Chairman - Board of Directors

 

Scott D. Stone, P.E. is the chairman and founder of the North Carolina Heroes’ Fund. He got involved because, “Our military men and women, and their families, sacrifice so much to defend our freedom. The Fund is just a small way of saying thank you for their tremendous efforts and commitment.”

Scott is a graduate of Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil & Environmental Engineering. He also graduated from Marymount University in Arlington, VA with a Masters in Business Administration.

Scott is a licensed professional engineer in North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. In 2005, he was named one of the top 40 Under 40 business leaders by the Charlotte Business Journal. He is an Eagle Scout and also an alumnus of Leadership North Carolina.

Scott, his wife Molly, and their two daughters live in Charlotte.

 

Treasurer
Vice President - Wholesale Banking & Risk Management
Wells Fargo
Charlotte, NC

Tariq Bokhari, a Vice President with Wachovia Securities – a Wells Fargo Company specializes in Merger/Acquisition Integration management, and Operational Risk Management. Tariq and his wife live in Charlotte.

Tariq holds a Bachelor of Administration in Information Systems from Radford University. Tariq is a member of the City of Charlotte Business Advisory Council and sits on the Community Relations Committee. He is also a 7-time Wachovia Shared Success Award Winner.

Director of Corporate Communications
Piedmont Natural Gas
Charlotte, NC

www.piedmontng.com

Loree Elswick leads the Corporate Communications Department for Piedmont Natural Gas, a natural gas utility headquartered in Charlotte, NC. In this capacity, she oversees the company’s communication team and works to define, establish and protect Piedmont’s brand, identity and strategic messages. Ms. Elswick joined Piedmont Natural Gas in 2002 and served as the Community Relations Manager, where was a registered lobbyist and oversaw the Foundation and Corporate Contributions programs for the Company.

Ms. Elswick is a graduate of West Virginia University, with an MS in Journalism and Political Science and is currently pursuing her Masters in Business Administration at the McColl Business School’s Executive MBA program. Loree is also a graduate of Leadership NC, the Quest for Personal Leadership and Charlotte Leadership School.

Ms. Elswick currently serves on the Board of Directors for the YWCA, the North Carolina Heroes Fund and is Board Chair for the SouthPark Chapter of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. In addition to her extensive volunteer work, Loree enjoys cycling and hiking in her spare time and resides in the SouthPark area of Charlotte.

Account Executive
WTVD ABC 11
Raleigh, NC

www.abclocal.go.com/wtvd

Amy Gamber presently serves as an account executive with WTVD ABC11, an ABC O&O and wholly owned subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, located in Raleigh-Durham.

Amy currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, and sits as Chair and liaison of their Durham Advisory Council.   Before relocating to North Carolina from upstate New York, Amy served as board chair for Family Counseling of Jefferson County, and also as a member of both the Board of Directors and the Executive committee for the Thompson Park Conservancy.  For several years, Amy served on the Agency Review committee for her local United Way.  In her 17+ years in the advertising field, Amy has assisted numerous non profits in fine-tuning their marketing and public relations efforts.

Amy is a graduate of Clarkson University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management and also a Masters of Science in Management Systems, with a concentration in Marketing Research.
Amy and her husband Chris live in Chapel Hill.

Regional Director, External Affairs
AT&T North Carolina
Greensboro, NC

www.bellsouth.com

Chuck Greene was named AT&T North Carolina’s Regional Director for the Piedmont Triad District after the merger of AT&T and BellSouth closed on December 29, 2006.  As Regional Director, he is AT&T North Carolina’s primary community representative for Alamance, Caswell, Forsyth, Guilford, and Rockingham counties.  Prior to assuming his current responsibilities with AT&T North Carolina, Chuck was BellSouth’s Area Director for the Piedmont Triad District – a position he held since May 1, 2002.

Chuck is a native of Valdese, NC and a 1992 graduate of Wake Forest University, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.  He joined BellSouth in 1999 as Manager – Regulatory & External Affairs.  In this position, his responsibilities included serving as Facilitator of the North Carolina Number Conservation Industry Task Force and representing BellSouth at North Carolina number conservation and area code relief industry meetings.  Before joining BellSouth, Chuck served on then Representative Richard Burr’s Washington, DC staff as the Senior Legislative Assistant handling telecommunications and finance issues.

Chuck participates in many community and civil activities.  He is a member of the Winston-Salem Rotary Club and serves on the Forsyth County United Way Board of Directors, the Board of Advisors for the Piedmont Triad Research Park, the Pilot View Resources Conservation and Development, Inc. Board of Directors, the Piedmont Triad Partnership Board of Directors, the SciWorks Board of Directors, the Guilford College Board of Visitors, the Elon University Love School of Business Board of Advisors, and WFMY-News 2’s “2 Those Who Care” Board of Governors.  Chuck is also active in the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce – serving on the Chamber’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee.  He also serves as the Chairman of the Winston-Salem Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee.

He and his wife, Jenny, have one daughter Ashley, and they live in Winston-Salem.

President
Krebs & Associates
Raleigh, NC

After more than 25 years in the corporate world of finance and business, Van
made the move to North Carolina to work with kids connected with the efforts of Dr. Jim Goodnight and SAS Institute to improve education through
technology. After three years working with SAS inSchool serving as the
Director of the “Partners in Education Program” while also functioning as the
Manager of Sales and Marketing and Business Development Officer, he formed Krebs and Associates in order to pursue his various community passions along with business consulting. These activities have led to membership on several local and statewide organizations’ Boards of Directors. Among those are the North Carolina Council on Economic Education, Clarence Lightner Leadership Foundation, Back Home Box Foundation and several others. He works with the Citizen Soldier Support Program (CSSP) at UNC Chapel Hill on an ongoing basis. In conjunction with the North Carolina Bankers Association, Van created, organized and directed the highly successful “Salute to Our NC Troops” that was held in downtown Raleigh in the spring of 2008. This event drew 50,000 people out to show appreciation for our North Carolina based military and gained national attention as the largest military appreciation event of its type ever held in the country.

Mr. Krebs graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree from the Honors Economics Program His work experience has been with major financial firms such as Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns and the investment banking firm that he founded, SWS Capital Group. He has owned and operated several companies and has worked with virtually every level of business entity.

Van is married to Frances Cox Krebs. They have three sons, two daughter-in-laws and two granddaughters.  Van and Fran are active members of their church and community. He earned Varsity honors in both football and track/field at UVA and maintains active involvement in various athletics. During the course of his sports endeavors, he has played Rugby globally.

Associate
Parker, Poe, Adams & Bernstein
Raleigh, NC

www.parkerpoe.com

Amanda Hayes is an associate with the law firm of Parker, Poe, Adams & Bernstein. As an attorney her practice involves a wide variety of corporate law issues, with a principal focus on merger and acquisition transactions and commercial contracts. Mandy was admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 2002.

Mandy regularly advises clients on the legal aspects of business transactions, including negotiated transactions, including stock and asset acquisitions and dispositions, mergers and other similar transactions for both public and privately-owned companies; corporate reorganizations and restructurings; general corporate representation, including corporate formation and dissolution, corporate maintenance, the negotiation of shareholders' agreements and employment agreements and other matters; commercial contracts, including terms and conditions of sale, service agreements, sales representative agreements and supply agreements; the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, including applicability and preparation of filings. Mandy and her husband, Lee Craven, live in Raleigh.

Mandy graduated magna cum laude in 1999 from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts. She is also a 2002 graduate, with honors, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a Juris Doctorate. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

While at the University of North Carolina, Ms. Hayes was a comments editor of the North Carolina Law Review. She also studied at Universidad de Granada in Granada, Spain in 1998. Mandy's passion for our military runs deep. She is especially proud of her brother, who has served two tours in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Radio Host
680 WPTF Triangle Talk Radio / Curtis Media
Raleigh, NC

www.wptf.com

Bill LuMaye is the host of the "Bill LuMaye Show" on NewsTalk 680 WPTF. His radio career began in 1980 in his hometown and has rewarded him in many ways. Bill's recording background includes production work on several movie, national television and radio projects bringing him the recognition of a National Clio and Grammy award.

Bill was the first radio host to be embedded with our troops in Iraq, broadcasting live the week before Christmas 2003. The men and women of the 432nd Civil Affairs unit celebrated the capture of Saddam, dodged incoming RPG shells and talked with their loved ones back home via the Bill LuMaye Show, live from Iraq.

NewsTalk 680 WPTF welcomed the "Bill LuMaye Show" to North Carolina in 2004. While anchoring the afternoon-drive slot, weekdays 3pm - 6pm, Bill has continued to bring the news of the world to Triangle airwaves. He returned to Iraq in 2006 where he was embedded with the Iraqi 1st Army. Bill talked with Generals Casey and Pace in Baghdad and lived with our brave troops in camps throughout the Sunni Triangle as well as in the IZ zone in Baghdad.

Bill continues to take the afternoon show on the road whenever possible, including Mission, Texas for a week with the U.S. Border Patrol to examine the reality of illegal immigration. He's filed reports from Guantanamo Bay in order to get an inside perspective on the living conditions of terrorists being held at GITMO. He broadcasted live from the Pentagon for the 5 year anniversary of 9/11 and was one of just 30 talk shows in the nation invited to the White House "Radio Days" event.

Bill LuMaye grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He now calls Raleigh home with his wife, Jenn. He is the proud father of son, Ben and daughter, Nichole.

Vice President, Gun Systems
General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products
Charlotte, NC

www.gdatp.com

Mike O'Brien was appointed Vice President, Gun Systems for General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products in January 2005. Prior to his current assignment, Mike served as Vice President, Business Development, where he was responsible for developing and executing a business development plan responsive to the strategic goals of the company and the dynamics of the customer and the marketplace.

Before joining GDATP, Mike was Corporate Director, Customer and Congressional Relations, Land Warfare Programs at General Dynamics corporate headquarters in Falls Church, Va. Assuming this position in January 1997, Mike was responsible for the coordination of General Dynamic programs with both the United States Congress and the Department of Defense.

In October 1995, Mike joined Lockheed Martin as Director of Government Operations and Artillery Systems Development for its Pittsfield, Mass.-based unit. From 1994 to 1995, Mike served as Manager of Business Development, Eastern Region for Talley Defense Systems.

Mike began his career in 1968, serving his country in the United States Army. As a U.S. Army Officer, Mike served as the Deputy Commander of the Combat Maneuver Training Center in Germany and was the Commander of the 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery Regiment, XVIII Airborne Corps. In his last assignment, he served as the Deputy Chief of Congressional Liaison for the U.S. Army and, as such, served as the Secretary of the Army's representative responsible for all Army issues and budget coordination with the United States Congress. Mike retired at the rank of Colonel in 1994.

A graduate of Louisiana Tech University, Mike received his bachelor's degree in marketing and management. Mike has also earned master's degrees in national security and strategy and in international relations from the U.S. Naval War College and Salve Regina University, respectively. During his Army career, he graduated from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Naval War College.

Senior Vice President
Keystone Partners
Charlotte, NC

Brent Royall, a Senior Vice President with Charlotte-based Keystone Partners, is a commercial real estate broker specializing in representing office tenants in lease and facility purchase transactions.

A native of Louisville, Kentucky and US Army veteran, Brent holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY and an MBA in Real Estate Finance & Development from UNC Charlotte. Brent is a graduate of Leadership North Carolina and a member of Charlotte Rotary.

Brent resides in Fort Mill, SC with his wife and daughter.

CEO & Founder
Stone Theatres
Charlotte, NC

Herman Stone, founder and CEO of Consolidated Theatres and lifetime film industry entrepreneur, has spent more than 45 years in the film industry, joining Consolidated Theatres in 1965 upon graduating from Pfeiffer College to handle booking, film buying and business development. A lifelong North Carolinian, he worked his way up through the ranks of the company to become president in 1986. After selling the business to Carmike Cinemas, Stone founded Consolidated Theatres, Inc. in 1990, which became the ninth largest theater chain in the U.S., operating 421 screens in 30 locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee. Stone then sold to Regal Entertainment Group in 2008; since then has formed a new theatre company, Stone Theatres, presently operating 30 screens in North Carolina and South Carolina, with a new location to open in the late fall of 2009.

Major General, U.S. Army (Retired)
Chief Operating Officer
US Logistics
Fayetteville, NC

Major General Charles H. Swannack, Jr. was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry from the United States Military Academy on 9 June 1971.  He has proudly served his Nation for more than thirty years in command and staff positions at every level from platoon to Department of the Army.

Prior to retiring, MG Swannack served for six months as the Deputy Commander, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, where he helped prepare Corps units for deployment to Iraq.  Before assuming these duties, MG Swannack commanded the 82nd Airborne Division from 8 October 2002-27 May 2004.  During this time, he provided forces to Combined Joint Task Force-180 for combat operations in Afghanistan, and he personally led the Division during combat operations from Kuwait to Baghdad and later civil-military operations in western Iraq.