# Eric Munson Chief Deputy Treasurer at the Arkansas Office of the Treasurer of State. Email [email protected]. Signature: > Eric P. Munson > Chief Deputy Treasurer > Office of the Treasurer of State > Phone: 501.682.9100 (o) > 501.951.8837 (m) > [email protected] Munson appears in the wiki documentary record from October 4, 2024 as the operational principal coordinating Pulley's review of the Heather McKim-drafted Israel Prayer Ceremony speaking notes and as the conduit for the Treasurer's 10/7/2024 briefing request. Munson's role overlaps with Walther's final months (Walther was Treasurer through 12/31/2024) and continues into the Thurston era (Thurston was sworn in 1/1/2025). Whether Munson served as Chief Deputy under both Walther and Thurston or was newly appointed by Thurston is not definitively established by this batch, though Eric Munson's signature reflects a Thurston-era role and Kenneth Burleson and Bill Huffman appear as Walther-era Deputy Treasurers per the prior R1 wiki documentation. ## The 10/4/2024 Israel Prayer Ceremony draft routing Munson's 4:53 PM email to Pulley forwarded Heather McKim's drafted Israel Prayer Ceremony speaking notes: > Please read over and proof attached press release. Call me if any suggestions 501-951-8837 Munson sat in the routing chain between McKim (drafter), Pulley (substantive reviewer), and Walther (deliverer). The Israel Prayer Ceremony comments are documented at [[october-2024-treasurer-israel-prayer-ceremony]]. ## The 10/7/2024 Israel Bonds briefing initiation Munson emailed Robert Romanik and Steve Pulley 4:18 PM: > Rob & Steve, > The Treasurer requested a briefing or summary on Israel bonds sometime this week. He wanted to hear from you on your opinion about purchasing more Israel bonds in the future. Give me a call or I can come down and meet with you tomorrow - on Tuesday. This message is the first wiki documentation of the Treasurer's-office Israel Bonds briefing initiation. The Treasurer at the time was Larry Walther. The briefing occurred 10/8/2024 (Pulley's reply: "Sounds good"). The 10/8/2024 date matches the filename of the "Israel Internal Credit overview 10-8-24.docx" document Pulley subsequently sent McKim as a FOIA-response attachment on 12/11/2024 — Munson's briefing request therefore triggered the production of the internal credit document. Munson's framing ("his opinion about purchasing more Israel bonds in the future") indicates Walther was considering additional purchases beyond the $10M Walther had already executed in November 2023. Pulley's substantive opinion at the 10/8 briefing is not documented in this batch. ## The 12/12/2024 Lenow FOIA distribution Munson is cc'd on the Lenow 12/12/2024 FOIA exchange with Olan Reeves (Interim General Counsel), establishing the Chief Deputy Treasurer's role as a routine cc on FOIA correspondence with citizen requesters. Munson is also cc'd on Reeves's 12/13/2024 generic "We do not have any other documents" response to Lenow's iterative follow-up. ## Cross-references [[treasury-foia-r1-7-7-25]] source page [[steve-pulley]] [[robert-romanik]] Treasury investment-team principals Munson routed the 10/7/2024 briefing request to [[heather-mckim]] Treasury staff Munson routed the 10/4/2024 Israel Prayer Ceremony draft from [[olan-reeves]] Interim General Counsel Munson is cc'd alongside on FOIA correspondence [[larry-walther]] Treasurer at the time of the 10/7/2024 briefing request and the 10/4/2024 Prayer Ceremony [[john-thurston]] Treasurer from 1/1/2025; Munson's documented Chief Deputy role extends into the Thurston era [[october-2024-treasurer-israel-prayer-ceremony]] event Munson coordinated the speaking-notes review for [[kenneth-burleson]] [[bill-huffman]] Walther-era Deputy Treasurers; relationship of Munson's role to theirs not definitively documented in this batch ## Treasury R2 9-23-25 production: 5/12/2025 SBOF attendance in Bank OZK capacity The May 12, 2025 State Board of Finance meeting minutes document Munson as attending in his Bank OZK capacity rather than in his Treasurer's-office capacity. The minutes list "Eric Munson from Bank OZK" within the "Others present" section alongside DFA, EBD, and TSS staff: > Others present were staff from the Arkansas State Treasury, Arkansas State Auditor's Office, and Employee Benefits Division. Also present were employees of the Department of Finance and Administration; Grant Wallace, Director of Employee Benefit Division; Jessica Patterson, State Procurement Director and TSS Chief Legal Counsel; and Eric Munson from Bank OZK. > May-12-2025-SBOF-minutes.pdf p.1 The Bank OZK attribution suggests Munson left the Treasurer's office between the R1 documentation period (Walther final months through early Thurston) and 5/12/2025. The R1 wiki documented Munson's Chief Deputy Treasurer signature; the R2 SBOF minutes document Munson in Bank OZK capacity. The interval between these data points is approximately 4-7 months (depending on the latest R1 Munson email date). The wiki cannot definitively establish whether Munson: (a) Left Treasury for Bank OZK between R1's documented period and 5/12/2025 (b) Held a concurrent Bank OZK role alongside Treasury that was not previously documented (c) Is a different Eric Munson (less likely given the contextual coincidence) The most plausible reading, based on the documentary record, is option (a): Munson left the Treasurer's office for Bank OZK at some point during the first half of 2025. The wiki holds this with appropriate uncertainty pending further evidence. If confirmed, Munson's departure from Treasury would be a personnel transition concurrent with the Thurston era's first months and the April 2025 Berman Capitol meeting / May 2025 Thurston Israel Bonds purchase. ## Treasury R2 Sub-batch 3 (Communications binders): expanded Walther-era role The Sub-batch 3 alphabetized Communications binders document Munson's Walther-era role in additional detail. Full Sub-batch 3 documentation is at [[treasury-foia-r2-9-23-25]]. Munson-specific findings: (1) **Munson forwarded the Texas Comptroller Hegar 10/13/2023 $20M Israel Bonds press release to Pulley + Romanik (cc McKim) on 10/23/2023 3:48 PM** — one day before Pulley placed the inaugural Walther-era $10M order. Munson's note: "FYI." The Texas press release served as the contemporary model for Walther's 10/27/2023 announcement; Texas's framing ("the state of Israel is a solid investment", "support our ally", "Hamas terrorists launched a brutal, unprovoked attack") matches Walther's framing nearly verbatim. Munson's pre-order forward of Texas's framing positions him as the Walther-era PR-template-curator alongside the substantive Israel Bonds engagement. (2) **Munson drafted Walther's 10/25/2023 SBOF remarks** ("10-25 SBOF Treasurer Walther remarks.docx") and transmitted to McKim and Sanson 10/24/2023 1:32 PM — 80 minutes after Pulley's 12:12 PM order placement. The SBOF appearance produced the "considering some additional purchase of bonds" framing that the Wickline article reproduced. (3) **Munson's role in the McKim 10/27/2023 press release drafting workflow** is documented: Munson suggested omitting the "put our money where our mouth is" sentence; McKim accepted the edit. The press release was Berman-pre-approved before McKim circulated for internal review. (4) **Munson initiated the December 2023 Naveh-Walther Zoom thank-you call** (per Bailey Hall's 12/12/2023 forward of Ana Torres's 12/11/2023 outreach: "Larry would like for you both to be on the call with him"). Munson responded "I am available. Thursday, Dec 14 works better for my schedule." Confirms Munson's continuing engagement with DCI executives on Walther-side relationship maintenance through December 2023. (5) **Munson initiated the SFOF December 7, 2023 "Support Israel Bonds" virtual call participation question** to McKim, Stephen Bright, David Scott, and Bailey Hall: "FYI. See attached from SFOF. I think the Treasurer should consider participating on this call if his schedule permits this Thursday, December 7th at 12 noon. There is a registration process on the attached document. We can discuss at our Exec Meeting at 1:30 pm. Bailey can also check the Treasurer's calendar to see if he's available." (12/3/2023 2:48 PM). The call featured Treasurer Sprague (Ohio) and Dani Naveh (DCI President & CEO). (6) **Munson signed Walther's QIB Accredited Investor Letter for the 11/1/2023 institutional purchase** (already documented at Sub-batch 2). The Sub-batch 3 binder cross-confirms Munson's role. (7) **Munson's 6/6/2023 Foreign Asset Investment data response to Selby Tucker (Governor Sanders office)** transmitted Steven Kilgore's compiled foreign-asset breakdown, documenting Israel sovereign debt at $44.2M (1.0% of total foreign exposure, 0.46% of $9.7B portfolio). Munson's response was during the Lowery interregnum (June 2023, pre-Lowery's death). Documents Munson's continuing role through the Lowery-Walther transition. (8) **Munson's 10/7/2024 4:18 PM Walther Israel Bonds briefing initiation** (already documented at R1) is cross-confirmed at A-He binder. [[treasury-foia-r2-9-23-25]] source page (Sub-batch 3 section) [[heather-mckim]] Chief Public Affairs Officer who drafted the 10/27/2023 press release Munson edited [[bailey-hall]] Treasury staffer who coordinated Walther's calendar for the December 2023 Naveh Zoom call ## APERS R2 (2-27-26): Bank OZK move cross-confirmed via APERS Board visitor lists The APERS R2 production cross-confirms the Treasury R2 Sub-batch 1 finding of Munson's Bank OZK move. Munson appears as a visitor in two APERS Board meeting visitor rosters: the 6/11/2025 Q2 Board ("Mr. Eric Munson*") and the 9/10/2025 Q3 Board explicitly attributed to Bank OZK ("Mr. Eric Munson, Bank OZK*"). The asterisks indicate remote attendance. The 9/10 attribution settles the question — Munson is at Bank OZK in his APERS Board visitor capacity by September 2025. Munson is therefore documented at two distinct institutional venues in the APERS R2 period: the 5/12/2025 SBOF meeting in Bank OZK capacity (Treasury R2 Sub-batch 1), the 6/11/2025 APERS Q2 Board (likely Bank OZK), and the 9/10/2025 APERS Q3 Board (explicitly Bank OZK). The transition from Treasury Chief Deputy Treasurer to Bank OZK occurred between his last documented Treasury-side engagement (R1 wiki documents through 12/12/2024 Lenow FOIA cc) and 5/12/2025 (first SBOF Bank OZK appearance). The APERS Board visitor presence at both 6/11 and 9/10 documents Munson's continuing engagement with Arkansas state-pension governance from his Bank OZK role. [[apers-foia-r2-2-27-26]] source page