OUTLET: Suffolk News Herald

By Jimmy LaRoue

Suffolk high school seniors shared their stories of how the ACCESS College Foundation has opened college doors to them during the annual Suffolk Donor Recognition Luncheon Tuesday.

Held at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts, the event honored donors for their support. The foundation has provided college information to 13,000 students since 2003, helped them secure $47 million in financial aid and provided 184 ACCESS scholarships worth $1.4 million. Last year, the program provided information to 890 Suffolk students, and eight scholarships worth $70,000. (more…)

OUTLET: The Reflector

A new bank is coming to Greenville this week.

TowneBank will officially open its newest office in North Carolina with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2839 Charles Blvd. in Greenville at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Among those in attendance will be TowneBank Executive Chairman G. Robert Aston, Jr., Jim Clement, chairman of the board of TowneBank of Greenville and president of Towne Insurance Central North Carolina, Greenville Mayor P.J. Connelly and other civic and business leaders from the local area.

The 4,500 square foot office will be the 41st in Towne’s 20-year history and its tenth in North Carolina, joining offices in Camden, Moyock, Nags Head, Corolla, Southern Shores and Grandy, plus three Paragon Bank offices, which are a Division of TowneBank, in Raleigh, Charlotte and Cary.

The decision to open a banking office in Greenville comes six years after Towne entered the eastern North Carolina insurance market by acquiring The Clement Companies.

“The outstanding response to the Towne brand in insurance convinced us to bring banking services to this dynamic area of North Carolina,” Aston said. “Our new office will open with nine local bankers ready to welcome neighbors from Greenville and the surrounding area with our unique style of hometown banking.”

Greg Steele, president, TowneBank of Greenville, along with senior Vice President Allen Clayton and senior Relationship Specialist Katherine Thomas, make up the Commercial Banking Team. Senior Vice President and Branch Manager Glenn Marsh, along with member service specialists Brittany Morris, Meredith Bunch, and Meredith Mozingo will provide retail banking services. Rounding out the Greenville team are Anne Cato and Lisa Roberts, two residential mortgage professionals who have worked in the Pitt and Beaufort County markets for more than 30 years combined.

Clement said the bank’s arrival in Greenville comes at just the right time.

“With other financial institutions consolidating or leaving the region, it is a favorable time for TowneBank with its excellent reputation for exquisite service delivery and community involvement to plant its flag here,” he said. “During my association with Towne, I have found everyone to be very caring and committed to the community. I know that many of our insurance clients and employees are eager to become TowneBank members.”

“Eastern North Carolina is uniquely positioned with a blend of industrial, manufacturing and life science companies, in addition to a wonderful regional health system in Vidant Health,” Steele said. “These strong economic generators, along with vibrant post-secondary educational opportunities through East Carolina University and Pitt Community College, convinced Towne to make further investments in the Greenville area.”

“The team spirit of caring at TowneBank is very infectious. I’ve been in banking for 23 years,” Marsh said, “and I’ve never experienced anything like it. The bank is committed to its banking family and the communities they serve, and we are certain that will also be the case here.”

The Charles Boulevard office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays.

“Residents and businesses will be able to access a full array of competitive banking services but with an attention to detail that has characterized TowneBank since its inception,” Steele said

OUTLET: Suffolk News Herald

Over the past 13 years, TowneBank has been consistently recognized with awards of excellence by Greenwich Associates, an independent financial consulting and research firm. For 2018, TowneBank was honored with a total of eight Greenwich Excellence Awards, including new awards for trust and ease of doing business.

To tabulate rankings, Greenwich Associates surveyed more than 14,400 small business banking clients with $1 million to $10 million in annual sales. Participants rate the financial institutions on a range of factors based on a five-point scale. From the responses, a select number of banks that performed at levels higher than their peers are identified. The selected banks receive a higher percentage of excellent ratings at a 95-percent confidence level than the average of other eligible banks. Out of the more than 600 banks evaluated nationwide, just 33 were recognized as having distinctive quality. In the Best Brand category, only 22 banks received recognition. (more…)

OUTLET: Pulse, The Virginian-Pilot

This year’s Virginia Festival of Jewish Film will include appearances by actors Hal Linden and Ryan Ochoa, and former N.Y. Mets player Ty Kelly as it presents six films at five venues.

The annual “Hollywood Night” with local film critic Mal Vincent will feature a big-budget movie about the creation of the state of Israel.

Towne Insurance has acquired Middle Peninsula Insurance Agency Inc., which serves clients in Williamsburg, Deltaville and Dillwyn. (more…)