Tom Pashley, of Pinehurst Resort, has been elected as the new chairman of the Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) of Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen board for 2011-2012.

The vice chairman will be David Byers, of Comfort Inn, and Sharon King is secretary/treasurer.

The bureau also thanked outgoing Chairwoman Bonnie McPeake for her commitment to the organization’s success.

Pashley is currently executive vice president of marketing for Pinehurst Resort and has been a member of the board since 2005. He is responsible for all sales, marketing, advertising and public relations activities for the resort.

He has worked at Pinehurst in various capacities for 15 years, starting as a manager-in-development and was heavily involved in the 1999 and 2005 U.S. Open championships.

His passion for golf was formed at a young age growing up in his hometown of Augusta, Ga. He graduated from the University of Georgia, worked for three years in accounting for Deloitte & Touche in Atlanta and went on to receive a master’s in business administration from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Pashley is a member of the N.C. Travel and Tourism Board. He and his wife, Susan, have two children — Holly, 8, and Max, 5.

Publishers Group

Honors Daniels

Frank Daniels Jr. received the Frank W. Mayborn Leadership Award by the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association (SNPA) at its recent annual News Industry Summit.

Daniels is chairman of The Pilot and retired president and publisher of The News and Observer Publishing Co. in Raleigh.

The Mayborn Award recognizes outstanding newspaper executives for their vision, community leadership and significant contributions to the newspaper industry. The award, presented annually by SNPA, is named for Frank W. Mayborn, the former editor and publisher of the Temple (Texas) Daily Telegram and the Killeen (Texas) Daily Herald.

He served as SNPA president in 1961-1962. As a committee member, committee chair and SNPA director, Mayborn provided key leadership throughout the 1950s and 1960s that formed the basis for the organization’s future growth and success.

Until his death in 1987, Mayborn also served as one of the leading figures in broadcast and print media in central Texas.

The award was announced by J. Stewart Bryan III, chairman of Media General and a past president of SNPA. Bryan, also a past recipient of the Mayborn Leadership Award, said he was honored to present this year’s award to his longtime friend and colleague “who has contributed so much to his community, to our industry and to our association — a man who has shared his experience and wisdom with us with unfailing strength and humor.”

Daniels comes from a family steeped in the newspaper industry. His grandfather bought the News & Observer in 1894 and served as publisher until 1948. Daniels succeeded his father as president and publisher in 1971.

Daniels has led nearly all of the key newspaper industry organizations:

n Chairman of The Associated Press, the American Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation (now National Newspaper Association) and the Newspaper Advertising Bureau.

n Treasurer and director of ANPA.

n President of the North Carolina Press Association, and president of SNPA from 1972-1973.

More recently, Daniels served with Bryan as co-chairman of the effort that raised nearly $9 million to fund the work of the SNPA Foundation.

Daniels recently served on the board of governors of the University of North Carolina. He has served as chairman of the Smithsonian National Board, Triangle United Way, the Greater Triangle Community Foundation and the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County.

He has been a director of Smithsonian Business Ventures, Commonwealth Fund, Landmark Communications, Mutual Insurance Co., UNC Hospital Systems, Roses Stores and the Telecable Corp. He has been a trustee of the Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina, St. Mary’s College and Peace College. He was also vice chairman of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority.

Daniels was presented with a sculpture by renowned glass artist Hans Godo Frabel titled “Reaching for the Stars.”

Corso Named

To RTRP Post

Pat Corso, executive director of Moore County Partners in Progress, has been appointed to serve on the Executive Committee of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership’s (RTRP) board of directors.

RTRP is a public-private partnership dedicated to keeping the 13-county Research Triangle Region, including Moore County, economically competitive and to marketing the region for new investment and job creation.

Its 59-member board of directors is composed of regional, community and business leaders from across the region, including Corso and the economic developers from each of the other 12 member counties. Moore County has two other board seats currently occupied by County Commissioner Tim Lea and Fred Hobbs, chairman of Partners in Progress.

Corso, who has been Partners’ executive director for just two months, will serve a one-year term on the Executive Committee.

“The Executive Committee and board meetings will afford me the opportunity to get to know my fellow economic developers and other leaders in the Research Triangle Region,” Corso said. “The professional interaction with the other members will be invaluable as I continue to get acclimated to my new role.”

RTRP is leading a five-year, regional economic development initiative called “The Shape of Things to Come,” which aims to create 100,000 new jobs and boost employment in all 13 counties through new, existing, and entrepreneurial business growth; developing and enhancing the region’s assets and amenities; and engaging key partnerships to stay economically competitive.

“While it would certainly be easy to put on blinders and only focus on Moore County 100 percent of the time, sometimes we will reap the most benefit from regional collaboration, or seeing the bigger picture,” Corso said. “My seats on both the Executive Committee and the board will ensure I stay informed and can take advantage of any and all opportunities in the region that could potentially benefit Moore County.”

Partners in Progress receives and responds to a significant number of client leads from RTRP for companies considering a location or expansion in central North Carolina.

Partners in Progress is the nonprofit economic development organization serving all of Moore County.

Firm Recognizes

Adviser as Pacsetter

Justin D. Bradford, a financial services professional in Pinehurst, has recently been recognized as a pacesetter by H.D. Vest Financial Services.

Bradford joined 40 other pacesetters at the Pace-setters Assembly, which was hosted by Allianz Life Financial Services in Minneapolis, Minn., Oct. 6-7, a news release said.

H.D. Vest is one of the oldest and largest independent financial services firms specializing in training and supporting tax professionals.

H.D. Vest Financial Services Pacesetters is a companywide program designed to recognize its advisers at various stages of their investment planning practice for their commitment to providing clients with investment-planning tools and strategies that will help them work toward a brighter financial future, the release said.

By recognizing a range of categories, advisers at all levels of success and tenure are included and can learn from each other. The goal of the Pacesetters Assembly is to celebrate the pacesetters’ success, share successful ideas and strategies, meet with representatives from the host sponsors, and build valuable relationships with other pacesetter advisers.

Bradford heard educational speakers from Allianz on industry updates and planning ideas.

“Pacesetters is a unique program H.D. Vest supports because it recognizes advisers who have excelled in their field but who may be at very different points in their careers — from new advisers to those who have been helping clients for 20 years,” said H.D. Vest President Roger Ochs. “Our advisers can learn a lot from each other because they each bring an expertise to the table. We are very pleased to partner with Allianz to host this educational event for these outstanding advisers.”

Bradford has been an adviser with H.D. Vest since 2003. He has owned Bradford Wealth Management in Pinehurst since 2010. He graduated from Western Illinois University with a degree in public communication in 1999.

BB&T Promotes

Johnson to Post

BB&T has promoted Paul W. Johnson to vice president.

Johnson, who joined the bank in 2006, is a certified financial center leader in BB&T’s main office at 50 Aviemore Court in Pinehurst.

The Fayetteville native earned his bachelor’s degree in business from University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Epic Purchases

Georgia Facility

Southern Pines-based Epic Enterprises has announced the purchase and opening of a new warehouse and office in Dalton, Ga.

The original Dalton location opened in December 2004 and has been very well-received by customers, the company said in a news release. Increased business has prompted the firm to move and expand.

The new warehouse is next door in the same complex, and is twice the square footage of the original warehouse.

“The expansion will allow the North Carolina firm to stock more items driven by customer demand in that area,” said Ed Crenshaw, president and owner of Epic.

Epic has provided quality parts and services to the textile industry worldwide for nearly 35 years.