Hancock Holding (HBHC) Vice Chairman and CEO to Ring the NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell

In Honor of the One-Year Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina


MEDIA ADVISORY, Aug. 28, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) --



 What:
 George Schloegel, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of 
 Hancock Holding Company (HBHC), will preside over the opening bell 
 to celebrate the Company's 15-year listing anniversary and the one-
 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

 Where:
 NASDAQ MarketSite - 4 Times Square - 43rd & Broadway - Broadcast Studio

 When:
 Tuesday August 29th, 2006 at 9:30 a.m. EDT

 Contacts:
 Paul D. Guichet
 Vice President, Investor Relations
 Hancock Holding Company
 228-563-6559
 paul_guichet@hancockbank.com

 R. Paul Maxwell
 Vice President, Corporate Communications
 Hancock Holding Company
 228-563-7953
 paul_maxwell@Hancockbank.com

 NASDAQ MarketSite:
 Stephanie Lowenthal; 646.441.5220

Feed Information:

The opening bell is available from 9:20 a.m. to 9:35 a.m. on uplink IA-5 C-band/transponder 14. The downlink frequency is 3980 horizontal; audio: 6.2/6.8. The feed can also be found on Waterfront fiber 1623. If you have any questions, please contact Stephanie Lowenthal at (646) 441-5220.

Photos:

To obtain a hi-resolution photograph of the Market Open, please go to http://www.nasdaq.com/reference/marketsite_events.stm and click on the market open of your choice.

About Hancock Holding (HBHC):

Hancock Holding Company, parent company of Hancock Bank (Mississippi), Hancock Bank of Louisiana, Hancock Bank of Florida, and Magna Insurance Company is a financial services holding company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi, with assets totaling $6.26 billion. Founded in 1899, Hancock Bank stands among the strongest, safest financial institutions in America. The Company operates more than 140 banking and financial services offices and more than 130 automated teller machines throughout South Mississippi, Louisiana, southern Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle, as well as subsidiaries Hancock Investment Services, Inc., Hancock Insurance Agency, and Harrison Finance Company. Hancock Bank is community oriented, offering comprehensive financial solutions -- including traditional banking, consumer and commercial loans, small business banking, mortgage services, insurance, trust and estate planning, investments, wealth management, corporate cash management, and institutional banking -- to individuals and small-to-middle-market businesses in the Company's Interstate 10 corridor market. The Company's operating strategy is to provide its customers with the financial sophistication and breadth of products of a regional full-service financial institution while successfully retaining the local appeal and level of service of a community bank.


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