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Mesa Bankers Treat Clients to Annual Appreciation Game -- and the Cubbies Prevail Again, 6-1

MESA - (March. 28, 2006) -Whenever Mesa Bank holds its Annual Customer Appreciation Game at HoHoKam Stadium, it seems that the Chicago Cubs are sure to win -- and the final score is likely to be 6-1.

At last year's inaugural Mesa Bank Customer Appreciation Day on March 15, 2005, the Cubs trounced the Kansas City Royals, 6-1. This year, the Second Annual Mesa Bank Customer Appreciation Day was held on Thursday, March 23 and the Cubs whipped the Seattle Mariners by the identical score of 6-1.

Nine Mesa Bank officers attended this year's game along with 35 bank customers.

Organized by Mesa Bank's Conrad Morin, the Second Annual Mesa Bank Customer Appreciation Day went just as smoothly as last year's inaugural event.

"Everybody had a good time, the home team won again this year, and it was another great day for baseball - sunny and mid-70s," said Morin. "This was the second year in a row we thanked our customers for their business by taking them to a ballgame. Mesa Bank's strong ties to the Mesa HoHoKams and the Chicago Cubs' spring training games make this a new annual tradition that is popular for both our customers and our officers."

The other Mesa Bank officers at the game this year were: Susan Haverstrom, Kevin Hutchings, Dan Laux, Rita Leaf, Jim LeCheminant, Kent Nielson, Lane Reynolds and Richard Wright.

Mesa Bank President/CEO Neil Barna and three bank board members, Chairman Stu Hogue, Phil Kellis and Wayne Pomeroy, also attended the game, but were working in their community service roles as members of the Mesa HoHoKams.

The Mesa HoHoKams is a local service group whose biggest fund-raising project is managing various operations at HoHoKam Stadium. Through their activities at the ballpark, the Mesa HoHoKams raise approximately $70,000 each year for local youth and community organizations. At the ballpark, the HoHoKams manage ticket sales, the press box, parking, program production and sales, security, and food service for the press, baseball teams and HoHoKam membership.

Mesa Bank Chairman Emeritus Bob Evans is also a member of the Mesa HoHoKams. Phil Kellis is a former Big Ho and his father, Lee Roy Kellis, now 91, is a founding HoHoKam member, as was Wayne Pomeroy's brother, the late Gail Pomeroy. Mesa Bank Board member Ruth Nesbitt's uncle, the late Dwight Patterson, was the originator of the Mesa HoHoKams and the father of Cactus League Baseball. The land on which HoHoKam Park and the Cubs' training facilities sit was once owned by Ruth Nesbitt's family. Fitch Park, located within the facilities, is named after Nesbitt's father, the late Larkin Fitch.

In the business community, Hogue is president of SALK Management, a property management company; Kellis is a partner in the Best Western Dobson Ranch Inn in Mesa; and Pomeroy owns Pomeroy's Men's Store in Mesa.

Mesa Bank, founded in 1998, has been ranked among the top 10 community banks in Arizona for four consecutive years, including twice being named the No. 1 community bank with assets under $75 million, by Ranking Arizona, which each year conducts the largest business opinion poll in the state. Mesa Bank is a full-service commercial bank specializing in providing a complete menu of products and services for businesses. Headquartered in the Mesa Bank Building, 63 E. Main St. in downtown Mesa, Mesa Bank also has an office near Falcon Field at 1733 N. Greenfield Road.