November 1, 2007

Dear Valued Customer:

As I look out the window of my office, I see a beautiful old maple tree whose leaves are turning orange. This is one of the few changes I love to see each year – that and the “greening up” of our lovely state each spring. Many times, however, we do not appreciate change because, well, it is change. I am sending you this letter to let you know of an important new change for our Holt / South Lansing Branch.  WE HAVE MOVED – but just down the street. 

To better serve our customers, we moved our Holt / South Lansing Branch a little over a mile down Cedar Street to a new, improved location at 1943 N. Cedar Street on the south side of Holt (between Sammy’s Lounge and Edru Skating Rink). 

The reason for the change was simple. The traffic at our old location was very congested.  We also received word that sometime in the coming year a new traffic light will be installed on Cedar Street (which we believe would have eliminated the left turn-only lane in front of the bank and would have backed-up traffic across our driveway). 

We decided this new traffic light would not be good for our customers – so we moved to a new EASY IN – EASY OUT highly-visible location to better serve you.

We thought you should know about our move and understand the reasons behind it.  Please let me know if you have any questions regarding any of this.  You may reach me toll-free at 1-877-974-2265 ext. 222 or email me at rsoule@ssb-bank.com.

Sincerely,

Ronald L. Soule
President & CEO

SSBBANK HIRES AL STOUT AS VICE PRESIDENT

Ronald L. Soule, President & CEO of SSBBank, is pleased to announce the hiring of Al Stout as Vice President of the bank.  Stout’s primary responsibility will be commercial lending at the bank’s Holt/South Lansing Branch.

Stout has over 35 years of experience in banking.  Prior to coming to SSBBank, he has worked at a number of Michigan banks, including Huntington Bank, Select Bank, and Dart Bank.

Soule said, “We were looking for an experienced commercial lender for our Holt/South Lansing Branch.  We are excited that we were able to hire Al who not only has plenty of experience but is also very familiar with the greater Lansing area.  We are very pleased to have him on our team.”

Stout is a 1966 graduate of Morley - Stanwood High School.   He attended Lansing Community College and graduated in 1969 with a degree in Management and Supervisory Development.  He also has taken many courses with the American Institute of Banking and is a graduate of the National Commercial Lending School at the University of Okalahoma.

Stout currently is a Rotarian, a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and serves on the Curriculum Committee and Guest Lecturer at Ferris State University.

SSBBank is a locally owned and operated community bank established in 1908 with offices in Stockbridge, Gregory, Eaton Rapids, and Holt/South Lansing.

SSBBank HIRES JENNIFER BAGHDOIAN
AS CONTROLLER

Ronald L. Soule, President & CEO of SSBBank, is pleased to announce the hiring of Jennifer E. Baghdoian as Controller of the bank. Baghdoian’s primary responsibility will be overseeing the bank’s Accounting Department.

Jennifer has 11 years of experience in banking. She previously worked at Farmers Bank of Munith as an Assistant Branch Manager and at Standard Federal Bank as an Assistant Branch Manager.

Soule said, “We were looking for an experienced banker from the Stockbridge area to join our team in the accounting department. We are excited that we were able to hire Jennifer, who has lived in the greater Stockbridge area most of her life and is active in the community. We are very fortunate to have such a dynamic young person become an officer of our bank.”

Baghdoian is a 1995 graduate of East Jackson High School.   She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan Dearborn in 2001.

Baghdoian currently serves as Treasurer and board member of the Stockbridge Area Chamber of Commerce.  She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Robert M. Perry Schools of Banking.  Jennifer and her husband Matt live near Waterloo.

SSBBank is a locally owned and operated community bank established in 1908 with offices in Stockbridge, Gregory, Eaton Rapids, and Holt.

TWO NEW DIRECTORS ELECTED AT SSBBank

Ronald L. Soule, President & CEO of SSBBank announced several changes to the bank’s Board of Directors after the bank’s recent annual meeting was held.

Soule said, “Effective May 11, 2007, John T. Dancer retired as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors after serving the bank for over 54 years in a number of capacities including President and Chairman. Also effective May 11th, John was appointed ‘Director Emeritus’ of SSBBank. This is an honorary/advisory position that will allow Mr. Dancer to continue to have input at board meetings so that we may continue to benefit from his wisdom, knowledge and experience but will also allow him to not have to attend quite so many meetings.”

“It is awesome for me to think that John has been serving our bank and our community since 1953 – I was only three years old when he started his banking career! We are very fortunate to have a man of his character and integrity associated with our bank.”

“Michael H. Salisbury also retired from the bank’s Board of Directors after faithfully serving for 12 years. Mike, who has moved to Idaho, will be missed. He has been very instrumental in helping us improve our strategic planning process and our management succession plan.”

Two new directors were elected to the bank’s Board of Directors to replace Dancer and Salisbury. Robert C. (Bob) Dickins, Executive Vice President of SSBBank was elected to take John Dancer’s former seat and Richard A. (Rich) Greiner, owner of Greiner Construction, Inc. in Holt, was elected to take Mike Salisbury’s seat.

Dickins is a graduate of Michigan State University. He served three years in the U.S. Army. He has been in banking for 19 years and has been employed by SSBBank since 2000. He was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2002 and Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer in 2007. Dickins is also a board member of the Eaton Rapids Chamber of Commerce, board member of Kiwanis Springbrook Housing Association, board member of the Small Blessings Christian Day Care Center, member of the First United Methodist Church in Eaton Rapids (where he serves on the Finance Committee), and is a member of the Mackinder-Glenn Post 510 of the American Legion in Stockbridge. Bob lives in Eaton Rapids with his two children, Ashley and Andy.

Greiner attended Michigan State University. He served two years in the U.S. Army. He has been the President of Greiner Construction, Inc. located in Holt for 28 years. Greiner is a Life Director of the Michigan Association of Homebuilders Board of Directors, member of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Holt (where he serves as Chairman of the Endowment Fund and Treasurer of the Mission Board), Treasurer of the Lutherans for Life National Board of Directors, and member of the MOST Ministries Board of Directors. Rich and his wife Laura reside in Dansville.

Soule said that, “We make every effort to have at least one person elected to our Board of Directors from each community in which we have a branch. When we decided to enter the Holt/South Lansing market in 2004, we decided to fill the next opening we had with someone from that area. The difficult part was choosing just one from so many great individuals.” Soule went on to say, “We are also extremely pleased to have Bob Dickins serve on our board. The first and foremost thing we were looking for in new board members was integrity.”

Jeff Caskey was also elected as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. Caskey has served on the bank’s Board of Directors since 1991.

SSBBank is a locally owned and operated community bank established in 1908 with offices in Stockbridge, Gregory, Eaton Rapids, and Holt/South Lansing.

SSBBank PROMOTES FIVE

Ronald L. Soule, President & CEO of SSBBank, is pleased to announce five promotions as of May 11, 2007. Robert C. Dickins was promoted to Executive Vice President & CLO. Donna Lippens was promoted to Vice President & COO and will also serve as Secretary of the Board of Directors. Kristi Brewster was promoted to Loan Officer and Holt/South Lansing Branch Manager. Crystal Heinz was promoted to Gregory Branch Manager & ATM/Debit Card Manager and Heather Furtney was promoted to Assistant Branch Manager.

Bob Dickins is a graduate of Michigan State University. He served three years in the U.S. Army. He has been in banking for 19 years and has been employed by SSBBank since 2000. He was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2002. As Executive Vice President, Dickins will serve as Chief Lending Officer of the bank. Dickins is a board member of the Eaton Rapids Chamber of Commerce, board member of Kiwanis Springbrook Housing Association, board member of the Small Blessings Christian Day Care Center, member of the First United Methodist Church in Eaton Rapids (where he serves on the Finance Committee), and is a member of the Mackinder-Glenn Post 510 of the American Legion in Stockbridge. Bob lives in Eaton Rapids with his two children, Ashley and Andy.

Donna Lippens attended both Concordia Lutheran College in Ann Arbor and Michigan State University. She previously worked for 12 years for the University of Michigan and 6 years for Michigan State University. She has been employed by SSBBank since 1999. Since she has been with SSBBank she has been promoted to Accounting Department Manager, Accounting Department Officer, and Controller. In her new position of Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Lippens will be responsible for all non-lending aspects of the bank. Previously, Lippens has served for two years on the Stockbridge Downtown Development Authority and for six years on the village council. She currently is in her 13th year of serving on the Board of Directors of the Stockbridge Area Chamber of Commerce and on the festival committee of the “Day in the Village”. She is married to Mike Lippens and they reside in Stockbridge

Kristi Brewster is a 1997 graduate of Stockbridge High School. She began her banking career in 1998 and joined SSBBank in 1999 as a Teller. Since beginning with the bank, she has been promoted to Customer Service Representative, Assistant Branch Manager and Branch Manager. In her new position, Brewster will continue to be responsible for customer service, teller and deposit operations at the bank’s Holt/South Lansing Branch and will also do some additional consumer lending there. She is married to George Brewster and they live in Munith with their two sons.

Crystal Heinz is a 1998 graduate of Dansville High School and attended Lansing Community College. She began her banking career in 1999 and joined SSBBank in 2000 as a Teller. Since beginning with the bank, she has been promoted to Customer Service Representative, ATM/Debit Card Coordinator, and Assistant Branch Manager and ATM/Debit Card Manager. In her new position, Heinz will be the Branch Manager of the Gregory Branch and responsible for the bank’s ATM/Debit Card program. Heinz lives in Webberville.

Heather Furtney is a 1995 graduate of Stockbridge High School. She joined SSBBank in 1999 as a Teller. Since then, she has been promoted to Senior Teller and Teller Supervisor. In her new position, Furtney will be the Assistant Branch Manager of the Gregory Branch. Furtney is a resident of Gregory.

Soule said that, “We are very proud to promote these five members of our team. They exhibit the qualities we are looking for in management: hard work, energy, enthusiasm, and a commitment to excellent customer service.”

SSBBank is a locally owned and operated community bank established in 1908 with offices in Stockbridge, Gregory, Eaton Rapids, and Holt/South Lansing.