Business Bank of Nevada Raises Over $20,000 for Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

Business Editors

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 27, 2000

Business Bank of Nevada today announced that it raised over $20,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Walk to Cure Diabetes fundraising event held last Saturday at UNLV.

The bank raised this money through its corporate contribution, employee involvement and the sale of JDF Sneakers over the past six weeks.

Business Bank's President and CEO, John Guedry, was this year's corporate recruitment chairman for the Walk to Cure Diabetes event. Through his involvement, Business Bank was able to recruit walk teams and corporate sponsorships of a number of other companies that have never participated in the Walk to Cure Diabetes event, which resulted in an additional $30,000 being raised.

"We can't begin to thank John and the Business Bank team enough for all of their hard work and dedication in making this year's event one of the best ever," said Colleen Ashworth, executive director of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation of Nevada. "John's involvement in JDF has helped us make new inroads into the small and medium size business arena, which typically has not been a part of our fundraising efforts in years past. We look forward to cultivating these new corporate partnerships."

Last Saturday's Walk to Cure Diabetes event raised nearly $400,000. The goal for this year's event was $425,000, which Ashworth says the organization hopes to achieve over the next 30 days when walkers collect outstanding pledge money and turn it into JDF.

"Participating in this year's JDF walk was a wonderful opportunity for our bank to give back to the community and help those children who suffer from the devastating disease of diabetes," said Guedry. "Working with Colleen and her staff is a real pleasure and they are the real heroes in making the Walk to Cure Diabetes event happen each year. JDF makes it very easy to get involved and with $.85 of every dollar going to research, it makes you feel good about donating to such a worthy cause."

Guedry added that he is very grateful to his employees, the bank's board of directors, bank customers and many other individuals who contributed to the bank's fundraising efforts. "There were a lot of people who worked long and hard to make this year's JDF walk a huge success and I am honored to be associated with these type of people."

With 60 employees statewide, Business Bank had nearly 100 percent participation from its staff taking part in this year's walk event. On October 8, JDF will hold its Reno walk at the University of Nevada, Reno. The bank's 10 employees at its Carson City branch will be taking part in this event. JDF has a goal of raising close to $200,000 for the northern Nevada walk event.

According to Guedry, philanthropic outreach is an integral part of the bank's overall business philosophy. The bank typically contributes one percent of its after-tax profits to qualified charitable organizations. This year, Business Bank anticipates donating in excess of $25,000 in monetary, in-kind and volunteer support.

Business Bank of Nevada is in its fifth year of operation and is one of the fastest-growing independent banks in the state. The bank has four branch offices in Nevada, with three in the Las Vegas area and one in Carson City. The bank has plans to open additional offices statewide in the near future. Business Bank is FDIC Insured and is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and is listed over the counter (OTC) at ticker symbol BBNV.