CVAL Chester Valley Bancorp (MM)

Donna M. Coughey Receives Small Business Leader of the Year Award DOWNINGTOWN, Pa., Nov. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry has selected Donna M. Coughey, President and CEO of Chester Valley Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:CVAL) and First Financial Bank, as their Small Business Leader of the Year for 2004. The award honors a small business leader who excels in areas such as leadership, community involvement and volunteerism, and who has solid examples of corporate success. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041108/PHM040 ) "Donna does an outstanding job in leading our organization," remarked Jim McErlane, Chairman of the Board of Chester Valley Bancorp Inc. "She has brought Chester Valley Bancorp to historic levels of profitability while maintaining its tradition of community involvement." Since accepting her role with Chester Valley Bancorp Inc. and wholly owned subsidiary First Financial Bank in November 2000, she has led both companies into a time of solid growth, record levels of profitability and operational efficiency. She has also completed the Bank's transition from a Savings Bank to a Commercial Bank structure. Ms. Coughey is personally involved with and serves on the boards of the United Way of Chester County; the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry; the YMCA for the Brandywine Valley; Brandywine Hospital; Chester County Economic Development Council; and the Chester County Community Foundation. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of Wilmington College. "As business leaders, we have an opportunity and responsibility to help our communities outside the structure of our own companies," noted Coughey. The Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry will present this year's award at its 2004 Salute to the Spirit of Free Enterprise: Small Business Dinner on Wednesday, November 10th, 2004 at The Desmond Hotel in Malvern. Under Ms. Coughey's leadership, First Financial Bank will open its 13th branch office in Avondale with the acquisition of the former PNC Bank branch at that location, and plans to open its 14th branch in Oxford mid-2005. First Financial Bank and Philadelphia Corporation for Investment Services are subsidiaries of Chester Valley Bancorp Inc., which provides financial services for the greater Philadelphia market. The Bank has twelve offices located throughout Chester County. Philadelphia Corporation maintains offices in Philadelphia and Wayne. First Financial Bank, headquartered in Downingtown, PA, has twelve branch offices throughout Chester County and serves the business and retail community with full-service banking solutions. First Financial Bank can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.ffbonline.com/. Philadelphia Corporation for Investment Services can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.pcisonline.com/. Chester Valley Bancorp Inc. is the parent company of First Financial Bank and Philadelphia Corporation for Investment Services and is traded on the NASDAQ market under the symbol CVAL. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041108/PHM040 http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: First Financial Bank CONTACT: Beth W. Reburn, First Financial Bank, +1-610-269-9700, Ext. 3084 Web site: http://www.ffbonline.com/ http://www.pcisonline.com/

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