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GREENSBORO -- In these days of government bailouts and fiscal accountability, banking executives have gone out of their way to avoid such lavish events as professional golf tournaments.

But there was BB&T CEO Kelly King on Friday, gladly accepting and embracing his new role as honorary chairman for this year's Wyndham Championship.

"I don't look at this as spending money on a golf tournament as much as I do making an investment in this community," King said.

In terms of dollars, BB&T's investment in the Wyndham is relatively small. The bank is in its second year as a Premiere Partner with the PGA Tour event, a level that requires a minimum outlay of $250,000.

But King's role as honorary chairman is immeasurable, according to Bobby Long, chairman of the Piedmont Triad Charitable Foundation, the nonprofit group that runs the tournament.

For years, Long has preached that the Wyndham's success hinged largely on the ability of all the Triad's cities to come together and promote the tournament. In return, Long believes, the Wyndham can promote the Triad.

"At the end of the day, the Wyndham Championship is all about economic development and economic development for our region," Long said. "Kelly King could not be a better spokesperson. His commitment through the Piedmont Triad Partnership proves he walks the walk."

In King, Long has an ally. Both men have championed regionalism for years in the Triad, arguing that local governments must put aside their own interests if the Triad is to attract more and better-paying jobs.

King is chairman of the partnership that helps market the 12 counties of the Piedmont Triad for business development and expansion.

King and Long want Triad cities to rally around the golf tournament the way they have with the furniture industry and the proposed aerotropolis.

"Aerotropolis" is a phrase many cities are using to describe an industrial cluster that relies heavily on transportation links. Most aerotropolises cluster around an airport. King and his group want the Triad's aerotropolis to draw on Piedmont Triad International Airport, as well as the area's many highways and distribution centers.

As it is now, proceeds from the Wyndham Championship are returned to the community through area charities. King and Long said that may soon change and that the tournament might start investing part of those proceeds in economic development.

"Ultimately all the challenges we face will be made easier if we're focusing on how we're creating jobs for our citizens," King said. "Once we create jobs, all the other challenges become more reasonable,"

The Wyndham's honorary chairman was largely a goodwill ambassador before the Wyndham was taken over in 2005 by a board of directors made up of some of the most prominent business leaders in the Triad.

In addition to using the tournament to promote regionalism, King has another, unwritten duty: raise money. Tournament officials say privately that King will be making calls to area companies during the next few weeks soliciting sponsorships.

Sponsorship sales -- a tournament's main source of revenue -- are "roughly neck-and-neck" compared with last year, said tournament director Mark Brazil.

This year's Wyndham Championship is Aug. 17-23 at Sedgefield Country Club.

Contact Robert Bell at 373-7055 or robert.bell@news-record.com