---

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 21, 1992                   TAG: 9202210192
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE                                LENGTH: Short

---

DEVELOPMENT GROUP GETS NEW CHAIRMAN

Sam Ashworth, vice president of Dominion Bank in Wytheville, has been named chairman of the Mount Rogers Development Partnership which was established to seek industry for the Mount Rogers Planning District.

Ashworth succeeds the organization's first chairman, Carroll County Administrator Billy Mitchell.

Dale W. Gordon, executive director of the Bristol Economic Development Commission, is vice president; James W. McAlister Jr., area executive with NationsBank, is treasurer; and J. Robert Nelson, a retired Harwood Industries executive from Smyth County, is secretary.

"If we are in the marketplace when the economy begins a rebound, we will certainly get the attention of corporations who are seeking to expand or relocate," Ashworth said.

"All the cities and counties in the Mount Rogers region will soon have industrial parks, and many have invested in shell buildings to attract new jobs. It would be unfortunate if we were not marketing these assets to companies that need to grow," he said.

- Southwest bureau

---