Contact: Media Representative 612-204-5261 Date: February 23, 1999 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Minneapolis Fed Announces Official Staff
Promotions at Helena Branch

MINNEAPOLIS—The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis announced the following staff promotions at its Helena Branch.

R. Paul Drake has been named assistant vice president with responsibility for check, payor bank services, business development, data systems support, planning and computer operations, as of Feb. 1. Drake joined the Branch in 1983 as programmer/analyst and since 1989 has served as manager of automation support and planning. He has a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Eastern Montana College in Billings, Mont., and is currently working on a master's degree in business administration from the University of Montana in Missoula.

Susan Woodrow has been named assistant vice president with responsibility for accounting, administration, cash, protection, human resources and building, effective April 1. Woodrow began working at the Minneapolis Fed in 1990, and prior to this appointment, held the position of senior counsel there. She has a bachelor of education from the University of Wales in the United Kingdom and a juris doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School.

As one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis contributes to a variety of Federal Reserve System functions, including operation of a nationwide payments system, distribution of the nation’s currency and coin, supervision and regulation of member banks and bank holding companies, and serving as a fiscal agent for the U.S. Treasury. Additionally, the president of Minneapolis Fed serves as a member of the Federal Open Market Committee, the monetary policymaking arm of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. Together with its branch in Helena, Mont., the Minneapolis Fed serves the Ninth Federal Reserve District, which includes Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota, 26 counties in northwestern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

-30-