Bank of Botetourt announces two executive level promotions for Austin and Honts
Bank of Botetourt Announces Promotions to Executive Vice President
Bank of Botetourt is pleased to announce that Michelle R. Austin has been promoted to Executive Vice
President and Chief Operating Officer. She will maintain her role as CFO, which she has held since 2005,
and will continue working from the Bank’s Troutville Office. Michelle began her career in banking with
Bank of Botetourt as a college intern in 1991 and joined the Bank full time in 1993. She has her Bachelor
of Business Administration from Roanoke College and an MBA from Troy University. Michelle also
graduated from the Virginia Bankers Association (VBA) School of Bank Management at University of
Virginia (UVA) and the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University (LSU).
Michelle stated, “I am blessed to be part of the leadership team at Bank of Botetourt. As a community
banker, it has been rewarding to help customers, employees, and the local area for the past twentyeight years.”
Michelle was recently appointed to the Region 2 GO Virginia Board (GOVA). The GOVA mission is to
support programs that help create high-paying jobs through incentivized collaboration between
business, education, and government to diversify and strengthen the economy in every region of the
Commonwealth.
She serves as a Board Member of the Virginia Bankers Association (VBA) Benefits Board
since 2019, served on the Dabney S. Lancaster Community College (DSLCC) Educational Foundation since
2011 and continues to be a Trustee of Lithia United Methodist Church. Her spare time has always
included an element of education. For eleven years Michelle served as an adjunct professor in the
Department of Business Administration and Economics at Roanoke College. She currently teaches an
accounting prerequisite class for the VBA School of Bank of Management at the University of Virginia
(UVA).
After twenty-seven years with Bank of Botetourt, George E. Honts IV (Ned) has been promoted to
Executive Vice President and will continue his role of Chief Lending Officer. Ned is based out of the
Bank’s Troutville Office. He graduated from Hampden-Sydney College along with the Virginia Bankers
School of Bank Management at UVA and the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.
Ned serves on the Board of the Botetourt County Public Schools Education Foundation, the Board and
Executive Board for the Virginia State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation and as a Board
Member and Treasurer of the Appalachian Habitat Association. In his free time, he enjoys the outdoors and can be found hunting, fishing and golfing. Ned grew up in Botetourt County and resides in the Troutville area with his wife Stephanie and their son Garrett.
Bank President and CEO, G. Lyn Hayth, III stated that “the Bank and our senior management team is
grateful to have both Michelle and Ned on our team. Their wealth of knowledge in the industry
combined with the time they’ve both invested in our community brings a level of insight that cannot be
matched.”
Bank of Botetourt was chartered in 1899 and operates twelve retail offices in Botetourt, Rockbridge,
Roanoke, and Franklin counties and the City of Salem, all in Virginia. Bank of Botetourt also operates
a mortgage division, Virginia Mountain Mortgage and a financial services division, Botetourt Wealth
Management.
Submitted by Mary Ann Layman aVP for Business Banking and Community Relations