First Sentry Bancshares, Inc. declares dividend

The Board of Directors of First Sentry Bancshares, Inc. recently approved the declaration of a cash dividend of $0.15/share to its shareholders of record on September 18, 2007, according to Geoffrey S. Sheils, President & CEO. The dividend is to be paid September 30, 2007.

Sheils commented, “This marks the twentieth consecutive quarter that our board has declared and paid a dividend to our shareholders. We are most fortunate to be able to reward our shareholders as it was their foresight to start this bank in 1996, and since that time, the book value per common share, as of August 31, 2007, of their investment has increased 159.2%. In addition, with the payment of this dividend, we will have returned to our shareholders almost 30% of their original investment in the form of dividends.” Sheils added, “The community has really embraced our style of hometown banking. We thank our customers while being extremely proud to reward our approximately 400 local shareholders with a significant return on their investment in addition to the substantial increase in their stock’s value.”

First Sentry Bancshares, Inc. is a one bank holding company owning First Sentry Bank, who has its main office at 823 - 8th Street, Huntington and another full service office located off Merritts Creek Road in Barboursvillee. The bank offers a full array of deposit and loan products/services including free online banking and bill pay services at www.firstsentry.com.