The Union County Business & Professional Association will host its 28th Annual Prayer Breakfast at First Baptist Church in Maynardville on Good Friday, April 18, beginning at 8 a.m. Dale Keasling, retired CEO and Chairman of Home Federal Bank, is the keynote speaker.

Dale Keasling grew up on a farm in Greeneville, Tennessee. As a farmer he learned the value of work and the responsibility of serving animals and people. He took the principles he learned from farming first to serve in a cryptographic unit in the Air Force, stationed most of the time in New York where he worked with coded messages. The lessons learned from farming continued as he entered ETSU to earn a Bachelor's in accounting and his first job as an auditor for the Arthur Andersen & Co. accounting firm in Chattanooga. Next he joined one of his clients, Valley Fidelity Bank & Trust Co. in Knoxville as chief financial officer.

According to Keasling, banking, like farming, involves hard work and taking risks, and there also is the satisfaction in seeing tangible results from your efforts. However, when First Tennessee bought Valley Fidelity, he sought a more community oriented bank and found this practice at Home Federal Bank. At Home Federal he used this work ethic combined with conservative financial practices to lead Home Federal to become one of the most successful banks in Tennessee.

Dale Keasling has always balanced banking with community service. He is a member of the Board of Deacons of Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church as well as serving on numerous boards of directors for non-profits including United Way of Greater Knoxville, the Salvation Army, Yoke Youth Ministries and Knox Area Rescue Ministries, among others. The Knoxville Chamber of Commerce awarded Keasling the Haslam Leadership Award, given to a long-standing business leader that exhibits strength in character, resolve, a commitment to the community, and exemplary success in the regional business community. Junior Achievement of East Tennessee inducted Keasling into its East Tennessee Business Hall of Fame. A farmer at heart, a banker by trade, and a servant-leader by practice, Dale's address should prove to be practical and inspiring.

Tickets are available for a $20 donation at Commercial Bank or Firstbank. Sponsorships include Platinum at $250 (8 tickets), Gold for $100 (4 tickets) or Silver for $50 (2 tickets). To reserve tickets and pay at the door, contact Charlene Kosegi at 513-265-9587 or email charlene.kosegi@gmail.com.