GCBS Greene County Bancshares (MM)

Greene County Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ/NM: GCBS) today announced that Martha M. Bachman (age 50) and Robert K. Leonard (age 38) have been named to the Company's Board of Directors. These appointments expand the Company's Board to include 14 directors. Bachman, a former teacher with the Greene County School System, currently is co-owner of Lancaster's, a retail gift and jewelry shop on Main Street in Greeneville. She also is co-owner of Elmwood Farm in Greene County, the oldest continually operated family farm in Tennessee. Bachman will serve on the Compensation Committee of the Company's Board of Directors and is a member of the group of directors whose term will expire in 2006. Bachman graduated from East Tennessee State University with a degree in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Development. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of Tusculum College in Greeneville where she also serves as Treasurer and as a member of the Finance and Investment, Audit, and Executive Committees as well as the Committee on the Presidency. She serves as a member of Youth Builders of Greeneville and the Laughlin Health Care Foundation Board. Leonard is an entrepreneur who owns and serves as president of three manufacturing businesses, including LMR Plastics, and is a partner in a commercial warehouse leasing venture. A Certified Public Accountant, Leonard previously performed audit services with KPMG Peat Marwick, LLP in Nashville. He is a former board member of Andrew Johnson Bank in Greeneville, where he served on the Executive and Audit Committees. Leonard will serve on Greene County's Audit Committee and as a member of the group of directors whose term will expire in 2007. Leonard graduated from the University of Tennessee with bachelor degrees in Accounting and Finance. He currently serves as a member of the Scholarship Committee of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity at the University of Tennessee and is active in a number of civic and charitable organizations. Commenting on the announcement, Stan Puckett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Greene County Bancshares, said, "We are pleased that Martha and Bobby have accepted our invitation to join our Board. They are outstanding members of the Greeneville community and they are well respected in business and civic circles throughout East Tennessee. Importantly, they both bring a strong background in financial and organizational management to our Board, and they add new perspectives on our customers and markets as we continue our work to make Greene County Bancshares the premier community bank in Tennessee." Greeneville, Tennessee-based Greene County Bancshares, Inc., with total assets of approximately $1.6 billion, is the holding company for Greene County Bank and is the second largest bank holding company headquartered in the state of Tennessee. Greene County Bank, founded in 1890, now has 47 branches throughout East and Middle Tennessee, one branch in Bristol, Virginia, one branch in western North Carolina, and a trust services office in Lebanon, Tennessee. Greene County Bank does business in Washington County, Tennessee as Washington County Bank; in Blount County and Knox County, Tennessee as American Fidelity Bank; in Montgomery County, Tennessee as Clarksville Community Bank; in Sumner County, Tennessee as First Independent Bank; in Rutherford County, Tennessee as Rutherford Bank and Trust; in Sullivan County, Tennessee as Sullivan County Bank and First Bristol Bank; in Hamblen County, Tennessee as Hamblen County Bank; in McMinn County, Tennessee as Bank of Athens and Bank of Niota; in Hawkins County, Tennessee as Hawkins County Bank and Bank of Bulls Gap; in Lawrence County, Tennessee as Bank of Lawrence County; in Cocke County, Tennessee as Cocke County Bank; in Loudon County, Tennessee as Community Bank of Loudon County; in Monroe County, Tennessee as Community Trust Bank; in the City of Bristol, Virginia as First Bristol Bank; in Davidson County and Williamson County, Tennessee as Middle Tennessee Bank & Trust; and in Wilson County, Tennessee as President's Trust. In addition, Greene County Bank also conducts separate businesses through three wholly owned subsidiaries: Superior Financial Services, Inc., a consumer finance company; GCB Acceptance Corporation, a consumer finance company specializing in subprime automobile lending; and Fairway Title Co., a title insurance company. This news release may contain forward-looking statements regarding Greene County Bancshares, Inc., as defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty and actual results could differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements. A discussion of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements is included in the Greene County Bancshares, Inc. filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.