Mercantile Bank Corporation Appoints New Members to Board of Directors

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Oct. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercantile Bank Corporation (Nasdaq: MBWM) ("Mercantile") today announced the appointment of four new members to its Board of Directors: Robert Kaminski, Chief Operating Officer and Secretary of Mercantile; Michael Faas, President of Metro Health Corporation; John Donnelly, retired Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Donnelly Corporation; and Kirk Agerson, Medical Doctor.  

Mr. Kaminski joined Mercantile in 1997 and has over 20 years of commercial banking experience. Before being promoted to his current position in 2007, Mr. Kaminski served the Bank as Senior Vice President and Secretary from 1997 to 2003, and Executive Vice President and Secretary from 2003 to 2007. In addition, he has served as the Bank's Chief Operating Officer since 2000. Mr. Kaminski serves on the Board and Executive Committee for Boys and Girls Clubs of Grand Rapids, Youth Commonwealth and Camp O'Malley, the Board of Directors of VSA Arts of Michigan-Grand Rapids-Very Special Arts, and is a career mentor for Aquinas College.

Mr. Faas joined Metro Health Corporation in 1994 and currently serves as its President.  In this role, he leads the organization's efforts to design, fund and build a new LEED-certified hospital and surrounding Metro Health Village.  The hospital and village opened in the fall of 2007 and have quickly become a healthcare destination in West Michigan and a national model for the delivery of community health care. With more than 30 years working in the health-care field, Faas has held previous leadership positions such as Senior Vice President of Operations for St. Luke's Methodist Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and co-CEO of the Borgess Metro Health Alliance.  At Metro Health, he has responsibility for the hospital, neighborhood outpatient centers and its more than 2,500 doctors, nurses and staff.

Mr. Donnelly retired from global automotive supplier Donnelly Corporation in 2003 after being employed there since 1977, most recently as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Throughout his career at Donnelly, he has also held positions of Chief Operating Officer of the Company's European operations and Senior Vice President for Modular Windows. Previously, he was the first Board Chair for the Black River Public School in Holland and the Chair of the Boys and Girls Club of greater Holland.  He has served as Chair of the Investment Committee of the Community Foundation of Holland and Zeeland, where he still serves as a Board member.

Dr. Agerson, a native of Michigan, opened and has successfully managed his medical practice in Grand Rapids since 1980.  He has participated in various capacities on several Boards of Directors, including those of Priority Health and Metro Health.  Since 1983, Dr. Agerson has also served as an Assistant Clinical Professor, Family Medicine at Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine.

Michael Price, Chairman and CEO of Mercantile, commented: "We are fortunate to have Robert, Michael, John and Kirk join our board and we look forward to working with each of them as Mercantile identifies new opportunities to deliver mutually beneficial banking relationships that deepen our commitment to the community."

About Mercantile Bank Corporation

Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Mercantile Bank Corporation is the bank holding company for Mercantile Bank of Michigan. Founded in 1997 to provide banking services to businesses, individuals and governmental units, the Bank differentiates itself on the basis of service quality and the expertise of its banking staff. Mercantile has seven full-service banking offices in Grand Rapids, Holland and Lansing, Michigan. Mercantile Bank Corporation's common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "MBWM."

SOURCE Mercantile Bank Corporation