For Immediate Release

Contact: Marlene Wynne, Executive Director, 610-252-3361 or 610-533-2343 (cell)

First Union Regional President Jan Armfield to Receive

Woman of Achievement Award

Jan Armfield, president of First Union Bank’s Northeast/Central Pennsylvania region is the recipient of the 2003 Woman of Achievement award of the Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Organization.

The award will be presented at a luncheon Friday, July 11, at the Holiday Inn Bethlehem. The event will honor Armfield and the 24 contestants in the 2003 Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship competition. The award is given annually to a woman whose achievement in her business or personal life is an inspiration to the young women of the Commonwealth.

“A First Union regional president, and widely known for her community service, Jan Armfield is an outstanding role model for young women,” said Marlene Wynne, executive director of the Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Organization. “The Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Organization is pleased to honor her as the 2003 Woman of Achievement,”

A graduate of Bloomsburg University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Armfield holds an MBA in business administration/finance from James Madison University. She also is a graduate of the Central Atlantic School of Banking, and Philadelphia Leadership, Inc.

A former Meridian Bancorp employee, Armfield held senior positions in various departments including loan workout, commercial real estate lending and

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corporate/commercial banking. After the merger of Meridian and CoreStates Financial Corp., she became president of CoreStates Northern Pennsylvania market. Meridian Bancorp and CoreStates Financial Corp. are First Union predecessor banks.

Named one of Pennsylvania’s “Best 50 Women in Business” in 1997, Armfield is a member of the board of directors for the Northeast Tier of the Ben Franklin Technology Center, Bethlehem; the Caron Foundation, Wernersville; the Greater Berks Development Fund, Reading; Berks Business Education Coalition, Reading; Berks County Community Foundation, Reading; the Berks County Conservancy, Wyomissing; Berks Economic Partnership, Reading; and the Berks Business Executive Forum.

Armfield also is a member of the boards of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation, the Lehigh Valley Partnership and LVIP, Inc. She is a past vice chairman of St. Luke’s Hospital Board of Trustees, Bethlehem, and chaired the 2002 United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley campaign.

“The single most important element of the Miss Pennsylvania scholarship program is the educational advancement of the state’s young women,” Wynne noted. “In the past year, more than $1.3 million in scholarship opportunities was made available for Miss Pennsylvania contestants through the generosity of educational institutions and sponsors.”

Featured speakers at the Woman of Achievement luncheon will be Sam Torrence, executive vice president and chief operating officer of JustBorn, Inc. Emcee for the program will be WFMZ-TV personality Kathy Craine. Craine is a weather-news anchor, talk show host and executive producer for the award winning “Animal Doctor” program on Channel 69.

Tickets for the 11:30 a.m. award luncheon are available by calling 610-867-3009.

The 2003 Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship competition will take place July 1-12 at Nazareth Area High School Theater. For more information, or to purchase tickets, call (610) 252-3361 or visit the Miss Pennsylvania website at www. misspa.org.

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Note to Editors: You or your representative are welcome to attend the Woman of Achievement Award Luncheon Friday, July 11 at 11:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Bethlehem.