THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 23, 1995 TAG: 9502230126
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Long : 223 lines
BENEATH HIS CRISP, white collar and dark banker's suit, Harold U. Blythe is a good ol' country boy.
Make no mistake, the Bank of Suffolk president and this year's Chamber of Commerce chairman is an astute businessman and respected civic leader. He's a polished professional.
But the secret to his success lies in what he calls old-fashioned, country values his parents taught him: Honesty, belief in oneself, and respect and compassion for others.
``Those are just as important today as they were 50 years ago,'' he said. ``And they will be just as important 50 years from now.''
Blythe, 52, is a team builder. He empowers others to pursue projects with his support. His employees feel like they are working with him, not for him.
In the past six and a half years, he's propelled the Bank of Suffolk to unprecedented growth, while retaining the community-owned bank's unique charm.
And that's just what he envisions for the city he's called home since 1968. He sees beyond Suffolk's borders to an exciting future with the state's largest city playing an important role at the hub of a prosperous region.
He believes the chamber has a vital role in preparing for and shaping the city's destiny.
``I really believe in Suffolk - the future of it,'' he said.
But even as the city grows, Blythe believes it must retain its personality, capitalizing on its rich, rural heritage.
``You can blend it,'' he said. ``A good mix will be good for Suffolk.''
Blythe has identified three issues he wants the chamber to focus on this year: Water needs, economic development and the concept of a super-airport.
He and William E. Harrell, a chamber vice chairman and an assistant city manager, have worked together to make the city a better place.
``I've been most impressed with his professionalism,'' Harrell said, ``and his ability to get the chamber to rally around several defined objectives. He's very skilled at getting people to work with him.''
One of Harrell's priorities has been preparing for an adequate water supply for the city, Blythe said. He believes the chamber can assist.
``We can help develop an awareness of what our water situation is and what the needs are going to be in the next five, 10 or 15 years,'' he said.
But water issues must involve all the city's neighbors, Blythe said. ``It's got to go beyond Suffolk. It's very much a regional issue.''
Economic growth is also vital for the city, Blythe said. ``We can be a catalyst, to help bring some new business into the city.''
The chamber also can assist in retaining businesses and industries.
At the bank, Blythe often spots a familiar face in the lobby and comes out of his corner office to speak. Or he stops to ask a customer who seems upset if there's something he can do to help.
That personal interest, which all the bank employees provide as well, is part of what has built the community bank's reputation.
``Move that to the chamber,'' Blythe said. ``We can go out and talk to our existing businesses and ask `What do you need to grow?' ''
Blythe's third key issue is still in the concept stage. State leaders are looking at needs for a super-airport serving Richmond to Hampton Roads.
And Suffolk, poised on the edge of the James River and bordering the Peninsula and South Hampton Roads, has an ideal location, Blythe said.
``We have so many things going for us as a hub,'' he said.
Blythe - pronounced ``Bly'' - grew up in Franklin, where his parents, Elmo and Elsie Blythe, still live. His middle initial stands for Urquhart, a family name, appropriate since he values his heritage. He quips that it stands for ``Useful,'' also appropriate since he gives so much to community endeavors.
After graduating from Franklin High School, he majored in history at Hampden-Sydney College, planning to study law. But he was a newlywed and tired of school, so the would-be lawyer turned banker, never regretting that decision.
In 1968, he and his wife, Nancy, moved to Suffolk, where they lived for eight years. Later they built a home near family members in Walters in Isle of Wight County, less than a half-hour's drive from downtown Suffolk.
Blythe enjoys getting outside, digging up tree stumps with a grubbing hoe and axe, and spending time with family - including three grown children and a 17-month-old granddaughter. He and Nancy exercise three days a week at the Franklin YMCA at 5:30 a.m., the only time he can squeeze it into his schedule.
But Suffolk is the center of most of his professional and civic activities.
``The beauty for me is I have the best of all three worlds,'' he said. ``But for all practical purposes, I'm a Suffolkian.''
Blythe has built a solid reputation as a Suffolk businessman.
James L. McLemore Jr., retired banker and lawyer, remembers when Blythe came to work for the former Virginia National Bank, now NationsBank, in the firm's management training program in 1964.
McLemore, who had left a Suffolk law practice to become one of the bank's vice presidents, saw that the younger man had a promising future.
``We called on customers, and the customers didn't have a chance,'' he said, noting Blythe's persuasiveness.
Later, Blythe worked for First Federal Savings & Loan and the former Hobbs-Adams Engineering Co., now Amadas Industries, where he was export manager then vice president of marketing.
Then in 1976, the Bank of Suffolk president retired. G.P. Jackson, chairman of the bank's board of directors, called Blythe to ask if the former banker knew anyone who would be interested.
Soon Blythe called back to say he was interested. And for practical purposes, the bank's search was over.
``He came into an already good operation and carried it from there almost straight up,'' Jackson said.
Blythe knows how to delegate and motivate, Jackson said. ``He's like a moving tide. If you're on the crest, he carries you forward with him.''
The bank president is honest and straight-forward, Jackson said. But above all, he is fair. ``People who leave his office sometimes go in disgruntled but leave in a positive mood,'' Jackson said. ``If I could chisel an epitaph on his tombstone, it would be one word - `Fair.' ''
Under Blythe's leadership, the bank's assets have grown from $30 million to $95 million, said Robert Johnson, consumer vice president. A pending merger with the Bank of Waverly could increase that to $150 million, he said.
A new corporation, James River Bank Shares, would be formed with separate community banks serving the area from Petersburg to Suffolk.
Still, each customer is important to Blythe and to the bank, Johnson said.
``Whether it's a $200 loan request or a $2 million loan request, he believes everyone should be treated fairly and with respect,'' he said.
In 1990, Blythe and Johnson set up a tutoring program at Mount Zion Elementary School as part of the chamber's Partners in Education program.
Blythe, who has substituted as a tutor, encourages his employees to help.
``The real credit goes to a group of people here at the bank,'' he said. ``I get the credit for a lot of things, but they do the work.''
Involvement in civic activities is good business, Blythe said. ``It's a reciprocal thing. If you're involved in the community, then the community comes back to you.''
Blythe sees his role as motivator. ``It starts at the top and goes down in a civic organization, business or family,'' he said.
The face of Suffolk has changed in the past three decades since he first moved to Suffolk and became part of the city's business community. And as his adopted hometown looks ahead, Blythe is optimistic.
``Suffolk has a tremendous future,'' he said. ``But we need to plan so we don't lose our perspective of who we are and what we are.'' MEMO: Suffolk Division Chamber of Commerce
Suffolk Chamber leaders in 1995 and the companies they represent:
Executive officers:
Harold U. Blythe, chairman, Bank of Suffolk
Lydia G. Duke, chairman-elect, Duke
Chevrolet-Geo-Oldsmobile-Pontiac-Buick-Cadillac-GMC.
James W. Bondurant Jr., treasurer, Virginia Natural Gas, Suffolk
T. Douglas Casey, immediate past chairman, Planters Peanuts
Linda Doland, vice chairman (education), Crestar Bank
William E. Harrell, vice chairman (membership development), City of
Suffolk
R. Bennie Speight, vice chairman (business development), Alliance
Fertilizer of Suffolk Inc.
Robert T. Williams, vice chairman (legislative affairs), The Jorman
Group
Board members:
Colin R. Davis, Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, Suffolk
Daniel J. Carley, Penn Engineering & Manufacturing Corp.
Timothy J. Copeland, Nansemond County Farm Bureau
Peter Croft, Allied Colloids
Harry L. Cross III, Cross Realty
Rev. Mark A. Croston, East End Baptist Church
Robert M. Hayes, Virginia Power
W.D. Holly III, Holly's Inc.
Ralph Roberts, Thomas J. Lipton, Inc.
Wayne K. Sawyer, Bennett's Creek Wholesale Nursery, Inc.
Paul C. Schmidt, Strategic Associates
Gerald T. Chesser, Planters Peanuts
Dr. Beverly Cox, Suffolk City Schools
William C. Giermak, Obici Hospital
What others say about Harold U. Blythe:
He's an ideal boss. He's a mover and a shaker, a class A guy, a true
leader.''
- Bob Stanley, Bank of Suffolk commercial vice president
He's not one to hum and haw. He addresses a problem and goes on with
it, whether good or bad. He wants to give somebody a direct answer.
He's a good boss, but more than that, he's a good person.''
- Robert Johnson, Bank of Suffolk consumer vice president
``He's an astute banker. He's outstanding in so many fields. He's a
wonderful person with a wonderful disposition, a wonderful attitude.
It's contagious.''
- G.P. Jackson, chairman of the Bank of Suffolk board of directors
I don't think he has any shortcomings. He has high character and is a
danged good man.''
- James L. McLemore, Jr., retired
vice president of former
Virginia National Bank
(now NationsBank)
He's very professional, not off on some ego-bend of his own. He's
come into the small-town bank and helped it grow, putting his
professionalism and his spin on it to make sure they go forward.''
- T. Douglas Casey, immediate past chairman, Suffolk division
of Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce
``He's well-known and very personable as well, not overbearing. He's
one of the nicest people I've met here in Suffolk.''
- William E. Harrell, assistant city manager
of Suffolk and vice president of
development of the chamber's Suffolk division
He's very much interested in the welfare of the city, and not just
the city but the whole area. He's down-to-earth, a commonsense type
person. He's a good man.''
- Colin R. ``Randy'' Davis, executive director, Chamber's Suffolk
division
ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
A BLYTHE SPIRIT
[Color Photo]
Harold Blythe
Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Harold Blythe is chairman of the Suffolk division of the Hampton
Roads Chamber of Commerce and president of the Bank of Suffolk.
Jackson
Harrell
KEYWORDS: PROFILE SUFFOLK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE by CNB