[PeterParker]

1. http://annieonfalwell.wordpress.com/200 ... th-carter/

Worth Carter

September 16, 2006
Posted by atjohnson in Uncategorized.

I recently spoke to Worth Carter Jr., who will become president of the biggest branch of banks in Virginia after a merger in the fourth quarter of this year.

Carter just happens to be good friends with Jerry Jr. and had some insightful comments on the expansion going on at Liberty. [Good to see JJ has some of the networking genes.]

Carter said that all good towns have two big economic engines, a hospital and a university. Lynchburg has these, unlike Martinsville, where Carter is headquartered.

Martinsville was once a thriving manufacturing town but has since experienced substantial job loss. Lynchburg, Worth postulated, could have faced a similar fate if it was not for the exploits of Falwell, who has recently used simple, steady growth practices to expand, making LU the driving force of jobs in this community.

With initiatives like the new engineering program, Lynchburg might see more hi-tech jobs in the Hill City...

[Sly Fox]

I've been visiting her blog for a couple of weeks. She has positioned herself nicely on Google (yes, I admit a bit of envy).

[PeterParker]

More on Worth Carter:

http://www.bizjournal.com/content/article.php?id=346

Once combined, Carter says that total assets will be around $2.6 billion. The merger is subject to approval by the shareholders of each bank, the Virginia State Corporation Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., but is expected to close without problems. (Shareholders will receive a certain number of shares for each share they hold, depending on the bank. It breaks down this way: Blue Ridge Bank: 2.474 shares; Central National Bank: 5.470 shares; Community National Bank: 4.350 shares; First National Bank: 1.613 shares; First National Exchange Bank: 4.509 shares; Mountain National Bank: 3.981 shares; Patrick Henry National Bank: 1.112 shares; Patriot Bank: 5.775 shares; Peoples National Bank: 1.945 shares; and Shenandoah National Bank: 3.461 shares.)

[El Scorcho]

I've been visiting her blog for a couple of weeks. She has positioned herself nicely on Google (yes, I admit a bit of envy).

Use Adsense and you're guaranteed to be easily findable in Google search results. They love their Adsense partners.

[FlamingYalieWahoo]

Charlottesville is another case in point of a hospital and university driving the economy (they are the largest employers in the area). The only other thing here - which in and of itself is significant - is Monticello. But comparatively speaking, I don't think the tourism it draws would drive a Yugo very far. These entities also draw major entertainment and have spawned a thriving tech industry. The athletic events draw additional people to the area who pump 10s of thousands of dollars into the local economy as well. This has economic growth has also spilled over to the surrounding localities to the point that the regional tourism board connects other points of interest to Charlottesville. So Waynesboro and Staunton also benefit. So with the hospital and UVA - of course without UVA there would be no major hospital - Charlottesville has become what I affectionately refer to as "an island of elitism in the middle of nowhere." So I think LU will continue to transform Lynchburg - and hey it even has a Thomas Jefferson house too!

[El Scorcho]

Charlottesville has become what I affectionately refer to as "an island of elitism in the middle of nowhere."

I had a high school teacher who used to say the same thing about Chapel Hill when I was growing up just a few miles south of there.

I always thought she just needed to get out of Chapel Hill a little more often.

[FlamingYalieWahoo]

Occassionally, I do drive a few miles outside of the C'ville area and take a deep breath to keep my head from exploding. Way too many liberals concentrated in a very small area - its other name among area Republicans is the PRC - People's Republic of Charlottesville. In a vain attempt to return to the topic - I don't think Lynchburg needs to fear getting that type of reputation which is one reason why it could prosper even more than Charlottesville or Richmond.

[FlamingYalieWahoo]

I'm feeling chatty today so I'll try to make this my last post and they all breathed a sigh of relief. One reason why C'ville recently fell from Frommer's #1 to #17 place to live is this. One of the things that made it #1 - tight planning and development controls. One of the things that caused its decline - median housing price went from around 177,000 to 340,000. Why the increase? Tight planning controls led to not enough affordable housing being built to meet demand.

[Sly Fox]

I agree wholeheartedly. Usually cities become a victim to their success in those ratings. It almost assures an over-inflation in housing prices. I witnessed myself in Austin ... although I still think its is awesome. But I'd rather not get too far off topic.