Front Row: Frank Bell, III, Henry “Hank” E. Richeson and Claiborne G. Thomasson
Middle Row: Vernon E. LaPrade, Jr. and G. Waddy Garrett
Back Row: Gary W. Fenchuk, Thomas L. Gordon and J. Michael Jarvis
Vernon E. LaPrade, Jr., Chairman
President of Model Realty Incorporated. Mr. LaPrade has been involved in local real estate, construction and development for over 40 years and has successfully completed numerous residential and commercial projects. He is the managing general partner of the Holiday Inn Koger Center and operates several Burger King and convenience store franchises. Mr. LaPrade was a founding director and chairman of Peoples Bank of Chesterfield and a director of Dominion Bank-Richmond following their merger. He was the driving force in forming County Bank of Chesterfield where he was a director, chairman and member of all standing committees. Following the merger of County Bank of Chesterfield, Commerce Bank of Virginia and The Community Bank to form Commerce Bank, Mr. LaPrade served as a director and chairman of the board and also as a director of the resulting holding company, Community Bankshares Incorporated.
H. E. “Hank” Richeson, Vice-Chairman
Mr. Richeson started his banking career in 1966 after a two year tour as an officer in the United States Army. He rose to vice president with United Virginia Bank before becoming a founding director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Peoples Bank of Chesterfield in 1974. The Peoples Bank of Chesterfield was merged into Dominion Bank-Richmond in 1983, where he served as the executive vice president, chief operating officer and director. Mr. Richeson joined County Bank of Chesterfield in 1989 where he was a director, president and chief executive officer. After County Bank of Chesterfield, The Community Bank and Commerce Bank of Virginia were merged to form Commerce Bank, Mr. Richeson served as president and director of Commerce Bank and as a director of the resulting holding company, Community Bankshares Incorporated. Following the merger of Community Bankshares into SouthTrust-Richmond, he served as City President for SouthTrust-Richmond until he retired in June 2002. Mr. Richeson is a past director of The American Institute of Banking-Richmond, Virginia Bankers Association, Virginia Association for Community Banks, and The Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University. He has been very active in our community serving as Chairman, Advisory Committee for Vocational Education; Member, Economic Development Committee; Member, Committee for Revising, Planning and Zoning Ordinances and founding Director and past Chairman, Chesterfield Business Council.
Frank Bell, III
President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of Virginia. Mr. Bell has over 20 years of banking experience, the last 15 in the Richmond area. He began his banking career in 1982 as a Management Trainee with Bank of Virginia (Signet) in Roanoke, Virginia. He was transferred to Danville, Virginia and then to the Richmond area in the late 1980's. Mr. Bell served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Hanover Bank as well as the founding President of Citizens & Commerce Bank. He holds a BA in Economics from Virginia Military Institute and a MBA from Averett University. Mr. Bell is a graduate of the Virginia Banker's Association School of Bank Management and The Executive Banking Institute. Mr. Bell is a Past President and Charter Member of the Innsbrook Rotary Club, he serves on the Executive Board of Boy Scouts of America, Heart of Virginia Council, and is a member of Sycamore Presbyterian Church. Mr. Bell also serves on several other community and banking boards in the area.
Gary W. Fenchuk
President of East West Partners, the developer of Brandermill, Woodlake and Hampton Park, as well as several communities in Hampton Roads and Florida. Mr. Fenchuk has served as director and treasurer of Metro Richmond Chamber of Commerce, a member of Chesterfield County Industrial Revenue Authority, a founding director of Millwood School and is a past president of the VCU Real Estate Circle of Excellence. He is a trustee of Alma College and holds an M.B.A. in Finance from Wharton Graduate School, University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Fenchuk is the 2002 recipient of the Bernard L. Savage Community Service Award presented by the Chesterfield Business Council of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Fenchuk also authored the book Timeless Wisdom. Mr. Fenchuk served as a director of County Bank of Chesterfield and then Commerce Bank following their merger.
G. Waddy Garrett
President of GWG Financial, LLC, an investment and consulting company located in Richmond, Virginia. For 25 years he served as chairman and CEO of Alliance Agronomics, Inc., a regional manufacturer of fertilizer and distributor of ag-chemicals and seed, located near Richmond. During this time, Mr. Garrett served a term as president of the National Fertilizer Solutions Association, the national industry trade group. Prior to that, he served as a Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy aboard several nuclear submarines. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of five other public and private companies, including Cadmus Communications, Reeds Jewelers, Willard Agri-Service, Harmony Products and New Life Technologies. Mr. Garrett holds a B. S. in Marine Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and an M. B. A. in Finance from Harvard University. He is a graduate of the Navy Nuclear Propulsion School, and he has completed the Agribusiness Executive Management Academy at Purdue University. He was a member of the board and Executive Committee for Dominion Bank-Richmond. Mr. Garrett also served as a director of County Bank of Chesterfield and then Commerce Bank following their merger.
Thomas L. Gordon
Senior Partner of Gordon, Dodson & Gordon Attorneys at Law, Mr. Gordon is a life long resident of Chesterfield County and a graduate of T. C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond. Mr. Gordon is a member of the Chesterfield Bar Association, the Virginia Bar Association and the Family Law Section. Mr. Gordon has over twenty years of experience representing community banks and served as a director and member of the loan committee for the County Bank of Chesterfield for thirteen years.
J. Michael Jarvis
President of Charter Leasing Corporation, which specializes in financing communications equipment. Prior to this, he founded and served as a director of Executone Communication, which was a large manufacturer and distributor of telephone systems throughout North America. From January 1982 to 1986, he started and assisted with the management of Jarvis Communication Services (JCS). JCS was engaged in the business of consulting and managing networks. From 1970 until 1986, Mr. Jarvis worked in various capacities for Jarvis Corporation, a large distributor of telephone systems in the South headquartered in Richmond. He served as president from 1977 to 1980 and as chairman of the board until 1986. Mr. Jarvis has served on various trade association boards and has been involved with numerous civic groups. He currently serves on the boards of DCC Corp in Nashville, Tennessee and the foundation board of Bon Secours Health Systems. Mr. Jarvis graduated from the University of Virginia with a B. A. in Economics.
Claiborne G. Thomasson
President of Diversified Restaurant Management and Consulting, Incorporated and the owner of Ruth’s Chris Steak House and Bottega Bistro in Richmond, Virginia and Claiborne’s in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He attended the McCallie School and subsequently received his Bachelors degree from Randolph-Macon College. Mr. Thomasson served in the United States Air Force from 1963 to 1969 as a decorated officer and fighter pilot serving combat tours in Vietnam. During the period from 1969 to 1971, he was an investment banker with Craigie Incorporated and attended the New York Institute of Finance. During the next 18 years, Mr. Thomasson worked with Bank of Virginia, Signet, First & Merchants and Sovran, rising to senior vice president and manager of the Municipal and Government Bond Investment department. From 1989 to 1991, Mr. Thomasson served as senior vice president of Municipal Finance with Wachovia Bank in Richmond, Virginia. Mr. Thomasson is a member of the Bon Air Methodist Church and serves a director of the Chesterfield County Drug Court.