WARSAW, Ind., Dec. 2, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lake City Bank, the single bank subsidiary of Lakeland Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:LKFN), announced today that Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael L. Kubacki has been named a Community Banker of the Year by American Banker in their 2011 Best in Banking edition. Kubacki has been recognized as the Community Banker of the Year: The Performer.
According to the American Banker, The Banker of the Year/Best in Banking Awards honor the people and the companies who set the highest standards of progress, innovation, and performance in banking and financial services. Awards are bestowed in four categories: Banker of the Year, Community Bankers of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, and Innovator. American Banker has been naming Bankers of the Year since 1991 and honorees are selected solely by the editors of American Banker. The editors consider a wide range of candidates and eligibility extends across the full spectrum of financial service providers and other organizations or agencies related to the field. The American Banker reports that the editors' decisions are strengthened by their daily observation of the banking and financial services industry, and their close engagement with its leaders. Further, they indicate that the deliberations are confidential and independent.
Craig Fulmer, Lakeland Financial Corporation and Lake City Bank's Lead Director, commented on Kubacki's honor, "Our Board of Directors is thrilled with Mike's recognition as a Community Banker of the Year. Mike's leadership of our organization has been tremendous and the results that he and his management team have consistently produced have been very rewarding for our employees, clients and shareholders. As directors, we could not be more pleased for Mike being named Community Banker of the Year – The Performer. This designation is a true recognition of his leadership role in our success at Lake City Bank."
Kubacki commented, "I am grateful for this recognition, but am more proud of the fact that this is really a reflection of the performance of the entire Lake City Bank Team. I believe that our team represents the best facets of a true community bank and we work very hard at maintaining that focus every day."
David M. Findlay, President and Chief Financial Officer, commented, "As employees, this recognition reaffirms what we've known for 13 years. Mike is a banker that is dedicated to our community banking principles and his leadership has been both visionary and strategically simple - by taking care of our communities and clients every day, we should create financial success and enhance shareholder value."
The full article can be accessed at http://www.americanbanker.com/specialreports/176_13/best-in-banking-community-banker-of-the-year-kubacki-1044480-1.html.
Lakeland Financial Corporation is a $2.8 billion bank holding company headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana. Lake City Bank serves Central and Northern Indiana with 44 branches located in the following Indiana counties: Kosciusko, Elkhart, Allen, St. Joseph, Hamilton, DeKalb, Fulton, Huntington, LaGrange, Marshall, Noble, Pulaski and Whitley.
Lakeland Financial Corporation may be accessed on the home page of its subsidiary, Lake City Bank, at www.lakecitybank.com. The Company's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under "LKFN". Market makers in Lakeland Financial Corporation common shares include Automated Trading Desk Financial Services, LLC, B-Trade Services, LLC, Citadel Securities, LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Holdings, Inc., Domestic Securities, Inc., E*TRADE Capital Markets LLC, Goldman Sachs & Company, Howe Barnes Hoefer & Arnett, Inc., Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., Knight Capital Americas, L.P., Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc., Sterne Agee & Leach, Stifel Nicolaus & Company, Inc., Susquehanna Capital Group and UBS Securities LLC.
This document contains, and future oral and written statements of the Company and its management may contain, forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to the financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business of the Company. Forward-looking statements, which may be based upon beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the Company's management and on information currently available to management, are generally identifiable by the use of words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "intend," "estimate," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should" or other similar expressions. Additionally, all statements in this document, including forward-looking statements, speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any statement in light of new information or future events. Additional information concerning the Company and its business, including factors that could materially affect the Company's financial results, is included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on form 10-K.