Portrait of a Gentleman Banker By Jack Criss  •  Photography by Jamie Patterson As President of BankPlus in Yazoo City, John Murry Greenlee exemplifies the best of a traditional banker. A self-described true “people person,” Greenlee could be considered old-fashioned in that he puts the customer first at all times and believes that relationships—especially in the banking world—constitute the most important part of his job and his employees. Greenlee was born in 1973 to John Thomas and Merrill Greenlee and reared in Greenville. His father recently retired from farming after 50-plus years and his mother is the interim Executive Director of the National Association of Junior Auxiliaries, a position she held for eighteen years before retiring several years ago.  Greenlee attended Washington School while growing up in Greenville—along with his only sibling, brother Warren, who is now an attorney—before proceeding to Mississippi State where many in his family had attended. “My grandfather, Murry Alexander, played and lettered in football back in the 1940s for MSU before returning home to farm,” he says, “so not only are we fifth-generation farmers but also fourth generation Bulldogs.” Greenlee majored in Ag Business while at Mississippi State where he was a Kappa Sig fraternity member. “All I had known my entire life was farming and that’s exactly what I planned on doing for my life’s work,” says Greenlee. “So, after graduating from State in 1995, I moved back to Greenville and lived with a few guys in a ‘bachelor pad’ and continued farming full-time for three years. It was during this time that I met my wife—the former Amanda Link—who was a Delta State grad. “We were introduced by my good friend, Harper Ross, who still lives in the Greenville/Leland area.” “Although I loved farming, I had always had a burning desire to go chart my own path in some sort of sales-oriented job due to my love for dealing with people. I knew the natural fit was in some sort of agricultural sales roll such as chemical or seed sales.” Greenlee interviewed for a job at Delta and Pine Land with Randy Dismuke in Scott. “He offered me an intern position which I