Born and reared in Laurinburg, North Carolina, Mr. Tornow and his wife Debi now reside on Beech Mountain. A graduate of Wake Forest University Law School, he commenced the practice of law circa in January 1972. The law firm of Tornow & Kangur, LLP with T. Thomas Kangur, Jr., Partner, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was established in June 1997. In 2013, McNair moved his practice to Banner Elk. He is the 2019–20 Board of Trustees Chairman.