Photo above: Jamie Whitacre, Keith Phillips, William Hayter and Gene Copenhaver accept the Agribusiness of the Year Award Oct. 17.   First Bank & Trust Company was recently awarded the Virginia Agribusiness Council’s 2016 Agribusiness of the Year Award. Council Chair Lynn Graves presented the award during the Council’s Annual Membership Meeting in Winchester. The recognition is presented annually t ...

Photo Above: Fran Lutz, Interim CEO, Opportunity Finance Network; Allison Clark, Associate Director, Program Related Investments, MacArthur Foundation; Ron Scott, President & CEO, ACFCU; Mike Rizer, Executive Vice President and Director, Community Relations at Wells Fargo Bank; Tony Berkley, Vice President, Strategy & Impact, Prudential Financial, Inc.   By Jeff Keeling Appalachian Community Fe ...

By Scott Robertson The tide of banking regulation that swept over America after the Great Recession of 2008 may finally have reached crest stage. You’ll forgive small community bankers, though, if they’re not celebrating. The floodwaters aren’t rising anymore, but the house is still under water. When TriSummit Bancorp and HomeTrust Bancshares announced their merger Sept. 21 in Kingsport, TriSummit CEO Lynn ...

By Jeff Keeling It took a self-effacing grandfather to convey the true import of a drama that’s been unfolding for more than two years now, the results of which could impact every person, community and business in the region for decades. By the time Dick Brownlee stepped to the podium inside a room at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center the evening of Oct. 27, that day’s chapter of the drama had ...

“You are 40 young men and women who are making a difference in your home and your workplace and in your community. You are 40 of the reasons we have a bright future as we look toward a tomorrow that is increasingly interconnected and globally competitive – and for the record, you are 40 people who would all make better presidential candidates than the two we have to choose from.” -  Dr. Bill Greer, Milligan ...

Coming March 2017! The Business Journal of Tri-Cities Tennessee/Virginia is excited for the opportunity to partner with the City of Kingsport to publish a commemorative edition celebrating Kingsport100, an historical look back at the businesses and people that have made Kingsport a great place to live, work and play for 100 years! The glossy, color, magazine style publication will highlight Kingsport histor ...

By Jeff Keeling Wellmont Health System and Mountain States Health Alliance’s bid to become a single, $1.9 billion hospital system passed a critical juncture last month. The Sept. 15 Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) decision to deem the systems’ application for a Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA) complete – granted seven months after the initial application was submitted – set the clock ticking towa ...

TriSummit CEO Lynn Shipley, left and HomeTrust Chairman and CEO Dana Stonestreet pose in Shipley’s office the day the acquisition was announced. Photo by Scott Robertson By Scott Robertson Last Wednesday afternoon, after issuing a press release announcing the planned purchase of TriSummit Bancorp, Inc. by HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc., HomeTrust CEO Dana Stonestreet and TriSummit CEO Lynn Shipley sat down toge ...

Revised Plan of Separation between Wellmont Health System and Mountain States Health Alliance Pursuant to Grant of Certificate of Public Advantage By the Tennessee Commissioner of Health This Revised Plan of Separation (“the Revised Plan”) is prepared as part of the application for Certificate of Public Advantage (“COPA”) submitted jointly by Wellmont Health System and Mountain States Health Alliance (colle ...

By Jeff Keeling In late May, Northeast State Community College announced it was one of 44 higher education institutions selected for a U.S. Department of Education pilot program allowing income-eligible high school students to apply for Federal Pell grants to pay for certain dual enrollment courses. This fall, eligible students in area “career academies” who are gaining college credit at Northeast are filli ...