Senior Barron's editor to kick off INVESTKentucky equity conference

Porter Bancorp, Inc., becomes conference's 15th corporate participant

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (April 12, 2007) -- Michael Santoli, senior editor and financial columnist for the Dow Jones financial and business weekly Barron's, will deliver the keynote address for the 2007 INVESTKentucky equity conference.

INVESTKentucky, set for June 7 at Churchill Downs, brings together public companies of various sizes, capitalizations and industries with regional and Wall Street fund managers, analysts and financial professionals. Supported and co-sponsored by the CFA Society of Louisville, the conference features 15 Kentucky companies from the food service, spirits, manufacturing, healthcare, entertainment and high-tech sectors.

Santoli is a 15-year journalism veteran who has won two Dow Jones business reporting awards. A New Yorker, Santoli writes the finance magazine's 'Streetwise' column, offering a forward-looking take on the financial markets, illuminating market trends and themes and identifying investment opportunities. He is a regular on-air contributor to the CNBC cable network, talk radio and financial conferences.

'If I don't have a point of view, I'm not doing my job and the last thing I want to do is to be obscure,' said Santoli. 'I want the reader to know my opinion and to know the difference between fact and opinion.'

Santoli has been responsible for at least four different Barron's columns. He has written 'The Trader' column, which broadly covers the stock market and investment trends, including the market's occasionally quirky behavior and investor psychology. Santoli is also intimately familiar with mutual funds, having edited Barron‘s mutual fund section and pullouts.

Following Santoli's speech, 12 public companies will deliver formal presentations to the investment community. Three additional companies - including new corporate entrant Porter Bancorp, Inc., of Louisville -- will meet professional investors separately.

The participating public companies (based in Louisville unless otherwise noted) are:

Admission to the track, continental breakfast and lunch for qualified financial professionals have been underwritten by the conference and its sponsors. Attendance is limited to available slots on a first-come, first-serve basis, with online registration at www.investky.com. Individual management meetings can also be scheduled online.

Hilliard Lyons is the title sponsor of INVESTKentucky. Founded in 1854, Hilliard Lyons is one of the oldest investment firms in the country. It is also the only New York Stock Exchange member firm based in Kentucky. For more information about Hilliard Lyons and the investment services it provides, please visit www.hilliard.com.

Major sponsors include Crowe Chizek, Frost Brown Todd, NASDAQ, JP Morgan, Bank of America, and Bloomberg, and organizing sponsors Mozaic Investor Relations, Inc., and CFA Society of Louisville.

Additional contributors are Leapfrog Interactive Agency, Atea Design, Vivid Impact Printing, BusinessWire, Capital Bridge, Wall Street Transcript and O'Neil Arnold Photography.