ASHEVILLE, NC, February 23, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Winston Louis Bissette Jr. with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Mr. Bissette celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
For more than 40 years, Mr. Bissette has provided counsel to clients in economic development, land use and zoning through his general practice law firm, McGuire, Wood and Bissette PA. Established in Asheville, North Carolina, in 1976, he has established himself as a leader among his peers. His firm, which retains the service of more than 20 experienced attorneys, boasts expertise in an array of practice areas. Working diligently to develop personalized, one-on-one care in the community and surrounding areas, clients have ranged from individuals to such large corporation as Home Depot and Target.
In addition to practicing law, Mr. Bissette provides his expertise in banking as the vice chairperson of Carolina Alliance Bank from 2014 through 2019. He spent six previous years as the chairperson of Forest Commercial Bank between 2008 and 2014. Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Bissette was notably an assistant vice president for Wachovia Bank and Trust Company and the vice president and treasurer for Western Carolina Bank.
Notable for his performance as the leader of a plethora of nonprofit, educational and other organizations, Mr. Bissette has served on the Wake Forest University board of trustees since 1996. Likewise, he is active on the board of governors of the University of North Carolina System, serving as chairperson from 2015 to 2018. He has also served as chairperson of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. Some of his former commitments have included roles with the North Carolina Arboretum Society, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, Mission-St. Joseph's Health Systems, Western Carolina University, WCI, MAHEC, and more. Mr. Bissette also served on the city council for the City of Asheville from 1983 to 1989 and was mayor between 1985 and 1989.
Mr. Bissette completed his undergraduate studies at Wake Forest University, from which he earned a Bachelor of Arts in history in 1965. Following this accomplishment, he received a Doctor of Jurisprudence at the University of North Carolina in 1968 and a Master of Business Administration at the University of Virginia in 1970. Mr. Bissette has been admitted to practice law by the North Carolina Bar Association, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina and the United States Tax Court.
Throughout his career, Mr. Bissette has been engaged as a member of several prominent professional organizations. Among them, he is active with the American Bar Association and the North Carolina Bar Association. Mr. Bissette is also a member of the Society of the Cincinnati and is a former two-time president of the Ashville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Bissette was recognized with the Medallion of Merit in 2020 from Wake Forest University, which is the highest award given for outstanding achievement and distinguished contribution to the University. He also received the Asheville School Award of Merit, the Dr. I Beverly Lake Public Service Award, a Centennial Award from the North Carolina Bar Association, a Wake Forest Distinguished Alumni Award and the prestigious Order of the Long Leaf Pine, which is an honor granted by the Governor of North Carolina to individuals that have provided extraordinary service to the state. For his outstanding contributions in law, Mr. Bissette has been consistently named to Best Lawyers in America for Administrative and Regulatory Law, Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law and Land Use, and Zoning Law since 2008. Mr. Bissette has also been named to Super Lawyers as a Top Rated Business and Corporate Attorney in Asheville since 2016 and was recently named to Best Lawyers in America as a Lawyer of the Year in 2020 for Corporate Law in Asheville. In 2021 he was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the UNC School of Law.
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