Bill Clark, 52, has a history of working with community banks in Roanoke and in surrounding areas.

By Jenny Kincaid
981-3235
The Roanoke Times


HomeTown Bank's board of directors was looking for a leader who knew how to start banks.

It chose Bill Clark.

Clark is the first president and chief executive officer of HomeTown Bank, a Roanoke-based community bank founded in December.

Clark lives in Stuart and has been working as a consultant in the banking industry.

But Clark has a history of working with community banks in Roanoke and in surrounding areas.

He began his banking career at Southwest Virginia Savings Bank in Roanoke, where he served for 17 years. In 1996, he became president and CEO of the First Bank of Stuart.

BB&T acquired First Bank in the late 1990s, and Clark worked there for a while longer before joining MainStreet BankShares in Martinsville. As executive vice president and chief operating officer at MainStreet, Clark helped to start two banks, Smith River Community Bank and Franklin Community Bank.

"He knows his way through the regulatory process, and he knows how to get a bank started," said Warner Dalhouse, chairman of the board of directors for HomeTown. "That's a nuts-and-bolts assignment."

Dalhouse said Clark, 52, was not one of the original applicants for the job. But HomeTown directors already knew about him.

"We wanted somebody who could be with us for 10 or 15 years and be energetic enough and enthused enough to want to build something and be the author of that product," Dalhouse said.

Clark, who could not be reached for comment, will start his new job Jan. 15. His first assignment is to prepare HomeTown to open its doors Oct. 1.

"It's a very ambitious schedule," Dalhouse said. "We chose that date to put pressure on ourselves as well as the new CEO."

Clark graduated from Roanoke College and took banking courses through the Institute of Financial Education. He's also a member of the Patrick County Planning Commission.

Clark will move to Roanoke with his wife, daughter and son, Dalhouse said.

HomeTown has a 13-member board of directors and will compete with Valley Bank, Roanoke's first community bank, which was founded in 1994. HomeTown will raise capital through an initial stock offering beginning in February.

Dalhouse said HomeTown has narrowed its search to four potential locations for its main headquarters in downtown Roanoke. He expects to choose the location by the end of this month.

But whether that happens before Jan. 15, Clark shouldn't have to worry.

Dalhouse said a temporary office will be available downtown where Clark can "hang his hat" once Jan. 15 rolls around.