Northwest Georgia's Business

Five promoted at Coosa Valley Credit Union

-Media release: Rhonda Padgett has been promoted to Manager ofIndirect Lending for Coosa Valley Credit Union. Mrs. Padgett will be focusingprimarily on working with local dealerships on auto financing. She most recently served Coosa Valley Credit Union as the Branch Manager in Armuchee. Rhonda is a graduate of Georgia Bankers School and has over 30 years in the financial services industry.

Leah Cosby has been promoted to the Branch Manager position at Coosa Valley Credit Unions Armuchee location.  She is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising.  She is a recent graduate of Berry College with a Masters in Business Administration.  She has been with Coosa Valley for six years.  She and her fiancé, Brolin, will reside in Cartersville after their marriage. 

Matthew B. Watson has been promoted to the Assistant Branch Manager position at Coosa Valley’s Armuchee location.  Matt has been with Coosa Valley for almost two years.  He is a graduate of Shorter University with a Bachelor and Masters of Business Administration as well as a Bachelor of Science in Education.  He and his wife, Alison, reside in Rome with their two sons, Cooper and Collin.

Dena Tidwell joins Coosa Valley Credit Union as the HR/Staff Development Assistant. Dena comes to Coosa Valley from Ford Gettings and Cain Jewelers and Bankhead Enterprises INC.  She has her associate’s degree from Georgia Highlands College and lives in Rome with her husband, Rodney. 

Theresa Thaxton has been promoted to the Head Teller position at Coosa Valley Credit Unions new Rockmart Branch. Most recently Theresa served Coosa Valley  as a full time teller in the Cedartown branch and has been with Coosa Valley since 2003. She resides in Aragon with her husband, Roy

First-time jobless claims up in April vs. March; more jobs in Floyd

Source: Georgia Department of Labor

-Another see-saw snapshot from the state Department of Labor in April show most area counties had more first-time jobless insurance claims last month when compared to March. Only Polk County saw a drop. But compared to April 2012, every county saw double-digit decreases, ranging from 15.4 percent in Bartow County to 30.3 percent in Chattooga County.

-There was no change in Rome/Floyd's labor force in April (38,700) vs. the same month in 2012 but the county did pick up 200 jobs between March and April of this year. Part of that has to be attributed to continued hiring at the Lowe's Regional Distribution Center in Shannon where 400-plus have found work this year. (chart below)

-Georgia’s unemployment rate declined to 8.2 percent in April. The rate was down from 8.4 percent in March and from 9.1 percent in April 2012. “At 8.2 percent, Georgia’s unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been since December 2008,” said State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “While a two-tenths of a percent drop in one month is good to see, the most important part of that is that we saw Georgia employers create over 31,000 jobs.”
-Those new jobs came in leisure and hospitality, 10,700; professional and business services, 9,400; trade and transportation, 7,500; education and health services, 2,600; and construction, 1,800.

Heritage First launches Mobile Deposit

-Media release: Celebrating 10 years of serving Northwest Georgia, Heritage First Bank is introducing a new technology designed to enhance the banking experience of its customers.
-Ryan Earnest, President of Heritage First Bank, said the bank will unveil Mobile Deposit, an app-driven free service that allows customers to instantly deposit checks, at any time and from any location, using either their iPhone or android phone.

-Earnest also said that customers currently enrolled in Mobile Banking can easily download the update from either the Apple Store for iPhones or Google Play for Android phones. Customers currently not enrolled in Mobile Banking will see the Mobile Deposit option when downloading the Heritage First Bank Mobile Banking App.
-Earnest added that the Mobile Deposit feature, part of the bank’s wide-sweeping introduction of a suite of technologies, is a first for independent community banks in the area. “We’re proud to introduce a service not available elsewhere, and to having the opportunity to do so at a milestone mark in our history.”

April home sales report: Down slightly from a year ago

-Realtors in Greater Rome sold closed on 70 homes in our area last month, down by five or 6.7% from a year earlier. But the latest data from Jason Free of Keller Williams Commercial and president of the Greater Rome Board of Realtors, shows home sales for the first four months of this year remain slightly ahead -- by five homes -- of the same period last year.

-Other indicators we watch from the Multiple Listing Service reports:

• The number of pending sales in April was 104 vs. 69 a year earlier and the highest number in at least more than 16 months.
• There was a big drop in the sales volume, April to April, from $9.1 million to $6.9 million. However, through four months, the 2013 report was up more than $50,000.
• The average sales price dropped to $98,969 from $121,453 from a year earlier. For the year, the average sales price was $715 higher in 2013.
• The number of active listings, 724, was the highest since 729 in October.
• The average time on the market was down 17.4 percent from April 2012 but was up vs. March (149).
• Foreclosures jumped from six in April 2012 to nine in April 2013. It was the highest number since 11 in November and December.

Rome News gets 60-day extension on Chapter 11 plan

-Facing a different type of deadline from the day's normal grind, the parent company of the Rome News has sought --and been granted -- 60 more days to file its Chapter 11 reorganization plan. News Publishing Co. was to present the plan on Wednesday, four months after filing for bankruptcy protection at the federal courthouse.

-Carrollton attorney J. Nevin Smith of Smith Conerly petitioned the court for more time, stating his client had made "substantial progress in this case." His motion, quite complimentary of his client (as would be expected), cited the size of the case and the "hard work" already done by "the debtor" to prepare a plan to perhaps save the newspaper publishing company. The company now has until July 1 to present the plan to Judge Mary Grace Diehl and its long list of creditors.

-Far more than 200 customers are owed nearly $10 million, according to the original filing from Jan. 1. Citizens First Bank, United Community Bank, Greater Rome Bank are owed between $800,000 and $1 million, and that's not counting the $4 million-plus bailout by "Northwest Georgia Captial LLC" last fall. The ownership family, the Mooneys, also have six-digit claims listed, federal court records show.

-Lawyers seek nearly $60,000 for case work so far: J. Nevin Smith also has filed an "interim first fee application" seeking $54,125 in compensation and $4,862.14 in expenses for the work done between Jan. 1 and March 31 on behalf of the Mooneys and News Publishing, according to federal court records. A hearing on the request is set for 9:25 p.m. on May 29. Smith and Burgett H. Mooney III also met prior to the Jan. 1 chapter 11 filing to outline options facing the company.