Columbia Chamber of Commerce : Columbia, South Carolina

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Chamber E-gram 08/31/10

Advancements & Recognitions

Sowell Gray Firm, Attorneys highlighted in Benchmark Litigation

Benchmark Litigation, a definitive guide to the country's leading lawyers and firms, has named Sowell Gray Stepp & Laffitte, LLC, one of the top litigation firms in South Carolina.

Additionally, the guide has named Sowell Gray members Thornwell Sowell, Elizabeth Van Doren Gray and Robert Stepp as local litigation stars. All three also were included in previous editions of Benchmark.

Each year Benchmark conducts extensive face-to-face interviews around the country to pinpoint the best all-around “bet-the-company” trial attorneys at both the local and national levels. Benchmark includes attorneys based on outstanding success during that year, as well as on consistently positive feedback from peers and clients.

First National Names South Carolina Market President

First National Bank of the South (“FNB”) has named Rick Manley Market President for South Carolina with responsibility for Commercial and Retail Banking. FNB operates as a division of NAFH National Bank, a subsidiary of North American Financial

Holdings, Inc. (“NAFH”).

Prior to his appointment, Manley served in several positions with FNB, having been named Chief Operating Officer in January of this year. He will be based in Spartanburg, SC.

Gene Taylor, Chairman and CEO of NAFH, stated, “Rick is an experienced and knowledgeable banker who shares our commitment to building a strong, high performing bank throughout the Carolinas. He is well known to our customers, highly respected by our teammates and executive management team.” Manley stated, “The capital and management expertise that NAFH brings to FNB perfectly positions us to become a premier bank in South Carolina and I’m honored to have been selected to lead the bank toward that goal.”

Manley assumes his new responsibilities from Barry Mason, former President and CEO for First National, who left FNB to pursue other interests. Mason stated, “I take great pride in having been associated with the First National team and wish them all the best.”

Manley has over 28 years of banking experience with over 15 of those in the Carolinas.

B106.7 Wins top honors from Broadcasters Association

B106.7, Columbia's Hometown Radio Station, won three honors at the recent South Carolina Broadcasters Association's annual STAR Awards Dinner and Ceremony, including Radio Station of the Year.

B106.7's 10^th annual Radiothon, which benefits Palmetto Health Children's Hospital, was honored as the Richard M. Uray Service Project of the Year, and Brent Johnson of The B106.7 Morning Show was named the state's Top Radio Personality.

“For those three major awards to all go to the same station is wonderful,” Citadel Broadcasting regional manager Bill McElveen said. “It speaks to both the quality of our station and to our commitment to serving our community.

All the awards also were repeat wins for B106.7. The adult contemporary station previously won Station of the Year five consecutive times, while it was Johnson's seventh Personality of the Year award.

McElveen said the awards recognize that Johnson, who's also the station's program director, is deeply involved in the community. “He has an ability to relate to the listeners and be an integral part of the community.”

The Uray award is another indicator of the community involvement at B106.7. For 10 years, the station has broadcast live from Palmetto Health Children's Hospital for several days, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for the facility.

“It's gratifying for the Radiothon to be honored with the Uray award,” McElveen said. “That's not why we do the Radiothon, but it's nice to be recognized.”

Barnes Appointed as Tamarac Board Member

John H. Barnes, Chief Operating Officer, at WHM Capital Advisors in Columbia, SC was recently appointed as a Board Member for Tamarac, Inc. Mr. Barnes has worked at WHM Capital Advisors since 2007 and is responsible for the daily oversight and planning of wealth management services for the firm’s clients. “As a Software‐as‐a‐Services vendor, we have the ability to deploy new

features, applications and third party integrations at great speed,” says Matt Stroh, VP Marketing at Tamarac. “We rely heavily on our clients to provide us with the prioritization we need to direct our development team. Our Advisory Board plays a critical role in not only helping to set the direction of our company’s innovation, but also helps us to get ‘out of the box’ in our thinking and challenges us with new ideas. The addition of John Barnes from WHM Capital Advisors to our Advisory Board brings a unique perspective, as their firm has been able to uniquely grow their business through acquisitions and formalizing an SMA (Separately Managed Account) offering – all while on our platform.”

WHM Capital Advisors is a financial advisory firm providing research, analysis and advice to a diversified global client base that includes institutions, corporations and high net worth individuals. Founded in 2002, the firm’s areas of expertise are in valuation consulting, succession planning, mergers and acquisitions advice and investment management. In addition, the firm has a related technology company that designs applications to analyze complex financial issues for clients.

Callison Tighe's Robinson, Shutt, Burnette named Best Lawyers

Three Callison Tighe members – Ralph Robinson, Nekki Shutt and Malissa Burnette – have been selected for the 2011 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, a designation that places them among the nation's elite.

Robinson was selected in the practice area of real estate law, while Shutt and Burnette were honored for their work in labor and employment law. Burnette also was recognized in alternative dispute resolution. All three have appeared in previous editions of Best Lawyers as well.

“We're very pleased that three of our members are being included in a publication as exclusive as The Best Lawyers in America,” Callison Tighe managing member Michael W. Tighe said. “It's a tribute to both their immense individual strengths and to the strength of the firm as a whole.”

Selection to Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey comprising more than 3.1 million confidential evaluations by the top attorneys in the country. Since its inception in 1983, the annual, advertisement-free publication has been described by The American Lawyer as “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.” It reaches the largest and most targeted audience of any peer-review listing in the legal profession.

MG&C Attorney Tina Herbert Elected President of SC Bar Young Lawyers Division

Tina Herbert, a workers’ compensation defense attorney at McAngus Goudelock & Courie, has been elected president of the South Carolina Bar’s Young Lawyers Division for 2010.

As president of the Young Lawyers Division, which has approximately 3000 members state-wide, Herbert oversees 28 committees designed to provide legal education to its members and the Bar, as well as organize and implement community service projects throughout South Carolina.

Herbert practices workers’ compensation defense at McAngus Goudelock & Courie’s Columbia office, representing business state-wide. In her capacity at MG&C, she oversaw a legal services contract between MG&C and the S.C. Department of Transportation for two years that provided legal support and training to disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) across South Carolina.

Herbert holds an MBA and her law degree from North Carolina Central University. In 2006, the Wills Project for Senior Citizens, spearheaded by Herbert, won the South Carolina Bar’s Pro Bono Award, and in 2007, she was chosen as the Young Lawyer of the Year by the Bar’s Young Lawyers Division. She was recognized as one of the top 20 business leaders under 40 by The State in 2008 and is a graduate of the Bar’s Leadership Academy and Leadership South Carolina.

Very active in the community, Herbert currently serves on the Richland County Election Commission, and she served on the City of Columbia’s Design and Development Review Commission from 2008 to 2010. She has served on various non-profit boards, including Women in Philanthropy, the Midlands Fatherhood Coalition and the Columbia Writers Alliance.

Bryan Barnes of Rogers Townsend & Thomas, PC to be Included in the 2011 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America® in Construction Law

Rogers Townsend & Thomas, PC is pleased to announce that attorney Bryan Barnes has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2011 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® in the practice area of Construction Law.

Selection to Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey involving confidential evaluations by the top attorneys in the country.

Barnes is a shareholder in Rogers Townsend & Thomas and a member of the Board of Directors. He concentrates his practice in the areas of construction litigation, products liability, personal injury, and insurance defense. He also handles toxic torts, construction, and surety and specialty litigation, both in court and in arbitration proceedings.

Gray to receive Leaders in Law Award

Elizabeth Van Doren Gray, a founding member of Sowell Gray Stepp & Laffitte, LLC, has been selected to receive a Leadership in Law award from South Carolina Lawyers Weekly.

The annual awards recognize attorneys whose leadership, both in the legal profession and in the community, has made a positive impact on South Carolina. Recipients demonstrate outstanding achievement in law; involvement in the profession; support of the community; and mentoring.

Betsy Gray's practice areas are professional liability and ethics; probate and estate litigation; and commercial litigation and business dispute resolution. She's a graduate of the University of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina School of Law.

The award will be presented Aug. 26, at the Harbour Club in Charleston.

MG&C Named One of the Best Places to Work in South Carolina 2010 & Attorney receives 2010 Leadership Award

The law firm of McAngus Goudelock & Courie, LLC, has been named one of the Best Places to Work in South Carolina for 2010. MG&C is one of eighteen finalists in the program and is named in the small/medium-sized company category. MG&C has offices in Columbia, Charleston, Greenville and Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The program, a partnership between the S.C. Chamber of Commerce, the Society for Human Resource Management-S.C. State Council, SCJobMarket.com and SC Biz News, LLC, identifies and recognizes South Carolina’s best employers. The finalists were chosen based on employee responses to a satisfaction survey conducted by Best Companies Group. The responses were weighed against set criteria including leadership, planning, training and development to determine the companies’ rankings.

The law firm of McAngus Goudelock & Courie is pleased to announce that South Carolina Lawyers Weekly will honor the firm’s managing partner, Jay Courie, with the 2010 Leadership in Law Award at a reception in Charleston on August 26. The award recognizes individuals whose professional and community leadership has made a positive impact on the state.

Chamber News	Business / Regional News
Community Events / Seminars	Member Advancements/Promotions

Chamber members who have information such as free seminars or other events or free services that you would like to be promoted through the Chamber E-Gram may submit information to Kendall Davis by close of business each Wednesday for publication in as many as three issues. Articles are posted in chronological order by their most timely information. Due to space constraints, articles will be included based on timeliness. All material submitted is subject to editing and approval by the Chamber's Communications Department.

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