Highlands Community Bank Highlights Growth and COVID-19 Response at Virtual Annual Stockholder Meeting Bank Increases Its Shareholder Dividend By 50%   Covington, VA (May 22, 2020) - On Tuesday, April 28, 2020, Highlands Community Bank held its 18th Annual Stockholder Meeting, and announced that in 2019 the Bank had its eleventh consecutive year of record earnings, which resulted in the Board of Directors voting to approve a 50% increase in the dividend to $0.54 per share, and that the Bank’s total assets surpassed $150 million. The Bank’s President and CEO, Bryan Thompson stated, “This dividend’s total payout will return nearly $800,000 to you, our shareholders. The accomplishments your Bank achieved in 2019 were possible because of your continued support and desire to see the only locally owned and operated bank in the Alleghany Highlands thrive and reinvest in the community.” Thompson also discussed the Bank’s participation in the Paycheck Protection Program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlands Community Bank originated approximately 200 Paycheck Protection Program loans as an approved SBA lender, totaling over $12 million. “When this community needed help, our team stepped up and pumped over $12 million back into our local economy to help save local jobs,” says Thompson. “I have always believed in the mission and purpose of having a true local community bank, but it has never been more evident than it is now.” Thompson continued, “Larger banks had more resources and technology, but Highlands Community Bank had a team filled with determination, drive and heart. They were not going to let their Bank or their community down. And they definitely did not.” During the meeting, Debbie Byer, Steve Bowers, Nick Moga and David Oliver were reelected to the Board for another three-year term ending in 2023 and Yount, Hyde and Barbour were approved as the Bank’s independent auditor for 2020. The Bank also announced the retirement of three longtime employees for the Bank. Last November, Kay Bryant, the head teller at the Clifton Forge Branch retired and in February, Kathy Bryant, the Clifton Forge Branch Manager, retired. “Kay and Kathy, along with our new branch manager Kathy Dobson, made up the original team that opened the branch in 2004. They were dedicated to making it the success that it has become,” says Thompson. “We at Highlands Community, as well as the customers that frequented the branch, truly miss them and we are extremely grateful for their hard work and determination in making sure the Highlands Community Bank branch was the best in Clifton Forge.” Sally Gilbert, the Bank’s COO since its inception, is slated to retire June 30, 2020. “She was one of the originals, as I like to call them, that worked in the ‘bank-in-the-box’ while the Main Office was being completed.” Thompson continued, “she has always put the Bank first. She has been a leader, a mentor and a friend and she will be missed by all. I want to personally thank Sally for all the wisdom, guidance and advice she has shared with all of us over the years. She will never know how much I appreciate her and her commitment to Highlands Community Bank.”

* * * * *