Press Release


Columbia Bank Welcomes Allisha McVay, Assistant Vice President, Downtown Gig Harbor Branch Manager

Company Release - 6/1/2004 9:01 AM ET

TACOMA, Wash., June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Columbia Bank welcomes Allisha McVay as Assistant Vice President and Manager of the bank's downtown Gig Harbor Branch, located at 3006 Judson St. She will manage daily branch operations and continue the bank's outreach to the consumer and business communities.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040601/SFTU071 )

"Allisha is at home in Gig Harbor. She is a resident and she really knows the community -- both the people and the challenges and opportunities facing businesses. She will help us continue to be a real positive force in the community," said Avery Johnson, Senior Vice President of Retail Banking.

Allisha McVay has 10 years of banking experience and was previously with Venture Bank's (formerly Harbor Bank) Pioneer Branch in Gig Harbor as a Financial Center Manager. She began her career at US Bank and was there for 8 years.

Ms. McVay is a board member of Communities in Schools and a member of the Gig Harbor Mid-Day Rotary Club and Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce. She lives in Gig Harbor with her husband and two children.

Columbia Bank is a Washington state-chartered, full-service commercial bank providing products and services to individuals, business and the real estate community. A wholly owned subsidiary of Columbia Banking System Inc., (Nasdaq: COLB) Columbia Bank currently operates 34 branches in Pierce, King, Cowlitz, Kitsap and Thurston counties.

    Contact:   JoAnne Coy, Vice President, Marketing Director
               253-305-1965

               Columbia Bank
               1301 A Street
               Tacoma, WA 98402


SOURCE  Columbia Bank
    -0-                             06/01/2004
    /CONTACT:  JoAnne Coy, Vice President, Marketing Director, of Columbia
Bank, +1-253-305-1965/
    /Photo:  NewsCom:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040601/SFTU071
             AP Archive:  http://photoarchive.ap.org
             PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com/
    /Web site:  http://www.columbiabank.com /
    (COLB)

CO:  Columbia Bank; Columbia Banking System Inc.
ST:  Washington
IN:  FIN
SU:  PER

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