Oak Valley Community Bank Announces Hiring

OAKDALE, CA--(Marketwire - May 21, 2009) - Oak Valley Community Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ: OVLY), announced today that it has hired Deborah Kempton as Vice President and Branch Manager of its full-service branch in Sonora.

With 26 years of banking and financial management experience, Kempton takes over as the head of this branch office located at 14580 Mono Way, where she will manage branch operations and business development. She was with Bank of America for 25 years with the last 3 1/2 as Premier Banker serving the Central Valley and Sierra foothills. She is a Central Valley native, raised in Stockton, and has resided in Valley Springs for the past nine years.

Debbie passionately and consistently has contributed to the social well being of the communities in which she has served. She is actively involved in numerous community activities and gives generously of her time, energy, and talent to organizations such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters, March of Dimes, and United Way.

"We are very excited to have Debbie join our growing team of highly qualified and experienced branch managers," said Gail Braley, Vice President Area Manager. "Debbie has a proven track record that will clearly help us gain a stronger foothold in the Sonora market. She certainly has the skill set, client relationships, and experience to help her and the Bank be very successful in this area."

Debbie stated, "I am really looking forward to joining the team at Oak Valley Community Bank and working for a locally owned, community bank. Oak Valley has done extremely well since its inception and I'm very excited to be part of the future growth they will be experiencing."

Oak Valley Bancorp operates Oak Valley & Eastern Sierra Community Bank, through which it offers a variety of loan and deposit products to individuals and small businesses. The Company currently operates through 12 conveniently located branches: Oakdale, Sonora, Turlock, Stockton, Patterson, Ripon, Escalon, two branches in Modesto, and three branches in their Eastern Sierra Division, which includes Bridgeport, Mammoth Lakes and Bishop.

For more information call 1-866-844-7500 or visit us online at www.ovcb.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Ron Martin/Chris Courtney Phone: (209) 848-BANK (2265) Toll Free (866) 844-7500 www.ovcb.com