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SATURDAY DECEMBER 10 2016
William Billy Blanchard is departing Columbus Bank and Trust to work with his father at Jordan-Blanchard Capital.
COLUMBUS BANK AND TRUST
Columbus banking
turns page of history
as Blanchard departs
BY TONY ADAMS
tadams@ledger-enquirer.com
I
ts not quite the end of an
era of the Blanchard name,
perhaps. But its certainly a
distinctive chapter in the
history books of Columbus Bank
and Trust, with a third gener-
ation of the family to serve as
president calling it a career at
the end of this year.
The banks parent company,
Synovus Financial Corp., an-
nounced Thursday that William
Billy Blanchard is departing
Charges dropped after man
spends 35 years in prison
BY TIM CHITWOOD
tchitwood@ledger-enquirer.com
Thirty-five years after he was
convicted and sentenced to life
in prison for rape, aggravated
sodomy and burglary, Paul Je-
rome Tyner is a free man.
The Georgia Court of Appeals
overturned his convictions Nov.
20, 2015, ruling Tyner deserved
a new trial because the late
Judge John Land had erred in
denying Tyners request to have
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Columbus.
Billy Blanchard, 45, who will
remain vice chairman of
CB&Ts advisory board, will be
succeeded by Heath Schondel-
mayer, who has been with Syn-
ovus nearly two decades and
now is senior vice president over
Blanchard Schondelmayer its Private Wealth Management
group.
the citys largest bank to work I dont think its an end of an
with his father at Jordan-Blan- era because I do look forward to
chard Capital. Blanchards fath- being a part of this board, Billy
er, James H. Blanchard, is a Blanchard said Friday in an
partner with The Jordan Compa- interview. The board plays an
ny in the private investment important role in the life of
firm located on River Road in CB&T, and Im going to have a
an attorney re- Tyners case came
sume his defense before Rumer again Friday
after trying to morning, when prosecutors
represent himself. informed the judge they had
That sent the decided to dead-docket the
case back to Mus-
cogee County
charges.
Now Tyner no longer faces
Tyner Superior Court, prosecution for what authorities
where it was charged was a series of violent
assigned to Judge William Rum- sexual assaults against Colum-
er, who eventually reduced bus women whose homes he
Tyners bonds from $375,000 broke into over eight months in
to $60,000, so after decades of 1980 and 1981.
incarceration, Tyner finally was Initially charged in a 25-count
able to leave jail. indictment, a jury convicted him
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MIKE HASKEY
chance on a very regular basis to
be connected to Heath and to
his team. Im going to help them LOCAL
where I can to grow the bank
and do the kinds of things a
director ought to do. Im very CREAM OF THE
excited.
CROP PROMOTED
His father, Jim Blanchard, is a
retired Synovus chairman and
chief executive officer who
followed in his own dads foot-
Columbus Fire and
Emergency Medical
steps, taking the helm of Colum-
bus Bank and Trust himself in
1971. Billy Blanchards grand-
father, James W. Blanchard,
Services held its annual
promotion ceremony and
reception on Friday. 3A
took the top spot in 1957 and led
the bank for more than a decade
until his early death. Under his
tutelage, CB&T became one of
the first banks in the United
States to issue charge cards,
which are ubiquitous today.
For those counting, thats a
Blanchard leading the Colum-
bus-based bank or its holding
company for nearly 60 years.
Theres a very deep and long
connection to this bank with my
family, Billy Blanchard said.
Ive worked here for 20 years,
but my whole life my dad was
BUSINESS
SEE BLANCHARD, 7A MEDITERRANEAN
CUISINE
A restaurant that serves
Sept. 23, 1981, on two counts
each of rape, aggravated sodo-
my and burglary. While lament-
Mediterranean-style
food, including pita bread
ing the U.S. Supreme Court had
made a mistake by eliminat-
ing the death penalty for rape,
and gyros, is coming to
north Columbus. 4B
Land gave Tyner two life sen-
tences after a two-day trial.
It was during the trials con-
clusion that Land made crucial
errors by denying Tyner the
LOCAL
assistance of counsel, the
appeals court decided.
Land erred first by
UNITED WAY
letting Tyner represent himself GOAL UPDATE
in closing arguments without The United Way of the
adequate warning of the pos-
sible consequences and sec- Chattahoochee Valley is
ond by refusing to let Tyner about 85% of the way
defer to his court-appointed
toward making its $7.1
SEE TYNER, 5A million goal. 3A
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