ADVISORY, May 12, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) --

 What:
 B. G. Hartley, Chairman and CEO of Southside Bancshares, Inc. (SBSI),
 will preside over the closing bell.

 Where:
 NASDAQ MarketSite - 4 Times Square - 43rd & Broadway - Broadcast Studio

 When:
 Tuesday, May 13 at 4:00 p.m. EDT

 Contacts:
 Suni Davis
 sunid@southside.com

 NASDAQ MarketSite:
 Jolene Libretto
 646.441.5220
 Jolene.Libretto@nasdaqomx.com

Feed Information:

The Closing Bell is available from 3:50 p.m. to 4:05 p.m. on uplink IA-6 C-band/transponder 17. The downlink frequency is 4040 Vertical; Audio 6.2-6.8. The feed can also be found on Waterfront fiber 1623. If you have any questions, please contact Jolene Libretto at (646) 441-5220.

Radio Feed:

An audio transmission of the Closing Bell is also available from 3:50 p.m. to 4:05 p.m. on uplink IA6 C band / transponder 24, downlink frequency 4180 horizontal. The feed can be found on Waterfront fiber 1623 as well.

Webcast:

A live Webcast of the NASDAQ Closing Bell will be available at: http://www.nasdaq.com/about/marketsitetowervideo.asx

Photos:

To obtain a hi-resolution photograph of the Market Close, please go to http://www.nasdaq.com/reference/marketsite_events.stm and click on the market close of your choice.

About Southside Bancshares, Inc. (SBSI):

Southside Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company with approximately $2.2 billion in assets that owns 100% of Southside Bank and Fort Worth National Bank. Southside Bank and Fort Worth National Bank currently have 44 banking centers in Texas and operate a network of 45 ATMs.

To learn more about Southside Bancshares, Inc., please visit our investor relations website at www.southside.com/investor. Our investor relations site provides a detailed overview of our activities, financial information and historical stock price data. To receive e-mail notification of company news, events and stock activity, please register on the E-mail Notification portion of the website. Questions or comments may be directed to Susan Hill at (903) 531-7220, or susanh@southside.com.