GULFPORT, Miss., Sept. 16, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hancock Bank today announced that Tallahassee attorney Randy Hanna, Mississippi Gulf Coast CPA and Certified Fraud Examiner Jerry L. Levens, and lifelong Baton Rouge businessman Thomas H. Olinde have been named to the Hancock Holding Company Board of Directors. Hancock Holding Company (Nasdaq:HBHC) is the parent company of 110-year-old Hancock Bank.
Photos accompanying this release are available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6603, http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6604, and http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6605 .
The chairman and managing shareholder of Bryant Miller Olive, Hanna became a member of the Hancock Bank of Florida board in September 2007. Levens, a partner with Alexander, Van Loon, Sloan, Levens & Favre, PLLC, of Gulfport and Wiggins, joined the Hancock Bank Mississippi board in May 2008. Olinde is the president and general manager of Olinde Hardware & Supply Co., Inc., and director of B. Olinde & Sons Co., Inc. He joined the Hancock Bank of Louisiana board in 2006. As Hancock Holding Company directors, Hanna, Levens, Olinde, and 13 other Gulf South business leaders on the holding company board advise the senior management team in strategically growing the company while safeguarding Hancock's nationally recognized financial soundness.
"We are extremely pleased that Randy Hanna, Jerry Levens, and Tom Olinde have accepted appointments to the Hancock Holding Company board. Their professional insights, business expertise, and exceptional knowledge of their respective communities will be invaluable as they and fellow directors guide Hancock in facilitating commerce and opportunity throughout the region," said Hancock Holding Company President and Chief Executive Officer Carl J. Chaney.
Randy Hanna
Bryant Miller Olive operates offices throughout Florida and in Washington, D.C., and was recognized by Florida Trend as the 16th best mid-sized company to work for in Florida. Randy Hanna, a University of Florida alumnus, graduated from Florida State University College of Law and holds a master of business administration degree from Emory University's Goizueta Business School.
An active participant in business, civic, and community affairs, Hanna chairs Our Region Tomorrow, a regional partnership between businesses and government in North Florida, and previously served as chairman of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce. He is a past member of the Florida A&M University Board of Trustees, former chair of the State Board of Community Colleges, and past chair of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. Hanna also served as general counsel to U.S. Senator Bob Graham.
Jerry L. Levens
Jerry Levens is a veteran business, professional, and civic leader in South Mississippi. A member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and Mississippi Society of CPAs (MSCPA) since 1979, Levens is past president of MSCPA, past president of MSCPA Gulf Coast Chapter, member of the MSCPA Board of Governors, and MSCPA secretary as well as a member of numerous MSCPA committees. He served five years as trustee for the MSCPA-PAC and three years as trustee for the Mississippi Tax Institute, including one term as secretary. Appointed by the Governor of Mississippi to the Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy, Levens recently completed a five-year term on that state board, including one year as chairman. He is currently serving on the Governing Council of the American Institute of CPAs as one of two State of Mississippi representatives.
Levens is treasurer of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Gulf Coast Business Council (GCBC). The Leadership Gulf Coast graduate also completed the GCBC Leadership Master's Program last year. In 1995 he received the Public Service Award for all CPAs in Mississippi. He earned certified fraud examiner designation in 2004.
An alumnus of The University of Mississippi, Levens serves on the E. H. Patterson School of Accountancy Professional Advisory Council and completed a three-year term on the Ole Miss Alumni Association National Board of Directors. He is also a Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College graduate and was inducted into the MGCCC Alumni Hall of Fame in 2008.
Levens is one of nine children of Mary and Gene Levens. He and his wife, Cindy, attend St. Thomas Catholic Church in Long Beach. He is a trustee of the Catholic Foundation of the Diocese of Biloxi, Inc., and serves as chair of the St. Thomas Pastoral Council and the Rebuilding Committee. Levens has three grown children and two granddaughters.
Thomas H. Olinde
A longtime leader of local business and civic organizations, Thomas Olinde serves as president of the Furniture Marketing Group national buying organization and is an incoming National Home Furnishings Association board member. Additionally, Olinde is a member of the Impact Retail Performance Group and former member of the Broyhill Furniture National Dealer Council. He is also past president of the Greater Baton Rouge Furniture Association.
Olinde is a past president of the Baton Rouge Speech and Hearing Foundation and a past president and director of the Sales and Marketing Executives of Baton Rouge and SERTOMA Club of Baton Rouge. He is a former director of the National Coalition of Community and Justice (NCCJ) and a past chairman of the Better Business Bureau of Baton Rouge. Olinde, a recipient of the Volunteer Activist Award, serves with the World Presidents Organization and is a past member of the Baton Rouge Jaycees.
The Louisiana State University alumnus holds a bachelor of arts degree in journalism. A past president of the St. Joseph's Academy Dad's Club, Olinde is married to the former Cheryl Barton. They have three daughters.
About Hancock Holding Company
Hancock Holding Company -- parent company of Hancock Bank Mississippi, Hancock Bank of Louisiana, Hancock Bank of Florida, and Hancock Bank of Alabama -- has assets of approximately $7.05 billion. Recently ranked among America's Top 10 Best Banks and as one of the nation's 100 Most Trustworthy Companies, Hancock Bank, founded 1899, consistently rates among the strongest, safest banks in the United States.
Hancock operates 157 banking and financial services offices and 137 ATMs along an I-10 corridor spanning coastal and south central Mississippi, south central Louisiana, southern Alabama, and north Florida. Bank subsidiaries include Hancock Investment Services, Inc., Hancock Insurance Agency and its divisions of Ross King Walker and J. Everett Eaves, and Harrison Finance Company.
Additional corporate information and e-banking are available at www.hancockbank.com.
The Hancock Holding Company logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2758
The photos are also available via AP PhotoExpress.
