Alpharetta Bank Supports Red Cross’ January Blood Drive

ALPHARETTA, GA., Dec. 30, 2002 --- North Atlanta National Bank is urging residents in the North Fulton community to roll up their sleeves and start the New Year by giving the gift of life. The bank will open its Alpharetta office to the American Red Cross for a post holiday blood drive on Friday, January 3, 2003. The drive will be held between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. The bank is located at the corner of Mansell Road and the Old Alabama Road Connector (10500 Old Alabama Road Connector).

The drive is being held on the closing day of The American Red Cross’ First Annual Badges for Life campaign, a friendly competition between local firefighters and law enforcement agencies to see which group can recruit the most blood donors between December 20^th and January 3^rd. All donors will receive a commemorative Badges for Life T-shirt and they will be eligible to participate in a raffle to win tickets to an Atlanta Hawks game.

According to Ms. Ashley Walker, an Assistant Vice President with North Atlanta National Bank, the volume of donations decreases in mid December due to the holidays. "Only five percent of eligible Americans donate blood throughout the year. The percentage drops dramatically in December. It takes a special effort after the holiday season, like our drive on January 3^rd, to rebuild the available supply of blood to help patients being treated for accidents, routine surgeries and serious diseases. Our drive is timed to coincide with people returning to work after the holidays."

Anyone wishing to donate blood should call the bank at 678-277-8400 before January 3rd to schedule an appointment between the hours of 8:00 am and 1:00 pm on that day. To donate blood, one must be healthy, at least 17 years old and weigh 110 pounds or more.

Ms. Walker said, "The employees at North Atlanta National Bank are always looking for ways to support the bank’s creed of "Service, Soundness and Community". Working with the Red Cross is one of the ways we work to support the North Fulton community."

This will be the fifth blood drive that North Atlanta National Bank has conducted with the American Red Cross since 2001.

North Atlanta National Bank is a community bank serving small businesses and individuals in the North Fulton area. It opened for business in November 1998 and is headquartered on the Old Alabama Road Connector in Alpharetta. Please visit the bank’s web site at www.nanb.com for more information about the bank.

Contact:
Mark A. Weiss, The Renaissance Communications Group, 770.998.4769, maweiss@rencomm.com