The corporate headquarters and Main Office of Rutherford County's newest community bank, MIDSOUTH BANK (In Organization), will be located at One East College Street in the former First United Methodist Church building. Jack O. Weatherford, Senior Chairman, Lee M. Moss, Chairman and CEO, and J. Ben Weatherford, President of MIDSOUTH BANK (In Organization) made the announcement. The senior management team and twelve organizers of the bank agreed to purchase the church property in April. Johnson & Bailey Architects, PC of Murfreesboro is the architect for the renovation project of the historic sanctuary and the new 17,000 square foot administration building which will front College Street. American Contractors, Inc. will be the general contractor for the project.

         In making the announcement concerning the renovation of the church sanctuary and the building of the administration building, Moss stated, "Our intentions are to maintain the full architectural integrity of the sanctuary with the administration addition architecturally complementing the former sanctuary. We are very conscious of the legacy of this building and intend to do everything feasible to maintain the historical and structural integrity of the sanctuary."

         The management team also announced the move from the bank's temporary offices on Dow Street to the educational wing of the former church building fronting North Church Street. The bank will remodel the former gymnasium to serve as the bank's temporary lobby with drive-up window capabilities. A second banking location has been secured in Smyrna at 319 South Lowry Street. This will serve as a temporary location while a permanent office is constructed in the North end of the county. Both the Murfreesboro and Smyrna offices will open simultaneously at these temporary locations sometime during the fourth quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approval. Completion of the corporate headquarters in Murfreesboro and the Smyrna Office are anticipated in the fall of 2004.

         In just four months, over 1400 individuals have subscribed to more than $25 million in stock for the organization of MIDSOUTH BANK, surpassing the bank's original goal of $15 million in capital by over 60%. While the initial offering of stock was limited to $20 million, regulatory authorities have agreed to allow MIDSOUTH BANK (In Organization) to capitalize at a higher figure, thereby allowing all subscribers to potentially receive their full request of stock. As a result, stock subscriptions have been extended through mid-September and a call for funds will be made as soon as approval is received from the regulatory authorities (anticipated by mid-October). Notification will be sent by mail at that time. More information may be obtained by calling the office at (615) 278-7100.

         MIDSOUTH BANK (in organization) has established a web site at www.midsouthbanking.com. (Due to pre-existing domain registrations, the word "banking" is used instead of "bank" in the web site address.) When approved, MIDSOUTH BANK (In Organization) will become just the second of 14 banks operating in the county with corporate headquarters in Rutherford County.

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