Mark Hamblin is a 1983 graduate of Wake Forest University. He was born and raised in Florida. Before moving to Washington, NC in 1999, he was a principal in the firm, Farr Insurance and Bonds and later served as Director of Business Development for the architectural firm of Peacock + Lewis. After moving to Washington, he served as Mayor Pro Tem in 2003, and has run several successful businesses, the most recent being Resurrected Woodworks. In 2010 he was appointed to the Northeast Commission. In 2015 the Northeast and Eastern Commissions merged to form NC East Alliance where Mark continued to serve on the Board of Directors. Mark served as Chairman of the NC East Alliance from 2019 to 2023. Mark now serves as Chief Operating Officer of the NC East Alliance. He and his wife Jan have 3 grown sons.