OLEAN, N.Y., May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Community Bank System, Inc. announced that its shareholders approved the election of three directors to serve three year terms during the Company's annual meeting, held earlier today.
Shareholders elected Brian R. Ace, Paul M. Cantwell, Jr. and William M. Dempsey to terms which will run through the Company's 2011 annual meeting. Mr. Ace has served as a Director since 2003 and is the owner of Laceyville Hardware in Laceyville, Pa. Mr. Cantwell, a Director since 2001, was named Chairman of the Board in 2006. He is the former Chairman and President of the Citizens National Bank of Malone, and is presently the owner of the Cantwell & Cantwell Law Offices, also of Malone, N.Y. Mr. Dempsey is retired from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), where he was VP, Finance & Administration, and President of the American College of Management & Technology (an RIT affiliate), in Dubrovnik, Croatia. He has served as a Director since 1984. Each of the three nominees received over a majority of the votes cast.
Shareholders also ratified the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm for the 2008 fiscal year.
Shareholders also approved a shareholder proposal requesting the board to take steps necessary to eliminate classification of the classified board of directors.
Community Bank System is based in DeWitt, N.Y., with approximately $4.7 billion in assets and over 140 customer facilities across Upstate New York, where it operates as Community Bank, N.A., and Northeastern Pennsylvania, where it is known as First Liberty Bank & Trust.
Its other subsidiaries include: BPAS, an employee benefits administration and consulting firm with offices in Upstate New York, Pittsburgh, and Houston; the CBNA Insurance Agency, with three offices in Northern New York State; Community Investment Services, a broker-dealer delivering financial products throughout the company's branch network; and Nottingham Advisors, a wealth management and advisory firm with offices in Buffalo, N.Y., and North Palm Beach, Fla. For more information, visit: http://www.communitybankna.com/ or http://www.firstlibertybank.com/.
For further information, please contact: Mark E. Tryinski President and Chief Executive Officer (315) 445-7378
