Stubblefield returns to Tallahassee as Hancock Bank market head

TALLAHASSEE, FL (May 26, 2004) - Accomplished Florida banking officer and community leader J. Martin "Marty" Stubblefield is coming home to the Capital City as Hancock Bank's new Tallahassee Market President.

In today's announcement, Hancock Bank President and Chief Executive Officer George A. Schloegel said Stubblefield, most recently a senior vice president and city executive at a Pensacola bank, will return to Tallahassee to guide Hancock's strategic growth, service, and profitability in the company's Florida Panhandle market.

"We are pleased to welcome Marty Stubblefield to our Hancock Bank family. He has a well-established, respected record of business and civic leadership throughout the Big Bend area," said Schloegel. "We believe that his professional knowledge, experience, and dedication to the community will prove invaluable in helping our Hancock Bank of Florida team deliver exceptional personal service and innovative, comprehensive financial solutions to businesses and families across the region."

Stubblefield, a 17-year veteran of the financial services industry, served five years as Tallahassee city president for a Birmingham, AL, financial services institution. During that tenure, Stubblefield's financial services savvy earned the Alabama Banking School graduate multiple corporate awards for business development excellence in his Florida territory. Additionally, he received numerous accolades for philanthropic involvement with the Tallahassee American Heart Association, United Way of Big Bend, and Leadership Tallahassee. He served on the boards of the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce and Fellowship of Christian Athletes and founded Power Point Ministries, a Christian businessperson ministry that grew in participation under Stubblefield's direction. A deacon, teacher, and Evangelism Committee chair at First Baptist Church of Pensacola, he is the author of Great Day Addendum, an e-mail daily devotion distributed to 1,200-plus subscribers.

"My family and I are very excited about returning to Tallahassee. For us, it's like 'coming home.' I also look forward to joining one of America's strongest, safest financial institutions and to helping expand Hancock Bank's 105-year-old traditions of strength, stability, integrity, and service to customers throughout northwest Florida," said Stubblefield.

Stubblefield received a bachelor of science-bachelor of arts degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and completed George State University's Executive Development Program. He also attended Union University in Jackson, TN, and has pursued master of divinity studies at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, MS. He and his wife, the former Amy Hutto (daughter of retired Congressman and Mrs. Earl Hutto), have three daughters: Ellie, age 6; Abbie, age 4; and one-year-old Sarah Grace.

Hancock Holding Company - the parent company of Hancock Bank Mississippi, Hancock Bank of Louisiana, and Hancock Bank of Florida - has assets of $4.4 billion. Founded 1899, Hancock Bank ranks among the top 4.6 percent of America's financial institutions for financial strength and stability, according to Veribanc, Inc., and has received a BauerFinancial, Inc., five-star superior rating (the highest rating possible) for the past 36 consecutive quarters. Hancock subsidiaries include Hancock Investment Services, Inc., Hancock Insurance Agency, Hancock Mortgage Corporation, Magna Insurance Company, and Harrison Finance Company. Additional corporate information and on-line banking and bill pay services are available at www.hancockbank.com.

— 30 —

FOR MORE INFORMATION