FRANKLIN, MASSACHUSETTS, April 12, 2006

As part of Community Banking Month held annually in April, the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) recognized Dean Bank for its exemplary community service program, the Tri-County Vocational High School partnership and bank branch. Dean Bank is one of 33 community banks nationwide recognized with an Honorable Mention out of nearly 5,000 eligible for ICBA’s National Community Bank Service Awards.

“Dean Bank’s volunteer efforts convey the true meaning of community spirit,” said Camden R. Fine, ICBA president and CEO. “The dedication and commitment of the volunteers in this program strengthen the communities they serve and exemplify how community banks nationwide are working to make their communities a better place to live and work.”

Dean Bank’s innovative full-service branch and educational facility at Tri-County high school, which opened in 1985, serves school students and staff, as well as the public that uses the school for vocational services. Since its establishment, Dean Bank’s high school branch has been the model facility used by the Massachusetts’ Departments of Education and Banking to promote similar public and private partnerships. As the school branch’s manager from day one, June Renaghan has a history of educating students in the areas of banking, business, technology, and personal financial management. Dean Bank also employs students each year through the school’s co-op program, allowing students to earn an income while receiving hands-on experience. These students are trained and mentored by a bank employee or department and then given the opportunity to independently complete tasks at their skill level, better preparing them to secure a job in their field after they graduate.

Wayne A. Cottle, president and CEO of Dean Dank, described the bank’s “partnership with Tri County High School as much of an educational experience for the bank as it is for the students. Watching students graduate from the program and going on to higher education or entering the work force with skills already acquired gives them a tremendous advantage that we are proud to have contributed to.”

ICBA founded the National Community Bank Service Award program five years ago as part of Community Banking Month to recognize the many outstanding volunteer service efforts of community banks across the county. Every April is Community Banking Month, a time when ICBA, community bank state associations, and banks across the country celebrate the things that make community banking great and the unique spirit that makes independent community banks so special. For more information on Community Banking Month and on the National Community Bank Service Awards, please visit www.icba.org. The Independent Community Bankers of America, the nation’s voice for community banks, represents the largest constituency of community banks of all sizes and charter types in the nation, and is dedicated exclusively to representing the interests of the community banking industry.

Dean Bank, founded in 1889, is a Massachusetts state-chartered, mutually owned institution with assets in excess of $200 million. The bank operates full-service offices in Blackstone, Franklin and Bellingham, and a full-service educational and training facility at Tri-County Regional Vocational High School in Franklin. In addition, a new full-service branch is due to open this spring where the bank’s Mortgage & Loan Center existed in Mendon. As a member of the FDIC and a member of the SIF, the bank’s deposits are insured in full.

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