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MidCountry Bank

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MidCountry Bank Names Steve Meads New President

MidCountry Bank has named financial industry veteran Steve Meads as its new president. Meads is now responsible for leading the growth of the bank in each of the communities it serves.

“We are very excited to have such an exceptional individual on our team who demonstrates the characteristics for which our company was built: local community spirit, and our core values of integrity, honesty, fairness, compassion and excellence,” said Bob Hatcher , CEO MidCountry Financial Corp , the bank’s holding company.

Meads graduated from Carleton College with a BA in Economics and also earned his MBA in Finance from the University of Wisconsin. He has nearly 25 years of financial services industry experience, most recently serving as President and CEO of Bremer Bank in the Twin Cities. He also is the Chairman of the YMCA of Greater Saint Paul and is active on the board of the Woodbury Community Foundation. Meads resides with his wife, Teri, and their four children in Lake Elmo.

MidCountry Bank is a full-service bank with administrative headquarters in Minnetonka , Twin Cities and out-state branches in Minnesota and a regional presence in Southern Illinois and Nevada . As a community bank, MidCountry provides high quality, diversified financial services and solutions for customers to meet their personal, business and professional banking needs. To learn more, visit www.MidCountryBank.com.

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Midcountry Bank Honored By USDA For Increasing Rural Home Ownership

MidCountry Bank was recently recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (USDA) for utilizing federally-guaranteed mortgages that increased, and made more affordable, home ownership in rural Illinois. Each year the USDA honors lenders that excel in using the federal agency’s guaranteed loan program in rural areas.

“In this difficult housing marketing, MidCountry Bank is committed to using Rural Development’s guaranteed home loan program to help as many homebuyers as possible,” said Jim Davis, a Rural Development specialist in the USDA’s Marion , Ill. , office. “They helped borrowers buy their first homes, or upgrade to better homes. We are extremely pleased with MidCountry Bank’s achievement.”

MidCountry Bank provided Illinois homebuyers with more than $1 million in Rural Development-backed loans in 2009. With the Rural Development guarantee, MidCountry Bank offers 100 percent loans with no required down payment, no private monthly mortgage insurance (PMI), no maximum purchase prices, competitive fixed interest rates, and 30-year terms. The program also includes flexible credit guidelines and generous income limits.

“This program has helped put many families into a home and strengthened rural communities by providing stability in a challenging housing market. It is easily the best 100-percent program in the market,” said MidCountry Bank Regional President Randy Forby. “We’re proud to have received this honor from the USDA, and even more so to have helped families throughout rural Illinois realize their dreams of homeownership.”

For nearly a decade, MidCountry Bank has been serving the communities of southern Illinois and central Minnesota with a full spectrum of financial products that are matched with excellent customer service. Its retail banking division offers a variety of deposit and loan products to meet consumers’ needs, its business division helps small business by providing them with the financing they need to grow, and its military banking division serves those who serve our nation with personal loans and award-winning financial education programs. Every MidCountry Bank associate is dedicated to creating a high-quality and well-respected financial services organization, and is committed to the values of integrity, fairness, honesty, excellence, and compassion.

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MidCountry Bank Military Division’s Volunteer Time-Off Program Recognized Nationally For Corporate Social Responsibility

An effort to promote community service within its national workforce was recently recognized when MidCountry Bank‘s military banking division, Pioneer Services, was named a finalist for the Corporate Social Responsibility Award for Workplace Innovation by PR News. The company received the honor for creating and offering all of its associates a Volunteer Time-Off (VTO) benefit, providing each individual up to 16 hours of paid time off annually to volunteer in their communities.

MidCountry Bank Military Division's Volunteer Time-Off Program Recognized Nationally For Corporate Social Responsibility

To encourage additional participation in the VTO program, last year the company initiated the Be the Difference campaign, an internal effort to increase usage of this unique benefit. The campaign included a Volunteer Fair at its headquarters that featured 23 nonprofit organizations, the creation of a new volunteerism website, t-shirts, promotional posters, and other items—all of which was led by an associate-ran Volunteer Committee. The result was a 400 percent increase in VTO usage, and numerous individual recognition and awards for associates, both locally and nationally.

“Giving back to the community is a key component of our corporate culture,” said Karen Von Der Bruegge , chief marketing officer of Pioneer Services. “We are proud to receive recognition for our social responsibility efforts, but must also recognize our associates around the country. Their efforts and willingness to give back have made the VTO program a great success.”

Winners of the PR News Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards are announced Feb. 24, 2010, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC . Pioneer Services is joined as a finalist in the Workplace Innovation category by Pepsi, Deloitte, and Butterball, and finalists in other categories include Bank of America, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Coca Cola, GE, Oracle, and eBay.

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Joe Freeman Of MidCountry Bank Has Been Appointed To The National World War I Museum’s Board Of Trustees

Joe Freeman, Chief Operating Officer of Pioneer Services, the Military Banking Division of MidCountry Bank, has been appointed to the National World War I Museum‘s Board of Trustees. Freeman joins a group of other notable and distinguished community leaders such as Henry Bloch, William Dunn, Sr., R. Crosby Kemper, and Dr. Thomas Hoenig, all who are committed to preserving, promoting, and improving the nation’s official WWI Museum.

Freeman’s strategic and entrepreneurial business skills, along with his knowledge of the military and national security communities, and the financial services arena, will benefit the Museum. “Each new Trustee brings a diverse base of experience and knowledge that will help further the Museum’s mission”, said Brian Alexander, President and CEO of the National World War I Museum.

Freeman is active in local business, philanthropic, and community service efforts, including ; the UMKC Board of Trustees Bloch School Blue Ribbon Committee; the Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation Council; the Dean’s Bloch School Advisory Board, Chairman of the International Entrepreneur of the Year Dinner; Business Executives for National Security; the Association of the United States Army; the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Armed Services Committee; Angel Flight Central; the FBI Citizen’s Academy, and more. He was named one of Ingrams’ magazine’s “40 Under 40 Power Elite” in 2006.

He is responsible for all lending and retail operations at MidCountry Bank’s military division, as well as strategic planning. In his position, Freeman manages a diverse group of more than 200 associates in various departments and geographic locations. He has more than 15 years of business experience in accounting, operations, consulting, and marketing.

Freeman is a graduate of the Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting. He is the author of several published articles on management and financial matters.

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MidCountry Bank Supports 2009 Effort To Save Eternal Flame At National WWI Museum

With the possibility that the National World War I Museum’s eternal flame could be extinguished due to government budget cuts, MidCountry Bank, through its military banking division, Pioneer Services, has stepped up for the second year in a row with a sizeable financial contribution to keep the flame burning atop the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Mo.

MidCountry Bank Supports 2009 Effort To Save Eternal Flame At National WWI Museum

“The eternal flame remains a symbol of our gratitude for those who made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Tom Holcom, president of Pioneer Services. “Since we work exclusively with the military community, we could not just sit back and let the flame be extinguished, especially after our organization’s successful efforts to save the flame last year,” said Holcom. “The WWI Museum is the only museum in America that preserves the legacy of those who served in the Great War and MidCountry Bank and Pioneer Services are committed to doing whatever we can to help ensure that legacy is honored.”

In 2008, budget cuts threatened to extinguish the eternal flame except on special holidays. At the time, MidCountry Bank and Pioneer Services initiated the “Save the Flame” campaign, an international awareness and fundraising effort that successfully raised more than $68,000 in just four weeks. The two organizations donated an initial $5,000 to keep the flame lit during the fundraising campaign from Memorial Day to July 4, 2008, contributing a total of $22,500 in matching funds to the widely-publicized campaign. The efforts were profiled in USA Today, Stars and Stripes, and through extensive broadcast coverage.

Since its dedication in 1926, the memorial has been a Kansas City and national monument, looking over the downtown skyline. The National World War I Museum, which opened in 2006, was built beneath the existing Liberty Memorial. It is designated by Congress as the nation’s official WWI Museum .

MidCountry Bank’s military banking division recently committed $5,000 to keep the WWI eternal flame burning through 2010. The companies continue to manage the campaign’s fundraising and awareness Web site, www.SaveTheFlame.org, promoting the need for continued assistance and to facilitate donations.

MidCountry Financial Corp. is a financial services holding company with subsidiaries that deliver high-quality and diversified financial services to targeted markets.

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U.S. Marine Wins $5,000 Ultimate Home Entertainment System From Pioneer Services

Pioneer Services, the military banking division of MidCountry Bank, announced today the grand prize winner of the“Sensory Overload Military Sweepstakes.” Lance Corporal Brandon Unis of the United States Marine Corps, currently stationed in Georgia, has won a brand new home entertainment system, including a 52-inch Bravia® LCD Flat Panel HDTV, a Blu-Ray player, home theatre receiver, PlayStation® 3, and $200 in gift cards for games or movies.

Pioneer Services launched the Sensory Overload Military Sweepstakes in June 2008, for active-duty and career-retired service members, and military spouses. There were also three monthly winners during the sweepstakes period, each of whom received a 16-gigabyte Apple iPod Touch, valued at $399 each.

The Sensory Overload Military Sweepstakes is one way that Pioneer Services, which exclusively serves the military community, is thanking service members and military families for their sacrifice and efforts on behalf of the country.

Pioneer Services, the military banking division of MidCountry Bank, provides financial services, personal loans, and award-winning financial education to members of the Armed Forces. For more than 20 years, Pioneer Services has been a leader in military lending, and supports military families and communities through a variety of partnerships, programs, and sponsorships.

(c) 2008 Pioneer Services. No purchase necessary to enter or win. For a complete list of rules and details, visit SOsweepstakes.com. Sweepstakes ended on September 2, 2008. “iPod” is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. “Bravia” and “PlayStation” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. This Promotion has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. or Sony Corporation.

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