By Stanley O. Williford
Director of Publications
It was a hardscrabble early life for CCC executive board member Arnetta Tolley, but as a teen she learned quickly the importance of money.
In her tenth year, disaster struck. Her father, Roy Vann, a mortician, developed a problem with his arteries, followed by multiple sclerosis and passed away at 37.
He left his 36-year-old wife, Bennie Lee Vann, and their ten children without a provider.
“As a child, I experienced the excitement of having a new dress at Easter maybe two or three times in my childhood. Aside from that, I received hand-me-downs from my older sisters,” Arnetta recalled, revealing the kind of financial challenges that the family underwent early on.
“With six sisters and three brothers, sharing was par for the course,” she said.
In the wake of her father’s passing, her mother, who “had never worked on a job a day in her life,” was left to hold the family together. Unable to pay the rent, the Vann family was evicted, forcibly separated and the children put in foster homes.
“The separation had a traumatic effect on all of us, my mother in particular,” Arnetta said. “My eldest sister, Lorrestine, who was 18 at the time, was employed at General Motors.”
When Lorrestine’s co-workers learned of the family’s hardship, said Arnetta, “they literally passed the hat and raised enough money to rent a house. Through her efforts and ingenuity, she was able to get us out of foster homes and back together as a family in our new home.”
Still the strain of a broken home had taken its toll on the family. Because of the breakup, Arnetta said she made this vow: “I will never see my family forcibly separated again.”
The family went through some very difficult times, she said. But Arnetta had an epiphany early on. She learned the importance of money involved in holding a family together.
Arnetta at 12 began baby-sitting, making $25 a week, which helped with the purchase of school clothes and in assisting her mother with groceries. She also helped her mom get support from the county.
“Of course, the other siblings pitched in, as well,” she said.
“Lorrestine had recently accepted Jesus as her personal savior and lord, and soon after reuniting our family, she led me to the Lord. “At the age of 12, I also accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior and Lord at Christ Memorial Church of God in Christ. I immediately became active in the church – singing in the choir, working as an usher and later became the church secretary.”
Among the things that had the greatest impact on young Arnetta were the times when she accompanied her mother to the bank.
“When we went to the bank I was in awe,” she said. “Every time my mother went to cash her county checks, she got money. The bank brought up good memories for me. As a child, that impacted me in a very positive way. It inspired me to want to become a banker.”
“I learned at that point that it was important to have money. It was a negative [the family’s hardship] that was turned into a positive. It birthed a drive in me to excel.”
“I knew I didn’t want to see my family separated again. That coupled with the bank experience inspired me to go into banking. I became a teller for Wells Fargo at age 17, working four hours a day.
“I did this to help support my mother. She was my why for everything I did, including wanting to excel in my professional career. It drove me. I developed a very ambitious attitude. I held virtually every position in the retail branch system before being promoted to management.
I became vice president and branch manager of the Azusa office at age 28. I was ultimately promoted to vice president and manager of the Los Angeles Main office, which was the Southern California headquarters of Wells Fargo bank and the largest branch in the region.
“From there I became vice president for community development of the Southern California region, and from there I was recruited by Edward Jones Investments. They told me about the opportunity to become a partner in the firm. “I ultimately took them up on the opportunity and opened the office in Pasadena in 1997 as a financial adviser. I became a limited partner in 2007. Today, it’s one of the fastest growing brokerage firms in the securities industry.
Along the way, Arnetta completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Redlands and her postgraduate work at the USC Marshall School of Business.
Despite the hardships the family has undergone, she exults in the fact that all her siblings are well off spiritually – and financially.
“As a family, we were able to give my mom what she long desired – a home of her own. We bought her a five-bedroom, four-bath home in West Covina,” she said.
Of the ten Vann siblings, eight are left: five sisters and two brothers.
“They are all Christians and doing well,” Arnetta says proudly. A sister, Ellen Jones, is a member at CCC, and two other sisters – Susie and Lorrestine – attend West Angeles Church of God in Christ. A third sister, Detria, attends Antelope Valley Christian Center in Lancaster, where Tom Pickens is senior pastor.
The fourth sister, Regina, attends Spirit of Faith Christian Center, where Dr. Michael Freeman is pastor of churches in both Prince George’s County and in Howard County, Maryland.
