Watrous Joins Southern First

Greenville, South Carolina, March 15, 2017 – Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: SFST), holding company for Southern First Bank, is pleased to announce that Emily Watrous has joined the bank as Executive Vice President, Human Resources.

Prior to Watrous joining Southern First, she worked at FLUOR Corporation for 15 years in multiple Human Resource and Talent Development leadership positions, working in South Carolina, Georgia, California, and Texas. Earlier in her career, she worked as Vice President at Bank of America for five years.

Watrous graduated from Clemson University with a BS in Psychology and holds a master’s degree in Human Resource Development from Webster University. 

“Emily has extensive experience in talent development and human resources, and we believe that her leadership and skillset will add significant depth to our executive team,” stated Art Seaver, Chief Executive Officer of the company.

About Southern First Bancshares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc., Greenville, South Carolina is a registered bank holding company incorporated under the laws of South Carolina.  The Company consists of Southern First Bank, the third largest bank headquartered in South Carolina.  Southern First Bancshares has been providing financial services since 1999 and now operates in ten locations in the Greenville, Columbia, and Charleston markets of South Carolina as well as Raleigh, North Carolina.  Southern First Bancshares has assets of approximately $1.3 billion and its common stock is traded in the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “SFST.”  More information can be found at www.southernfirst.com.

FINANCIAL CONTACT: MIKE DOWLING  864-679-9070

MEDIA CONTACT: ART SEAVER  864-679-9010

WEB SITE: www.southernfirst.com