Jeanna Casebeer’s roots run deep in Elk City. Over the years, each generation of her family has established a business, family, and fulfilling life. Casebeer, now the internal auditor at First National Bank & Trust of Elk City, found her own path and love for accounting and business by watching her parents’ entrepreneurial endeavors during her childhood. After her high school accounting teacher, Mrs. Beverly Jordan, made numbers surprisingly thrilling, Casebeer pursued, what she called, an exemplary accounting education from Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU).
Casebeer’s parents owned Midwest Farm Supply in the town of approximately 12,000 people, supporting local agricultural and oil and gas business owners. Watching her parents run their business had a profound impact on Casebeer.
“I found it interesting to learn what made this business work from a financial standpoint. I learned that each decision my parents made had a direct impact on every aspect of the business, and I loved watching them work together to ensure that their company would succeed,” Casebeer said.
When it was time for Casebeer to pick a career path the choice of what and where was a no-brainer.
“Southwestern was close to home and has a great reputation,” she said.
However, the benefits of attending a rural, regional university were not totally apparent to Casebeer until she began studying at Southwestern Oklahoma State University as an accounting major and finance minor.
“Mastering those subjects was easy with the help I received from my professors at Southwestern,” she said. “It takes a lot of effort to succeed, and if you have a mentor in the field to guide you, or professors who take the time to explain things to you, it plays a crucial role in your success.”
For Casebeer, those professors were Gary Page, Melody Ashenfelter, and Glenna Lundy, who all were key to unlocking the concepts of accounting.
Casebeer said that SWOSU’s small classroom size, devoted faculty, and close community, meant she never had a question go unanswered and had guidance on subjects from how to prepare for her college exams, to how to graduate on time and debt free.
The fact that SWOSU’s tuition and fees are far less than those at other major four-year universities in Oklahoma helped Casebeer, as did the work-study program she had access to. While pursuing her bachelor’s degree Casebeer worked at Big Cheese Pizza in Weatherford where she met
her now husband, Kevin, who also attended SWOSU.
After graduation, Jeanna moved to Oklahoma City and worked as a staff accountant for Wilsey Meyer. There she was involved in income tax preparation and auditing. Her love of auditing drove her to a new job in the internal audit department at Fleming Companies’ corporate headquarters.
When Jeanna and Kevin wanted to start a family, they decided the best place to do that was in a small town. They chose to move back to Elk City where Jeanna helped her parents with their business while Kevin and Jeanna’s brother started their own. Casebeer’s background enabled her to manage the accounting aspects of both businesses and eventually join the team at First National Bank & Trust of Elk City.
Jeanna Casebeer with her husband, Kevin, and their two children in Elk City.
Casebeer is proud to call Elk City home, First National Bank & Trust of Elk City her employer, and Southwestern Oklahoma State University her alma mater.