California Bankers Association names Distinguished Banker of the Year

Mid-State Bank chairman Carrol Pruett honored

SACRAMENTO - January 12, 2004 - The California Bankers Association (CBA) today announced that Carrol Pruett, the current chairman a founding officer of Mid-State Bank, has received the organization's annual Distinguished Banker of the Year Award.

Pruett, who served as Mid-State Bank's president for more than 30 years, is now the bank's chairman. During his term as president of the bank, Pruett grew the bank from having $11 million in assets to more than $1.4 billion and from four offices to 32 offices. Pruett was only 29 when he became the bank's president in 1967 and was (at that time) the youngest bank president in the nation.

In addition to his successful career in banking, Pruett was also particularly active in the development and diversification of Arroyo Grande and its neighboring communities. Pruett has been the president of the San Luis Obispo County Board of Education, the Arroyo Grande Rotary Club, a trustee of Arroyo Grande Community Hospital, and director of the Santa Lucia Area Boy Scouts Council. He is also a founding board member of the UCSB Economic Forecast Project, was a board member of the Economic Vitality Corporation of San Luis Obispo and has held several positions with local Republican political committees. In 1991, Pruett was honored as the Arroyo Grande Chamber of Commerce's "Citizen of the Year."

"Carrol Pruett reminds us all what it really is to be a banker in California," said CBA president Gary S. Gertz. "Most people think that bankers only care about growing their banks, but in reality, they care about much more than that. Carrol Pruett is a remarkably gifted banker who grew Mid-State Bank into a market leader, but more than that, he was a devoted contributor to his community - and it is this commitment to community that really defines today's bankers."

Mr. Pruett is also a past president of the California Bankers Association, served as a trustee of the Pacific Coast Banking School and was inducted into that school's Hall of Fame. He graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1959 with a bachelor's degree in agriculture. He and his wife Joan have been married for 46 years, have two children and six grandchildren.

About CBA
Established more than 110 years ago, the California Bankers Association (CBA) is one of the largest state banking trade associations in the country. CBA leads the way in developing relevant educational and legislative solutions to some of California's more pressing financial and banking issues, including financial privacy, predatory lending, usage fees, and financial elder abuse. CBA's membership includes more than 300 of California's commercial, industrial and community banks and savings associations.