Two more community banks are looking to grow in western Wake County.

Capital Bank of Raleigh last week opened its newest branch at 7705 Carpenter Fire Station Road in Cary.

And Southern Community Bank and Trust of Winston-Salem says it may soon follow.

"We don't have any sort of definitive geographic goals," said Jim Derrickson, Southern Community's top local executive.

"I will say that Cary/Apex/Holly Springs is a gotta-be for us in the future," Derrickson added. "That is where the growth is."

Honchos meet in Cary

CARY Corporate titans descended on Cary last week.

The Business Council's annual CEO Summit was held at the Umstead Hotel and Spa, off Interstate 40.

Created in 1933 as a way for executives to provide advice to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Business Council today includes 115 active members from across corporate America. SAS Institute's Jim Goodnight and GlaxoSmithKline's Andrew Witty are among the council's current members. Goodnight gave visiting executives a tour of the nearby SAS campus while they were in town.

Area good for young firms

CARY Fortune Small Business magazine ranks the Raleigh-Cary area as No. 3 on its 2009 list of the 50 best places to start a business.

The list ranks large cities based on factors that help make entrepreneurs successful, including economic growth, labor cost, housing market and more. The rankers especially like Raleigh-Cary's weather, access to education and quality of life.

Oklahoma City was No. 1, followed by Pittsburgh.

"Historically ... small companies have led the U.S. economy out of recession," writes FSB editor Jessica Bruder. "Location matters more than ever before."

Commission chair re-appointed

CARY Womble Carlyle attorney Nellie Shipley has been re-appointed to chair the Cary Economic Development Commission. The one-year appointment, approved by Town Council, took effect Oct. 1. Shipley has chaired the commission since 2006.

In 2008, she was reappointed to a second three-year term on the board. She is also the past chair of the Cary Chamber of Commerce. She has chaired or served on planning advisory committees for the town of Cary, and was a member of a Wake County citizen's advisory committee.