Riverview Bancorp, Inc. Elects Gerald L. Nies Chairman of the Board

VANCOUVER, Wash., Sept. 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Riverview Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq GSM: RVSB) (the "Company"), the holding company for Riverview Community Bank, (the "Bank" and collectively "Riverview"), announced the Board of Directors elected at the Annual Reorganizational Meeting Gerald L. Nies Chairman of the Board for the Company and the Bank, succeeding retiring Patrick Sheaffer.

Also elected at the meeting were Bradley Carlson, Board Vice Chair, Patricia Eby, Audit Committee Chair, David Nierenberg, Nominating/Governance Committee Chair and Bess Wills, Compensation Committee Chair.

Mr. Nies joined the Riverview Board in 2009 and has served as Vice Chair since 2015. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of Nies Insurance Agency from 1985 to 2011 and was Past Chairman of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers Technology committee. Mr. Nies was a recipient of the Don C. Burnam Award for outstanding service to the insurance industry. He attended Western Washington University and has served with many organizations, including:

• Washington Independent Agents Association - Board member
• National Agent Advisory Council for Safeco Insurance - President
• Clark County Emergency Medical Services Administrative Board - Board member
• City of Battle Ground - Council Member and Fire Chief

Mr. Nies' diverse career has afforded him expertise in managing financial and operational aspects of business and customer relations.

Pat Sheaffer, who joined the Bank in 1963, will remain on the Board as a Director. "On behalf of the Board, our employee-owners, clients and communities, we want to thank Pat for his 56 years of stewardship and dedication to community banking," said Nies. "He guided Riverview from a two-branch savings and loan to becoming the largest community bank in the Portland-Vancouver area with over $1.3 billion in assets and a listing on the Russell 2000 index. We look forward to building on his legacy for years to come."

Mr. Sheaffer became Chief Executive Officer in 1976, a Director in 1979, and Chairman of the Board in 1993. In 1997, he led the Company through a public offering on Nasdaq. With an eye on maintaining a culture of customer service, community, and profitability, he created an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, encouraging all employees to "think like owners, because they are owners."

Active in numerous professional and civic organizations, he was honored with the Kyle W. Corwin Lifetime Achievement Award by the Vancouver Business Journal. Sheaffer has always believed in community activities and in the last year, Riverview has supported over 150 local nonprofits, donated over 4,600 volunteer hours and has employees on the board of 48 different service organizations.