Sam Gibson

BG Sam Gibson retired after 34 years of commissioned service with the United States Army Reserve at the rank of Brigadier General. During the course of his military career, he commanded the 431st Civil Affairs Company, North Little Rock, Arkansas, and led that unit in its deployment to Kuwait and Iraq during the first Gulf War. He later commanded the 321st Civil Affairs Brigade, headquartered at San Antonio, Texas, before being selected to command the 353rd Civil Affairs Command, headquartered in Bronx, New York. During the 353rd’s extended deployment to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1998, BG Gibson served as the Commanding General, Combined Joint Civil Military Task Force for Operation Joint Guard, the United States-led coalition Stabilization Force, where he commanded an international task force with members from seventeen allied nations. He has received numerous military awards and decorations, including the Defense Superior Service Medal, two awards of the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal. 

In addition to his military career, BG Gibson is an attorney in private practice with the Benton law firm of Gibson & Gibson, P.A. He began his legal career as an Assistant Attorney General under Joe Purcell and then private practice with the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock. Since 1972, he has conducted a general civil law practice in Benton, Arkansas, where he has assisted numerous clients with family, business, and local government issues. In 2006, he completed 15 years as the elected City Attorney for the City of Benton, Arkansas. He was elected Municipal Judge for Benton and Saline County in 1978 and served two four-year terms in that office. He has served numerous times as a Special Judge in Saline County Circuit Court, and three times as a Special Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court. He is a past member and Chairman of the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct. Over his career, he has represented numerous individuals, government bodies, and various non-profit organizations in litigation, transaction, and counseling roles. 

BG Gibson is a graduate of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, where he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant through the ROTC program in 1968 and earned degrees of Bachelor of Arts (1968) and Juris Doctor (1970). He is licensed to practice before the Arkansas Supreme Court, the United States District Courts in Arkansas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. 

He is a past vice president of the Civil Affairs Association of the United States. He is a Sustaining Member and Foundation Fellow of the Arkansas Bar Association. BG Gibson is a member of the Board of the Methodist Foundation for Arkansas and is currently serving as Chairman of that board. He is a past president of the Benton Area Chamber of Commerce, and a past president of the Saline County Bar Association. 

He and his wife, Pamela Bryan Gibson, are active members of Benton First United Methodist Church. He has two children and four grandchildren.