8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C.  20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):  January 21, 2015

GREAT SOUTHERN BANCORP, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Maryland	000-18082	43-1524856
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File Number	I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

1451 East Battlefield, Springfield, Missouri	65804
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:  (417) 887-4400

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions.

[  ]  Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

[  ]  Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

[  ]  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17   CFR 240.14d-2(b))

[  ]  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

On January 21, 2015, the Boards of Directors of Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company") and Great Southern Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (the "Bank"), appointed Douglas M. Pitt as a director of the Company and the Bank, respectively.  Mr. Pitt also was appointed as a member of the Audit, Compensation and Nominating Committees of the Company's Board.

Mr. Pitt will generally be entitled to the same compensation arrangement as is provided to the other non-employee directors of the Company and the Bank.  A description of this arrangement is contained under the heading "Directors' Compensation" in the Company's definitive proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 4, 2014 and is incorporated herein by reference.  On January 21, 2015, in connection with his appointment as a director, Mr. Pitt was granted under the Company's 2013 Equity Incentive Plan a ten-year option to purchase 5,000 shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price of $36.19 per share.  The option is scheduled to vest in 25% increments on January 21, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. 

A copy of a press release issued by the Company on January 21, 2015 announcing Mr. Pitt's appointment as a director is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)              Exhibits

99.1  Press release dated January 21, 2015 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.

	GREAT SOUTHERN  BANCORP, INC.
Date:  January 21, 2015	By:  /s/ Joseph W. Turner
	Joseph W. Turner
	President and Chief Executive Officer

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EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.	Description of Exhibit
99.1	Press Release dated January 21, 2015

EX-99.1

January 21, 2015

Reporters May Contact:

Kelly Polonus, Great Southern Bancorp, 1.417.895.5242

kpolonus@greatsouthernbank.com

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. Appoints

Douglas M. Pitt to Boards of Directors

Springfield, Mo. – Great Southern Bancorp, Inc., (NASDAQ:GSBC), the holding company for Great Southern Bank, announced today that Douglas M. Pitt has been appointed to the Boards of Directors of the Bank and the holding company, effective January 21, 2015. The addition of Pitt brings the total number of directors to nine with six being independent directors.

Pitt has been a technology entrepreneur for more than 24 years, merging his computer networking firm with TSI Global, LLC in 2013. Pitt's former company, ServiceWorld Computer Center, was a past recipient of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Award and was also recognized as the Springfield Business Journal's Philanthropic Business of the Year.

Great Southern President and CEO Joseph W. Turner said, "We welcome Doug to our boards. His expertise and demonstrated leadership will bring unique perspectives on issues that will be of great value to our Company as we position ourselves for future success."

Pitt is a 1990 graduate of Missouri State University.  He is a well-known philanthropist and civic leader, both locally and internationally.  He currently serves as a board member of WorldServe International, which operates one of the largest water drilling companies in East Africa. Locally, he founded Care To Learn, a non-profit organization with a mission to fund child health, hunger and hygiene needs.  Since Care To Learn's inception in 2009, it has expanded to 19 school districts and funded nearly 400,000 requests in Missouri. Pitt is a past Chairman of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.  He has been recognized by multiple organizations for his service, including an induction into the Springfield Public Schools Hall of Fame, Rotary Volunteer of the Year, Sertoma Service to Mankind award recipient and CASA of Southwest Missouri Champion for Children.

Other members of the Great Southern boards include Chairman William V. Turner, President and CEO Joseph W. Turner, William E. Barclay, Julie T. Brown, Thomas J. Carlson, Larry D. Frazier, Grant Q. Haden, and Earl A. Steinert, Jr.

With total assets of $3.9 billion, Great Southern offers banking and investment services. Headquartered in Springfield, Mo., the Company operates 108 retail banking centers and more than 200 ATMs in Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota and Nebraska, and loan production offices in Tulsa, Okla., and Dallas, Texas. Great Southern Bancorp is a public company and its common stock (ticker: GSBC) is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

www.GreatSouthernBank.com

Forward-Looking Statements

When used in documents filed or furnished by the Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company") with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), in the Company's press releases or other public or stockholder communications, and in oral statements made with the approval of an authorized executive officer, the words or phrases "will likely result," "are expected to," "will continue," "is anticipated," "estimate," "project," "intends" or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, (i) non-interest expense reductions from Great Southern's banking center consolidations might be less than anticipated and the costs of the consolidation and impairment of the value of the affected premises might be greater than expected; (ii) expected cost savings, synergies and other benefits from the Company's merger and acquisition activities, including but not limited to the recently completed Valley Bank FDIC-assisted transaction, might not be realized within the anticipated time frames or at all, and costs or difficulties relating to integration matters, including but not limited to customer and employee retention, might be greater than expected; (iii) changes in economic conditions, either nationally or in the Company's market areas; (iv) fluctuations in interest rates; (v) the risks of lending and investing activities, including changes in the level and direction of loan delinquencies and write-offs and changes in estimates of the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses; (vi) the possibility of other-than-temporary impairments of securities held in the Company's securities portfolio; (vii) the Company's ability to access cost-effective funding; (viii) fluctuations in real estate values and both residential and commercial real estate market conditions; (ix) demand for loans and deposits in the Company's market areas; (x) legislative or regulatory changes that adversely affect the Company's business, including, without limitation, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and its implementing regulations, and the overdraft protection regulations and customers' responses thereto; (xi) monetary and fiscal policies of the Federal Reserve Board and the U.S. Government and other governmental initiatives affecting the financial services industry; (xii) results of examinations of the Company and Great Southern by their regulators, including the possibility that the regulators may, among other things, require the Company to increase its allowance for loan losses or to write-down assets; (xiii) the uncertainties arising from the Company's participation in the Small Business Lending Fund program, including uncertainties concerning the potential future redemption by us of the U.S. Treasury's preferred stock investment under the program, including the timing of, regulatory approvals for, and conditions placed upon, any such redemption; (xiv) costs and effects of litigation, including settlements and judgments; and (xv) competition. The Company wishes to advise readers that the factors listed above and other risks described from time to time in documents filed or furnished by the Company with the SEC could affect the Company's financial performance and could cause the Company's actual results for future periods to differ materially from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods in any current statements.

The Company does not undertake-and specifically declines any obligation- to publicly release the result of any revisions which may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.