LRC News Release

Lenoir-Rhyne Business Council names new members

The Lenoir-Rhyne Business Council has named three new members to its board. They are Dennis R. Bruns, president and CEO of Frye Regional Medical Center; Frank “Jay” Reardon Jr., president of Hickory Chair Co.; and Ben E. Woodruff, area vice president for First Citizens Bank.

Bruns

Bruns joined Frye Regional Medical Center in February 2005. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Indiana University in 1975 and an MBA in health administration from the Indiana University School of Medicine in 1978. From 1994 to 2005, he was president and chief executive officer of Hilton Head Regional Medical Center in Hilton Head Island, S.C. During that time, he and the medical center were seven-time recipients of the Tenet Circle of Excellence Award. From 1989 to 1994, Bruns was chief executive officer of South Bay Hospital in Redondo Beach, Calif. From 1988 to 1989, he served as chief executive officer of Eastwood Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn.

Bruns is an Episcopalian. He and his wife, Vikki Wooden Bruns, live in Hickory. They have two children, Andrew Bruns, 19, a student at Abraham Baldwin College in Tifton, Ga., and Katie Bruns, 17, a student at Hickory High School.

Reardon

Reardon graduated from the University of West Georgia in 1971, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology. He has worked for Hickory Chair for 25 years. Prior to that time, he was employed by Crawford & Co., Prudential Property & Casualty, Milliken & Co. and Sherrill Upholstery. He is a member of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, where he has served as a vestry member and warden. He is married to Ginnie Preacher Reardon and is the father of two adult children, Meghan Garrard and Michael Reardon.

Woodruff

Woodruff earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina in 1978 and has worked in the banking industry for 28 years. He has been at First Citizens Bank for 13 years. He is a member of First Presbyterian Church in Hickory. Woodruff is also a board member of the Catawba Science Center, the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce and Lake Hickory Country Club. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Lake Hickory.

Woodruff and his wife, Beth Williamson Woodruff, live in Hickory. They are the parents of two children, Banks Franklin Woodruff, a student at the University of South Carolina; and Alison Anne Woodruff, a student at Hickory High School.