EXHIBIT 99.1



April 29, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Charles H. Majors, President, (434) 773-2219



         AMERICAN NATIONAL BANKSHARES NAMES NEW CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER


DANVILLE, Va., April 29, 2004 / PRNewswire-FirstCall / -- Neal A. Petrovich has
been named Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of American National
Bankshares Inc. (Nasdaq: AMNB) and American National Bank and Trust Company.
He will begin his duties on May 25, 2004.

     A graduate of Tunstall High School in Pittsylvania County, Mr. Petrovich
holds a B.B.A., with high honors, from James Madison University. A Certified
Public Accountant, he is a graduate of both the Virginia Bankers School of Bank
Management, where he currently serves on the faculty, and the ABA Graduate
School of Bank Investments and Financial Management. He and his wife, Dana, have
two children, Ellen, age 8, and Grayson, age 4.

     Mr. Petrovich has over twenty years of banking and accounting experience.
Currently Senior Vice President and Virginia Financial Officer for Southtrust
Bank, he was Chief Financial Officer of Bank of Tidewater in Virginia Beach for
eleven years.

     Charles H. Majors, President and Chief Executive Officer stated, "We are
pleased to welcome Neal home and to have him join the senior management team of
American National. His substantial experience as the chief financial officer of
a strong Virginia community bank will be an asset to us as we continue to grow."

     American National Bankshares Inc. is the holding company of American
National Bank and Trust Company, a community bank with fourteen offices in
Danville, Chatham, Collinsville, Gretna, Martinsville, Henry County, and South
Boston, Virginia, and Yanceyville, North Carolina. Services are also provided
through twenty ATMs, "AmeriLink" internet banking, and our 24-hour "Access
American" phone banking. Banking subsidiaries include ANB Mortgage Corp.
(secondary mortgage origination), ANB Investor Services (retail brokerage) and
ANB Insurance Services (full-service insurance agency). Additional information



is available on our website at www.amnb.com.



         This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
and pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. A forward-looking statement encompasses any estimate,
prediction, opinion or statement of belief contained in this release and the
underlying management assumptions. Forward-looking statements are based on
current expectations and assessments of potential developments affecting market
conditions, interest rates and other economic conditions, and results may
ultimately vary from the statements made in this release.