the land for all to enjoy. He credits his agricultural experience as one of the main drivers in his career. To this day, he operates a ranch that raises Wagyu and Brangus cattle. A second passion of David’s is traveling and seeing global landscapes. His favorite destination that he has traveled to is the beautiful country of Greece. The number one item on David’s bucket list is to continue his travels with his wife and their three children. David Kapavik NMLS#627916

Clayton Swift, Junior Credit Analyst | SouthStar Bank Loan Administration Building Clayton Swift is a Junior Credit Analyst located out of the SouthStar Bank Loan Administration Building in Leander. Clayton joined the team during the height of the Paycheck Protection Program in May 2020 as a Lending Intern. After the completion of his internship, he was promoted to a full-time Personal Banker role in the Leander branch. He was eventually promoted to his current position, where he works on spreading financial statements and doing basic underwriting of loan packages. Clayton’s favorite thing about working in the banking industry is getting to work with and assist small businesses. “I am most proud of my time spent helping our various PPP customers through the process,” he says. “It helped grow my passion for helping the local businesses that make up our communities.” Outside of the bank, Clayton volunteers with the Austin Wildlife Rescue. The non-profit is committed to helping save orphaned and injured wildlife. They also work to educate the public on how to coexist with Central Texas wildlife. Clayton enjoys spending his free time with his fiancée. Claytons’ hobbies include hiking, fishing, birding, and kayaking. A fan of travel, Clayton’s favorite place he has visited is Rocky Mountain National Park where he proposed.

Claudia Gonzales, Personal Banker | SouthStar Bank Kerrville Claudia Gonzales has been in the banking industry for the last four years. She currently serves as a Personal Banker, based in the SouthStar Bank Kerrville location. One of Claudia’s biggest professional accomplishments was when she won the 2021 Best Teller award in the Best of Kerrville awards. “I always try to leave my customers happy and super satisfied. Knowing that they have had that positive experience enough times to vote for me makes me proud,” she says. Helping her customers is one of Claudia’s favorite things about her job. Getting to listen to their unique stories and assist with their banking needs always makes Claudia’s day. In her time away from work, Claudia enjoys spending time with her family and fur babies. One of her favorite hobbies is catching up on the latest movies and television series. She particularly enjoys watching features that involve paranormal activity. If Claudia could meet one person dead or alive she would choose her favorite actor, Gary Oldman.

Christine McGinnis, Senior Mortgage Processor | SouthStar Bank Leander Christine McGinnis has worked in the banking and finance industry for over six years. With SouthStar Bank for the last year and a half, Christine quickly made an impact as a Senior Mortgage Processor. In her first full year with the bank, she was recognized by the executive team for her hard work and dedication and was awarded the Rising Star award for the support lending team. Christine’s favorite part about her job is building relationships with and helping customers through the loan process. In her community, Christine is a member of Bulverde United Methodist Church. When she is not at work, Christine enjoys walking, playing with her dog Milo, traveling, and spending time with her family. Christine’s favorite destination that she has traveled to are the four major Hawaiian islands. Each island’s uniqueness and beauty made the trip extra special. An interesting fact about Christine is that she loves riding roller coasters! A Harry Potter fan, her favorite rollercoaster is Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure at the Universal Studios Theme Parks in Orlando, Florida. NMLS# 2026848

Cecilia Ramos Vazquez, Personal Banker | SouthStar Bank Gonzales Cecilia Ramos Vazquez is a Personal Banker at our SouthStar Bank Gonzales Branch. She joined the team in 2021 and has quickly slid in as one of the family. In her short time with the bank, Cecilia has most enjoyed learning about the banking industry as a whole. When she’s not at work, Cecilia enjoys going dancing, doing yoga, and spending time with her nieces. One of her favorite pastimes is using her sewing machine to tailor her clothing. A lover of art, if she had the choice to meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, Cecilia would choose Frida Kahlo so that she could discuss the inspiration behind some of her most controversial pieces.