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City OKs 67-home subdivision on Howard Gap

Laurel Park Business

LIGHTNING EDITORIAL: Give roundabouts a chance

The prospect of roundabouts in Hendersonville seems to have flummoxed the motoring public and alarmed property owners. Roundabouts raise two different challenges. There’s no denying the fact that a roundabout takes up more room and thus would require the state to condemn more property to build them. We’re only at the mid stages as the NCDOT, local elected leaders and the public react, discuss and massage the plans. If nothing changed — an unlikely outcome — we would in the years ahead have three roundabouts on U.S. 64 — at Glasgow Lane, Pisgah Drive and White Pine Drive — one at White Street and Kanuga Road and a big one where South Church, South King and South Main streets meet.Right of way acquisition and utility line relocation is already under way for the first one we’ll drive around — on Greenville Highway at (realigned) Shepherd Street and Erkwood Drive. It can’t come too soon.“The whole thing with new traffic implementation, like when we do roundabouts, you’ve got to train people to drive safely through roundabouts,” said Hendersonville City Councilman Steve Caraker. “They’re not used to it. There’s a learning curve with anything you do. The people that navigate roundabouts well are the people that live near them and have to use them all the time.”So, the second challenge is whether the driving public will accept these changes, which are new to us but routine for millions of others. No, they’re not all in France. There are at least 10,300 roundabouts in the U.S. Florida has the most, followed by California and Texas.As we’ve said in these columns before, the NCDOT has proposed several efficient and well-designed road improvements for our area. Under these plans, it’s true, a ride through Laurel Park would be on a divided highway. U.S. 64 would have roundabouts to allow for safe, low-speed U-turns. A roundabout at Kanuga and White, it’s true, would be impossible without taking some business property or entire businesses. Those are not by themselves reasons to kill the improvements. The talk at public meetings seems to be based more on emotion and fear than on facts about the safety and efficiency, where roundabouts have a very good record.Are roundabouts safer for motorists, pedestrians and bicycle riders than conventional signalized intersections? Yes, and don’t take our word for it.According to the Federal Highway Administration, roundabouts typically achieve a 37 percent reduction in overall collisions, a 75 percent reduction in collisions resulting in injury, a 90 percent reduction in fatalities and a 40 percent reduction in pedestrian collisions. Why? Because one-way travel eliminates the possibility of T-bone and head-on collisions. One-way travel eliminates “intersection ambiguity” factors such as right on red and beating the light. Roundabouts naturally slow intersection traffic to 15-20 mph.Pedestrians are safer, too. So-called splitter islands (see rendering) provide a space between opposing lanes at each pedestrian crossing, and each crosswalk is set back at least one full car length from the roadway yield sign. During public hearings, the caterwauling crowd tells us that roundabouts will maim and kill elderly drivers. That’s false. Conventional intersections maim and kill much more efficiently. Older drivers are twice as likely crashes as younger drivers to be killed in intersection crashes. The FHA analysis of roundabouts cites a report that roundabouts generate economic benefits for nearby businesses. A road improvement project that included four roundabouts, landscaping, medians and sidewalks along a commercial stretch of highway in Golden, Colorado, lowered the crash rate from 5.9 crashes per million vehicle miles to .2 crashes MVM, resulted in slower speeds and faster travel time through the corridor and increased sales tax revenue by 60 percent along the roadway.“Well-designed roundabouts,” the engineers concluded, “are good for communities and businesses.”We know roundabouts and medians are still a tough sell, for business owners who may lose all or part of their real estate, for residents who would be blocked from left turns out of neighborhoods, and for the vocal No Change! caucus. But for the good of all, we ought to give the new roundabout designs a chance. As we are seeing on Kanuga Road and Highland Lake Road, if we allow only those who shout the loudest and plant the most yard signs to win the argument, we’ll be stuck in traffic a long time.         Read Story »

Hendersonville Business

Clinical quality measures rank Pardee in top 5% in U.S.

Pardee UNC Health Care has received the 2018 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence from Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals, ranking in the top 5 percent for clinical performance among nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide. “It is an honor to receive the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence,” said James M. Kirby, II, president and CEO of Pardee UNC Health Care. “Our leadership, clinicians and staff share a vision for providing safe, compassionate medical care with excellent clinical outcomes. This recognition underscores our commitment to this vision.” Pardee has undertaken numerous initiatives during the past three years to advance quality and achieve the results recognized by this award, including investments in physicians, staff and equipment, service line expansions, and new technology implementation. Pardee is continuing to advance service and quality through recent initiatives, which include hiring Western North Carolina’s only fellowship-trained breast surgeon to lead its breast care program; expanding screening and navigation services for lung cancer patients at the Pardee Cancer Center; growing its chest pain treatment capabilities; launching Pardee Bariatrics and Weight Loss; and collaborating with local organizations to fight the community opioid epidemic.  The 250 recipients of the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence stand out among the rest of U.S. hospitals for overall clinical excellence across a broad spectrum of care. During the 2018 study period (2014-2016), these hospitals showed superior performance in clinical outcomes for patients in the Medicare population across at least 21 of 32 of the most common inpatient conditions and procedures — as measured by objective clinical outcomes performance data (risk-adjusted mortality and in-hospital complications). “We commend hospitals that have achieved Healthgrades 2018 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence, demonstrating a steadfast commitment to high-quality care for their patients,” said Brad Bowman, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Healthgrades. “Hospitals that meet these high-quality standards will continue to distinguish themselves with consumers making decisions about where to receive care.”  From 2014-2016, patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence had, on average, a 26.3 percent lower risk of dying (across 19 procedures and conditions where mortality is the clinical outcome) than if they were treated in hospitals that did not achieve this distinction. To learn more about how Healthgrades determines Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence recipients,  visit www.healthgrades.com/quality.   Read Story »

Henderson County Business

Ask Matt ... what's coming on Asheville Highway

Q. The old First Citizens bank building near Patton Park is sold.  What’s going to go there? Not another bank. Actually the building at 1700 Asheville Highway was also an NCNB bank. It was vacant for years until last month when it was bought by Forest Dermatology. They have a main office in south Asheville and also operate in Spruce Pine. Cooper Construction Co. is doing the renovation. According to project manager Eric Oursler, the job will add another 1,000 square feet, most of which will be where the drive-thru lanes are located. The job is scheduled to be completed by April or May. They will remove the 12x15-foot concrete vault, no easy task, and the 3,000-pound steel vault door will be hauled off as well. Oursler said sometimes there is a market for old vault doors such as people that want to secure their valuables. Oh yeah, did the demolition crew find any leftover cash? Naw, not a cent. Here is a historical note. Charlotte-based NCNB became NationsBank in 1991 under the leadership of Chairman Hugh McColl Jr. and after some mergers became Bank of America. If you have the time to read McColl’s fascinating biography, you will discover that as a young man he learned the banking business from former Hendersonville banker Jack Ruth. Q. I saw a device at SunTrust bank in Downtown Hendersonville that uses facial recognition to access the bank vault. Is this the first use of that technology here? With far less fanfare than when the first motorcar came to town, facial recognition software has indeed come to Hooterville and from my limited research, it is the first public use of its kind in the county. The device you saw is made by Diebold (pronounced dee-bold). The company was founded in 1859 in Cincinnati and made safes and bank vaults. After recently acquiring a German firm, it is now Diebold Nixdorf. Not a jazzy name for a car company, but for the bank vault, ATM and security market, who cares? The device you saw uses facial recognition to enter the safe deposit vault. The good folks at SunTrust care enough about security to withhold details about the system. A cursory web search, however, yielded that SunTrust got into the biometrics business in 2014, and it'’s spreading. USAA already offers voice, fingerprint, or facial recognition to access customer accounts. Yup, no need to remember those pesky login passwords. So cheer up Bucko, facial recognition is here and one day you will check your library books without opening your wallet. Ain’t technology great!     Read Story »

Hendersonville Business

Thrift store expansion may cause temporary closings

The Blue Ridge Humane Society Thrift Store has begun work on an expansion that may disrupt access in the coming weeks. In addition to new sorting rooms and additional storage, a new paved parking area and a new donation drop off area are planned for the store, at 1214 Greenville Highway. During construction there may be times the thrift store will have to close on short notice for safety reasons. The nonprofit will post delays or closings at its website www.blueridgehumane.org Facebook page and in daily email blasts. When construction causes the store to be closed to the public, Blue Ridge Humane will still accept donations. If the store is closed and the parking lot is blocked off, the agency will move its truck to the old Food Lion parking lot and will have personnel on duty to accept thrift store donations.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Business

No change in special tax district, business panel says

Hendersonville's Business Advisory Committee rejected one member's proposal to scrap the downtown special tax districts and spread the burden on taxpayers citywide. Board member Bob Papes said it makes sense to raise the money from all taxpayers because they benefit, too, from a vibrant downtown. The city’s downtown Municipal Services District charges property owners a tax of 28 cents per $100 valuation. The tax is imposed on about 120 properties between King and Church streets, including more than 20 restaurants. It raises about $250,000 a year. The 12-cent MSD tax in the Historic Seventh Avenue District raises $17,000 a year. “The original impetus for the MSD (in 1975) was in fact a drastically changing retail environment,” downtown development coordinator Lew Holloway told the committee during its January meeting. “We had the movement of Belk and JC Penney out of downtown into the mall … Now malls are under assault and you have large retailers evacuating there.” Holloway visits downtown businesses to find out what they need to prosper. “I spend a lot of time talking about potties and parking because there is a need for bathrooms and parking downtown,” he said. “Our average rents range $8-10 a square foot. Outside the district you’re going to have a hard time getting space for $8-10.” Proceeds from the downtown tax district cover things like façade grants and downtown promotions. Raising the money through the general fund would require a 2-cent property tax increase for all and would cost the city the flexibility the special taxing districts have under state law. “We are able because it’s MSD dollars to do some creative things with grants and other things that are very difficult to do with general fund dollars,” Holloway said. “Because it’s generated in the district, we’re able to turn around and reinvest it in the district.” Committee member Beau Waddell said the change would have Main Street and Seventh Avenue competing at budget-crafting time with things like police, fire and streets. “That money just goes into the pot,” Waddell said. “They have to fight like everybody else because it’s not mandated that it be used there.” The committee took no action on Papes’s request.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Business

Business advisers pass on crime-fighting role

Bob Papes thinks Hendersonville ought to do something about its crime rate, lack of high-paying jobs and dearth of affordable housing.Papes, a member of the city’s Business Advisory Committee, told committee members that Forbes magazine and another publication had left Hendersonville off its list of best places to retire because of the city’s crime rate.Hendersonville gets high marks for health care, job growth, transportation, airport access, volunteerism and walkability but suffers in these surveys because of low-paying jobs and property crimes, said Papes, a business consultant.Statistics the magazines use showed Hendersonville’s crime rate was 160 percent higher than national average — a figure other advisory board members viewed with skepticism.“I have a hard time accepting the information,” construction company owner Tom Cooper said. “It just doesn’t ring true to me.”Papes acknowledged that 94 percent of the crimes were property crimes like burglaries and theft.“Whether you feel it’s accurate or not, perception is reality,” Papes said. “While crime is outside the mission of our advisory board, crime rate correlates with the economy.”He got no support when he suggested that the advisory committee form a task force to recommend ways to lower crime.City Manager John Connet said the police department is already responding to a rash of car thefts, which are usually opportunistic crimes that happen because drivers leave their cars unlocked. “Not everything is apples to apples,” Connet said. “We’re on the interstate between two large metro areas. We are the urban center for the county. We serve a much larger population. Every time there’s a shoplifting at Walmart, which happens every hour on the hour, it’s considered a larceny. Also we’re high in tourism. We become a rich target for folks who are just lifting handles on doors.”The city police department launched the “Lock it up, take it or hide it” campaign to raise awareness on how to avoid becoming a victim of theft.As for lower paying jobs, Connet said that’s a partly the product of an economy with large segments in farming and tourism.“A major industry in our county is agriculture. It is what it is,” he said. “It has a lot of seasonal workers. And we have a lot of service industry — restaurants, hotels and things like that.”Cooper said Hendersonville and Brevard aren’t comparable in economic activity.“Overall, there’s nothing happening in Brevard-Transylvania County as far as economic development,” he said. “Transylvania County’s a lot different from Henderson County. … I wonder how many people are looking to move are looking at that type of information as opposed to word of mouth.”Realtor Steve Dozier offered anecdotal evidence to rebut Papes’ “perception” that Hendersonville is a crime-ridden town.“I just sold a house to a couple and they said this is the most perfect place they’ve ever lived in their life and they’ve lived in 17 towns in the military,” he said.   Read Story »

Fletcher Business

Chamber honors broadcaster with top award

Art Cooley, who has served his hometown for more than 60 years in radio broadcasting, business development and civic life, was honored Friday night as the G. Ray Cantrell Award winner at the annual Chamber of Commerce dinner at the Blue Ridge Conference Hall at BRCC. The 95th annual Chamber Dinner and Awards program also honored Bob Wiliford for his 20th anniversary as chamber president, thanked 2017 chamber Chairman Dave Modaff and heard from 2018 Chairman Michael Thompson. A graduate of Hendersonville High School and UNC-Chapel Hill, Cooley served in the U.S. Army. His community service includes Hendersonville Country Club and Hendersonville Lions Club president and serving on the boards of Carolina Village, Boy Scouts of America, the American Red Cross and Jaycees. He has also served as president of the Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce and was involved in radio station ownership in Hendersonville, Canton, Brevard and Tryon. He helped bring cable television to Henderson County as an owner of Cablevision, the first cable provider in the county. He co-founded an outdoor advertising company that operated for 25 years and was a member of the investor group that purchased the Skyland Hotel in the mid 1970s and changed it from a summer hotel to year round condominiums. He was inducted into the NC Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Hendersonville High School Hall of Fame in 2007. He has two daughters.The lifetime achievement award honors a person who has made outstanding contributions. It was started in 1996 to honor the many years of service to the chamber and the community provided by Ray Cantrell, who served as executive vice president of the chamber from 1959 until 1999. Past recipients include Duane McKibbin, R.E. Harmon, Dan Gibson, Sam McGuirt Jr., Bill Stokes Jr., Bill McKay, Tom Shepherd, Albert Gooch Jr., Dan Waddell, Herb Young, Jim Crafton, Bill Lapsley, David Reeves, Bill McGee, Rob Cranford, Roger Hill, Bud Hunter, Jim Maher, Jeff Egolf, Fred Pittillo and Ervin Bazzle. Camp Industry Leadership Karl and Shelley Alexander, owners of Camp Highlander, were honored as the recipients of the Camp Industry Leadership Award.In Henderson County there are more than 20 Youth Summer Camps that have a combined economic impact of more than $120 million per year. A 2011, NC State University Economic Impact Study of the industry in Buncombe, Henderson, Jackson and Transylvania Counties found that camps account for 10,335 Full Time Equivalent Jobs – Beyond Camp Staff, $33 million in tax revenue and an overall economic impact of $365 million.“In 1970, at age 20, Karl asked his dad to help him buy the all-boys sleepaway camp in western North Carolina where he had been a camper and counselor. His dad told him NO and to go get a real job.”So he worked as a loan officer, owned a Chrysler-Plymouth dealership and did marketing for a Louisiana company that turns rice hulls into energy.However, camp kept calling because Karl and Shelley had long dreamed of owning and operating a summer camp of their own with the hope of making a positive impact on the lives of children.After many years of prayer and waiting, they finally fulfilled their dream in November of 2000 when they purchased Camp Highlander, a coed residential camp in Mills River.Karl, Shelley, their five daughters (then ages 13 to 23) packed up and moved from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.In the early years Karl and Shelley plowed a lot of their operating income back into improvements – adding 70 adjoining acres to the original 170 for a total of 240 pristine acres on the banks of the South Mills River.Since then, they have dedicated themselves to improving and expanding the Highlander experience as they seek to live out the camp mission of building boys and girls of courage, honesty, integrity and faith, and helping them become all that God intends them to be. Ambassador of the Year  Ambassador of the Year Award was chosen from among four quarterly winners: Chuck Hill of Chuck Hill Photography, Susan Elmer with Warren Restoration, John Powers with Advantage Direct and Krystal Romps with ServPro of Henderson County.Points are awarded to Ambassadors that assist at Chamber events, attend ribbon cuttings and grand openings, serve as greeters at Business After Hours and other events as well as making personal contacts to welcome new members to the Chamber. The winner was Hill, a Chamber Ambassador since early 2015. A professional photographer, he takes the majority of the Chamber’s ribbon cutting and groundbreaking photos along with photographing several of our annual events.   Duke Energy Citizenship Award   The  Duke Energy Citizenship Award went to state Rep. Chuck McGrady. The award honors an individual who through volunteerism and community service has gone beyond the usual call of duty to make our community a better place. Born in Baltimore, McGrady graduated from the Mercer University School of Law and worked as a corporate counsel. Moving to Henderson County, he operated Falling Creek Youth Summer Camp and served as president of the Sierra Club from 1998 until 2000. From 2009 -2010 he was the Executive Director of the NC Youth Camp Association.


He also served on the Village of Flat Rock Council from 1997 until 2001 and was served on the Henderson County Board of Commissioners and from 2004 to 2010, when he was elected to the state House of Representatives. Education Champion Award Curt & Sue Marker were honored with the Education Champion Award. Developed by the Chamber’s Education Committee and Board of Directors in 2001 to honor individuals and organizations that make significant contributions to our community’s educational systems, recipients have made Henderson County home to one of the best public school systems in North Carolina.Curtis H. Marker attained a B.S in Engineering from Purdue (1965) and an MBA from Northwestern (1967) and went on to a thirty-one year career with ExxonMobil in the international oil business. Sue was an elementary school teacher for many years. Curt & Sue have two adopted children – a son from Japan and a daughter from Indonesia. They searched for the perfect place to retire and found it in Hendersonville. In retirement he has served on the board of the Children and Family Resource Center and in numerous positions on the boards and committees of his local country club and property owners association, Champion Hills. Curt is currently on the board of the Henderson County Education Foundation where he serves as treasurer and chair of the HCEF Golf Classic. They established The Marker Science Scholarship in 2006 with the Henderson County Education Foundation. The scholarship covers tuition, room and board for one student majoring in science. The scholarship still exists today and has been awarded to 7 individuals, totaling over $150,000 in awards.  In 2017, they joined the Education Foundation’s effort to expand the Leader in Me initiative in Henderson County Public Schools by sponsoring Upward Elementary to implement the model, an over $70,000 investment. When Curt had the opportunity to speak to the Upward Elementary school staff in June of this past year, he said, “by embarking on this mission to transform the culture of your school, you will make them better human beings and students. The new culture you create will have a positive impact on every child who walks through the doors and the thousands of students who will follow them in years ahead.”   Environmental & Sustainability Award The recipient of the 2017 Environmental & Sustainability Award is a company that has deep roots in Henderson County. Wilsonart, a global manufacturer of high pressure laminates, headquartered in Texas, open a facility in Fletcher in 1979 to meet growing demands for its product. It quickly grew to become one of Henderson County’s largest employers and continues to play an important role in our community’s success.Wilsonart practices Zero Waste: No unnecessary materials or processes; Zero Impact: Environmentally responsible materials; Zero Barriers: Individual growth and engagement.As a corporation Wilsonart is the first North American laminate manufacturer to achieve Forest Stewardship Council Chain of Custody Certification. Locally, the company has recycled almost 7.6 million pounds in 2017 — 675,000 pounds from new materials that had not been recycled before; saved 49,000 trees and 9,294 cubic yards of landfill space by baling and recycling paper; achieved Greenguard Gold Certification for low chemical emissions on all of its laminate products; installed 2,964 300-watt solar panels and 27 28,000 Watt Inverters, producing over 1 million KW in each of the past three years for an energy cost savings averaging over $80,000 per year.   Amazing Customer Service Award   This year’s recipient is Summey Plumbing & Heating, a third generation Henderson County company founded in 1954 when Harold Summey and a partner purchased a 30-year old contracting firm on King Street. They successfully operated the business through 1975 when sons Steve and Jack Summey took the reins and incorporated Summey Plumbing & Heating, Inc. The company continued to grow moving to a larger location on King Street in 1976 and finally settling in to their current Greenville Highway location in 1987. Their road to amazing customer service began in 1995 when the company started a service department to better serve customers and complement the contracting business. Today Keith and Mike Summey operate the business along with longtime employee Norma Corn. Employee morale and engagement play a critical role in Summey’s customer service culture. A social media review sums up the Summey secret. “It is intimidating to try and find a plumber. I have had to call on this business three times in the past five years. Every single time, I have been met with professionalism, knowledge, punctuality, and great people. They take time to explain the problem. They give options for the solution that will fit your budget. They do not overcharge. In an emergency, which I have had once, they are at your house ASAP. Every person who works there that I have been contact with is amazing, from the owners, to the technicians, to the receptionists. I cannot recommend this company highly enough.” Past recipients include Louis Williams & Sons, Miller’s Fine Dry Cleaning
, Summit Marketing Group, the 1898 Waverly Inn
, the Flat Rock Playhouse, Southern Alarm & Security
, Whitley/Economy Drugs, Friday Staffing Services
,AutoWorx, Mind Your Business, 
Morrow Insurance, Brookdale Hendersonville East, the City of Hendersonville, Chick-fil-A of Hendersonville. Industrialist of the Year The 2017 Industrialist of the Year and first ever two-time winner of the award was Brian Cavagnini of Meritor.The award goes to manufacturing leaders who have been instrumental in rowing their company’s presence in Henderson County by increasing investment and creating jobs., leading in their specific field of work and giving back and investing in our local community. Over the past two  years, Meritor has invested over $30 million in state of the art equipment and new processes to upgrade their operations. The company has added over 100 good paying jobs over these past 2 years. The company is a proud supporter of Henderson County. Many of their employees are volunteers, serving on many community organization committees and boards. In fact, the plant has been recognized as the largest corporate sponsor for United Way for the past 3 years.Cavagnini is currently on the Board of Directors at the Chamber and has previously served on the United Way Board.He has been the director of company’s Carolina Enterprise — responsible for both the facility in Fletcher and a facility in Forest City. 

He and his wife Karen are the proud of parents of six children.Previous recipients include 
Paul Morse - GE Lighting, Dr. Molly Parkhill - BRCC, 
Dan O’Connell - UPM Raflatac, Pete Szalwach - Lassonde Pappas, 
and Tammy Albrecht - Wilsonart. Small Business Leader of the Year   The Small Business Leader of the Year award is given to a company that has served Henderson County for more than three years, has grown to employ workers in our community and has given back to the community through non-profit avenues. Southern Appalachian Brewery is the 2017 recipient. Owned and operated by Andrew and Kelly Cubbin, Southern App produces quality, craft beer for the tasting room as well as local bars and restaurants. Since they opened six years ago, they have continued to expand their distribution as far east at Wilmington and into South Carolina including Hilton Head. An equally important focus has always been to serve their community. Kelly and Andrew strive to create a comfortable, family and pet friendly environment in the tasting room.Southern Appalachian Brewery hosts numerous fundraisers for local non-profits including Council on Aging, Blue Ridge Humane Society, Homes for Youth, Pisgah Legal Services, Land of Sky Regional Council and many others. They are also very generous donors of product for gifts and events including tonight’s Chamber Annual Dinner. The other 2017 quarterly recipients were Wag! A Unique Pet Boutique, the Blood Connection and 
Hulsey Media.         Read Story »

Hendersonville Business

Excursion train advocate envisions entertainment car

Larry Morton, the Johnny Appleseed of train travel between Hendersonville and Asheville, told Asheville transportation planners that he’s gotten nothing but enthusiastic responses for the idea of an excursion train.   Read Story »

Henderson County Business

First Bank appoints branch manager

First Bank announced the appointment of Brittany Marshall as branch manager overseeing its Hendersonville office. In her new role, Marshall will be responsible for the day to day management of the Hendersonville branch, focusing on serving the needs of current customers while also developing new relationships with businesses in the area. With an extensive banking background, she brings a wealth of financial knowledge as well as local market expertise to the bank. A resident of Hendersonville, Marshall has more than 13 years of banking experience including customer service and retail sales management in the Hendersonville market. “We are thrilled to have Brittany’s experience, talent and skills at First Bank,” said First Bank Regional Executive Joe Ward. “Brittany also shares our bank’s core values to serve customers with honesty, integrity and a focus on doing the right thing for both our customers and the community. All of these factors combined make Brittany a great addition to our team.” Marshall is also a passionate community advocate and spends much of her personal time volunteering to help others. She currently volunteers with the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce and the Hendersonville Rotary Club. “Prior to taking on this role, I was familiar with the bank’s reputation as a company that truly cares about the local community and about giving back,” Marshall said in a news release. “I look forward to making a positive impact on customers by providing sound financial advice and helping them realize their dreams, which in turn will help make Henderson County a stronger community and a better place to live.” On Oct. 1, First Bank completed its acquisition of Asheville Savings Bank, acquiring 13 branches in western North Carolina, including the Hendersonville location that Marshall will manage. These branches will complete their conversion to First Bank locations on March 16. Headquartered in Southern Pines, First Bancorp operates 104 First Bank branches in North Carolina and South Carolina and has total assets of approximately $5.4 billion.   Read Story »

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