Rotary rallies to
send WWII heroes
to War Memorial in
Washington, D.C.
billing
td 3
Premier Dealer ™
LENNOX
Home Comfort Systems
innovation never felt so good. ™
See Story, Page 2
Left, WWII veterans, I-r, Wilson
Griffin, James Ingle, Sidney
Dixon, Ed Campbell.
' S PIEDMONT
BRINGS MG SUNT TATH
NC
ind 121 » Issue 8 » Wednesday, February 25, 2009
No business like ‘show’ business
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Business Showcase honors Revolutionary War with 50 exhibits from different businesses.
Business Showcase kicks off at City Hall
Steve Padgett named Businessman of the Year
By ELIZABETH STEWART
staff writer
of the honor," said Shirley Brutko, ex-
ecutive director of the Kings Mountain
Branch of the Cleveland Chamber of
Commerce.
The Showcase is open to the public
during City Hall business hours
through March 20 and features 50'ex-
hibits of local and area businesses out-
lining services available to all age
citizens ranging from health to enter-
tainment and education and focusing on
Kings Mountain Businessman of the
Year is Steve Padgett, a prominent real-
tor long associated with Gateway Prop-
Ny erties and active Rotarian.
Jt Padgett was recognized as the Cleve-
land County Chamber kicked off the
11th annual Kings Mountain Business
Showcase to a large crowd of spectators tan ;
Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the lobby area the "Historic Revolution Theme 2009."
of Kings Mountain City Hall. The 1780 battle theme is featured in de-
"Steve Padgett, board chairman of tail by exhibitors using wall mountings,
the Chamber in 2008, has done a phe- drawings of local people in colonial at-
photo by EMILY WEAVER
Alliance Bank & Trust, still a family bank. Presi-
dent Dan Ayscue stands with his family, front row,
I-r, Emma, 7, Reese, 6; back row, I-r, Devin, 12,
Gina and Dan Ayscue.
Steve Padgett
nomenal amount of work for the Cleve- tire, Solo Deon replies To “Businessman
land Chamber as a volunteer for a 1ngs.0f Mountain Men in battle regalia. : , 1
number of years and is most deserving of the Year’ Ayscue named president
See SHOWCASE, Page 3
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‘Laughter through tears’ a favorite emotion
‘Steel Magnolias’ continues at Joy
of Alliance Bank & Trust, |
Bank to merge with 1st Financial
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor Dan Ayscue, of Kings Mountain, officially became chief .
executive officer and president of Alliance Bank & Trust
Kings Mountain Little Financial Corp. last week. A surprise party was "held in his
Theatre's "Steel Magno-
lias" opened Friday night
in front of a large crowd.
It ended with a standing
ovation. :
And in the words of
Linda Nichols, playing
"Truvy", "laughter
through tears" seemed to
be the favorite emotion of
the night. The play con-
tinues for two final per- F
formances at 7:30 p.m. ESE at ugers
Friday and Saturday at Left to right, Linda Nichols, Ginger Bullock, Janey Ollis, Vivian Dun-
the Joy Performing Arts can, and Janet Sims act out a scene from Friday night’s “Steel Mag-
Center. Tickets will be nolias.”
sold at the box office for
$10 general admission and $8 - senior citizens and
students. Reservations can be made by calling KMLT
honor at Alliance Bank & Trust on Battleground Avenue in
Kings Mountain last Friday night.
At 44 years old, he joked that he may be the youngest
president of any banking institution in North Carolina and
the shortest tenured. It was announced last week that
AB&T Financial Corp. will be merging with 1st Financial
Services Corp., the parent company of Mountain 1st Bank,
in Hendersonville. Once the merger takes full effect,
Ayscue will become vice president of the conglomeration.
Closing of the merger is expected to occur in the second or
third quarter of 2009, depending on approval of sharehold-
ers and regulators.
But he said that he isn’t bothered by the fact that he may
only be president for a couple of quarters. Ayscue said he
would gladly give up his title for the good of the bank and
the communities they serve. He views this merger as a pos-
itive step in all directions.
“We’re very excited about the merger,’ > Ayscue said.
He has been in the banking business since 1989. Ayscue
But she almost lost her "baby", a pouch to make
her look pregnant underneath her barber's smock in
etn ihe ia that aki, ot on
at 704-730-9408 or at www.kmlt.org
The players, all volunteer actresses from different
professions, were under the direction of Betsy Wells,
retired head of the Drama department at Kings
Mountain High. None of the ladies received any
monetary compensation for their talents Friday night,
but they were showered with "gold" when it came to
the applause.
Janey Ollis, who began as an understudy, was
pulled in to play the role of "Annelle", a troubled,
wild child turned "born-again Christian." She only
had about two weeks to memorize her lines and ap-
parently two weeks were all she needed. She deliv-
ered them with ease and confidence.
the last scene, from laughing so hard after an unex-
pected blooper. The audience and the cast couldn't
help but laugh when one expletive was accidentally -
replaced with another.
Erika Wood made her KMLT debut Friday night
as "Shelby." But it was obvious that she has had a lot
of practice on the stage. Her performance was mas-
terful.
Ginger Bullock, who has appeared on the KMLT
stage before, played M'Lynn perfectly. Her mono-
logue after the death of "Shelby" was both heart-
warming and heart-wrenching as she drew the
audience in to feel the character's pain.
Long-time actress Janet Sims was perfect for the
See PLAY, Page 3
graduated top of his class from Appalachian State Univer-
sity with a major in banking and began his career with
BB&T through its commercial lending program. In Oct.
2004 he decided to branch out with some co-workers and
friends to start Alliance Bank & Trust.
The group began with two offices, one in Shelby and
the other in Gastonia. The Kings Mountain branch opened
on March 28, 2008, around the same time that a fourth Al-
liance office opened in Gastonia. With a total of four
branches, approximately $170 million in assets and $24.5
million in tangible common equity, the group will join 1st
Financial, which operates 15 branches throughout western
North Carolina.
Together, the merged financial group’s “vault” will hold
approximately $880 million in assets, supported by $71
See MERGER, Page 3
Pens up hi
The Heraid'’s
‘tweets’ at
es al
Banke&Trust
Building Conumunities
Alliance
Visit us today at
. 209 S. Battleground Avenue
Kings Mountain
704.739.5411 eo www.alliancebankandtrust.com
MEMBER FDIC
The Faces of Hometown Banking
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