Billy P. Atkins

Billy P. Atkins, chairman and CEO of Legends Bank, has spent more than 56 years in the banking industry. While still a student at Montgomery Central High School, he was hired by Northern Bank of Tennessee, and he went on to work with that institution for the next 28 years, being elevated to Senior Vice President and member of its Board of Directors, before seeing it sold to First American in Nashville. In 1998, when First American was going to merge with a larger institution, Atkins founded Legends Bank in Clarksville.

As a longtime Montgomery County resident, Atkins has dedicated himself to improving his community. He helped found the Economic Development Council, and as a member of the Industrial Development Board of Montgomery County, he has helped bring major employers, such as Hankook, to the Clarksville area. He also served as president of the Clarksville Chamber of Commerce, and he received that organization’s lifetime achievement award. In 1996 the Tennessee Bankers Association named Atkins a Leader of Banking Excellence

Atkins graduated from Louisiana State University’s Graduate School of Banking of the South in 1977, and over the years he has become a strong supporter of Austin Peay State University. He is a member of the APSU Foundation—an organization chartered by the state to financially support the University—and he served as the foundation’s president in 1996. Atkins is a former chair of Austin Peay’s Capital Campaign, and he is a member of several University organizations, including the Tower Club, the Govs Club and the Red Coat Society. Atkins also serves on the State of Tennessee Foundation Board for Tennessee Homeland Security and the Department of Safety.