12/19/2018: Virginia Delegate presents a resolution in memory of Carter Bank & Trust’s founder, Worth Harris Carter Jr.

Virginia Delegate presents a resolution in memory of Carter Bank & Trust’s founder, Worth Harris Carter Jr.

Virginia Delegate Les Adams, representing the 16^th House District, presented a Virginia General Assembly Joint Resolution, honoring the life of its founder, Worth Harris Carter Jr.

Carter, 79, passed away unexpectedly on April 7, 2017, of cancer. Upon Carter’s passing, he was the bank’s chairman of the board.

With representatives in attendance from Carter Bank & Trust and the Virginia Bankers Association, Adams presented the resolution to Carter’s children (pictured left to right), Worth, Katherine and Ernest, at the bank’s Martinsville branch as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory as a banker, leader and philanthropist.

The full resolution is as follows:

WHEREAS, Worth Harris Carter, Jr., of Rocky Mount, a brilliant businessman who created a network of community banks throughout the Commonwealth and made many valuable contributions as a banker, leader, and philanthropist, died on April 7, 2017; and

WHEREAS, a native of Richmond, Worth Carter graduated from Hermitage High School, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond, and attended the University of Virginia School of Law; and

WHEREAS, Worth Carter began his career in finance with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond as a bank examiner, ensuring that banks in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina carried out operations ethically and lawfully; and

WHEREAS, from 1964 to 1973, Worth Carter served as vice president and comptroller of Piedmont Trust Bank in Martinsville, then opened his own bank, First National Bank of Rocky Mount, in 1974; and

WHEREAS, Worth Carter opened nine additional community banks in Danville, Martinsville, Floyd, South Boston, Lynchburg, Galax, Fredericksburg, Staunton, and Roanoke, all of which merged in 2006 to form Carter Bank & Trust; and

WHEREAS, Worth Carter’s first bank consisted of one office and eight employees with $1.2 million in capital and total assets; by 2017, he had grown Carter Bank & Trust to a network of 123 offices in Virginia and North Carolina with almost 1,000 employees, $434 million in capital, and approximately $4.5 billion in total assets; and

WHEREAS, Worth Carter founded four subsidiary organizations, served on the Martinsville City School Board, and offered his wise leadership to Averett University, Ferrum College, Mary Baldwin College, and the University of Richmond; and

WHEREAS, Worth Carter received many awards and accolades during his career, including the Heck Ford Award from the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce for his work to promote economic growth in the region, the 2010 Technology Innovator of the Year award from Bank Technology News for developing a core software platform for his banks, and an honorary doctorate in business from Liberty University in 2012; and

WHEREAS, Worth Carter enjoyed fellowship and worship with the community as a member of First Baptist Church in Martinsville, where he served as a Sunday school teacher; and

WHEREAS, predeceased by his wife of 42 years, Katherine, Worth Carter will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his children, Worth III, Katherine, and Ernest, and their families, and numerous other family members, friends, and colleagues; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Worth Harris Carter, Jr., a pillar of the Martinsville community; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Worth Harris Carter, Jr., as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.