SALISBURY — Rowan Regional Medical Center has announced the election of Harold C. Earnhardt as chairman of the board of directors.
Earnhardt succeeds Bruce Jones, who served as board chairman since 2010. Jones will continue to serve on the hospital’s board of directors.
Earnhardt is a former partner of Earnhardt Lumber Co., where he retired in 1977. He is a retired brigadier general of the U.S. Air Force, where he received numerous medals including Legion of Merit, air medal; Vietnam Service medal and two Bronze Stars.
A community leader, Earnhardt serves on several local boards including Nazareth Children’s Home, Rowan Helping Ministries and Citizens South Bank. He has served on the Rowan Regional Board of Directors since 2005, most recently as vice chairman.
Earnhardt and his wife Helen live in Rockwell. They have three children, Cristy McKinney of Elon, Leslie Heidrick of Gold Hill and Mark Earnhardt of Charlotte.
The hospital board elected Mary Ponds as vice chair, Luke C. Fisher as secretary and Ellen L. Messinger as treasurer.
Ponds is the mayor of Granite Quarry and a retired school teacher. Fisher is the owner of The Fisher Companies, a construction company located in Salisbury. Messinger is the vice president of Curb Fox Equipment LLC, a distributor of small concrete paving machines located in Salisbury.
“The four officers of the Rowan Regional Board of Directors represent education, military and business,” Dari Caldwell, president of Rowan Regional Medical Center, said in a press release. “Together, they also represent our communities. Their backgrounds and talents, deeply rooted in Rowan County, will help our organization continue to prioritize providing the best quality care possible to members of our community.”
Other members of the board include Jones, Caldwell, Bennett Hester, Dr. James C. Johnson, Glenn E. Ketner Jr., Dr. Alan D. King, Dr. David L. King, E. William “Bill” Wagoner, Dr. David W. Templeton, Dr. James A. Murphy, Dr. Chetan D. Amin, Caldwell and Jeffery T. Lindsay, president of Forsyth Medical Center and chief operating officer of the Greater Winston-Salem market for Novant Health.