BankNewport Names Vice President

Sara M. Hiebner

NEWPORT, R.I. (January 29, 2008) - BankNewport President and CEO, Thomas W. Kelly, recently announced the appointment of Sara M. Hiebner to vice president, business development officer for the Bank’s Business Banking Group. She will be responsible for commercial lending origination and business development throughout the state of Rhode Island. Hiebner comes to BankNewport from Citizens Bank where she served as a vice president, business banking for the Aquidneck Island geographic area. She was formerly marketing manager for Arnold Lumber and president/owner of VisionPlanning, both of North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Hiebner earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Rhode Island in Kingston. She is a member of the Aquidneck Land Trust and the Newport County Chapter of the NAACP. She is also a volunteer for the A-T Children’s Project. Sara has two sons and resides in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. BankNewport, founded in 1819 and currently holding $1 billion in assets, is an FDIC-insured savings bank. Along with its other OceanPoint Financial Partners - OceanPoint Insurance Agency, Inc., Smith Mack & Associates, Meredith & Clarke, and Narragansett Underwriting Group – BankNewport is proud to serve the financial needs of customers from banking and insurance offices located throughout southeastern New England.