First Bank & Trust Company appointed Mark Carroll Thackston senior vice president and commercial loan officer.

Thackston most recently worked for Bank of Charlotte County. From 1996-2006, Thackston was a private practice attorney, providing transactional estate planning, corporate litigation services and commercial real estate law expertise. Thackston also is a lieutenant colonel with 23 years of service in the Virginia Army National Guard JAG Corps and currently serves as the J8 on the joint staff of the Virginia National Guard.

In his role at First Bank & Trust Company, Thackston will work with businesses and commercial enterprises to identify, provide and leverage flexible financial solutions.

“Mark will assist his customers with strategic solutions that provide them with access to capital,” Jim McAlister, senior vice president and regional manager for the New River Valley Region in Virginia of First Bank & Trust Company, said. “He is a skilled lending professional who is committed to the needs of his clients.”

Thackston serves as a member of the South Boston Industrial Development Authority, the Halifax County Service Authority board of directors and is an executive committee member of the Virginia Title Center board of directors. He is also a member of the Virginia National Guard Officers Association, the Virginia State Bar and the legal affairs committee of the Virginia Bankers Association.

First Bank & Trust Company is a diversified financial services firm with office locations in southwest Virginia, northeast Tennessee, and New River and Shenandoah Valleys.