Western Sierra Bancorp Appoints John G. Briner to Board of Directors

Western Sierra Bancorp Appoints John G. Briner to Board of
Directors 


CAMERON PARK, Calif., July 1  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Western Sierra Bancorp
(NASDAQ:WSBA) today announced that John G. "Jack" Briner has been appointed to
its board of directors effective July 8, 2005.  Briner has served as Chief
Executive Officer of Western Sierra's Auburn Community Bank subsidiary since it
was founded in 1998 and as Chairman for Auburn Community Bank since 2003. He
also served as Western Sierra's Chief Operating Officer from May 2004 to May
2005.  In connection with his appointment, Briner retired from active
employment effective June 30, 2005.  Briner will continue to serve as Chairman
of Auburn Community Bank.

"We are fortunate to have someone with Jack's level of professional experience
and community banking knowledge on our board," remarked Charles W. Bacchi,
Chairman of the Western Sierra board of directors.

Western Sierra Bancorp is comprised of Western Sierra Bank, Lake Community
Bank, Central California Bank and Auburn Community Bank, and has assets
exceeding $1.2 billion. Western Sierra Bancorp operates in the counties of El
Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Lake, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Amador, Calaveras,
Contra Costa, Tuolumne and Butte.  Western Sierra Bancorp operates 33 branches
and loan production facilities. 

DATASOURCE: Western Sierra Bancorp



CONTACT:  Gary Gall, President & CEO of Western Sierra Bancorp,

[phone]



Web site:  http://www.westernsierrabancorp.com/ 

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