Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 13, 1995 TAG: 9501130089
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Customer-service employees at Appalachian Power Co.'s Huntington, W.Va., office voted 10-5 Thursday for representation by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the union reported.
The employees will be part of the IBEW's Local Union 978, which represents Apco employees in Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia. Apco's customer-service group in Roanoke voted in favor of IBEW representation four months ago, .
Union representative Merle Wykle said the union has had several requests from Apco employees in other departments and locations who are interested in the union. "We expect a very busy year," he said.
-Staff report
Valley Bank picks its fourth manager
Roanoke-based Valley Bank, which is still in the process of organization, named the fourth and final member of its top management team Thursday. Ellis L. Gutshall will become senior vice president and chief lending officer.
Gutshall has more than 20 years of experience with First Virginia Banks Inc. Since 1976 he has worked in Roanoke on the staff of First Virginia Bank-Southwest. He was most recently executive vice president responsible for the commercial lending, loan portfolio administration and credit department functions.
Gutshall holds a degree in economics from Washington and Lee University and is a graduate of the American Bankers Association's National Commercial Lending School and the Stonier Graduate School of Banking.
He joins Guy W. Byrd Jr., chief executive officer; A. Wayne Lewis, chief operating officer; and Traci J. Hess, chief financial officer, on the bank's team.
The bank said it is "in the final stages" of an $8 million stock issue to capitalize the bank. It is expected to announce its formation and opening by the end of this month.
-Staff report
Westmoreland Coal exits bankruptcy
Westmoreland Coal Co. of Philadelphia confirmed Thursday that it had emerged from bankruptcy following payment in full of its outstanding debt to primary creditors.
The New York Stock Exchange, the company said, has removed the footnote from Westmoreland's common and preferred stock listings, which had indicated the company was being reorganized under the bankruptcy code. The company's common stock closed Thursday at $6.121/2 a share, up 25 cents from Wednesday.
Westmoreland has extensive mining operations in Southwest Virginia.
-Staff report
Briefly ...
Rowe Furniture Corp., Arlington-based manufacturer with operations in Salem, said Thursday its directors approved the purchase of an additional 500,000 shares of its common stock in open-market transactions. Rowe Chairman Gerald M. Birnbach said the stock buyback reflects management's belief that the company's common stock of is undervalued, and its purchase represents an opportunity to enhance shareholder value. It is the second such move approved by the Rowe board in the last six months. In July, the company said it would buy up to 750,000 shares.
The Martin Agency of Richmond, the state's largest advertising agency, has formed a new division to help clients sell goods using computer disks, on-line networks and interactive kiosks. The agency on Wednesday said Bell Atlantic Corp. would be the first client to work with the new Martin Interactive division. Martin Interactive will create an information area, or domain, for Bell Atlantic on the Internet, the international computer network.
A federal bankruptcy judge has approved the sale of property to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission for construction of a parallel bridge for the crossing. The approval Wednesday of the $4 million sale effectively turned down a $4.2 million offer for the site from a Virginia Beach developer. The property is to be a staging area for construction of a second span of the 18-mile bridge-tunnel connecting Virginia Beach to the Eastern Shore.
by CNB