FLORENCE, S.C. - Orangeburg-based Community Resource Bank named Michael Blakeley, a South Carolina banker with nearly 40 years of experience in the financial services industry, as Florence regional president.

Blakeley’s first goal will be to boost the bank’s presence in the Pee Dee, said Mike Wolfe, president of Community Resource Bank. Blakeley’s hiring highlights a new push for Community Resource Bank in Florence.

Previously, Blakeley was a senior vice president at Sentry Bank & Trust and a Florence city executive.

Sentry was acquired by First Bancorp of Troy, N.C., earlier this year. Prior to that, Blakeley was with Wachovia and South Carolina National Bank.

Blakeley, who attended The Citadel, served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War and logged more than 1,500 flying hours aboard a C-130 Hercules aircraft.

Blakeley has long been active in the Florence community and serves on a number of community and business boards, including that of the Florence Chamber of Commerce and the Francis Marion Center for the Performing Arts.

Community Resource Bank has two branches in Florence. It has 10 branches in all, with additional locations beyond Orangeburg in Blythewood, Columbia, Ridgeway, Sumter and Winnsboro.

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