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Exhibit 99.1


                       (PINNACLE FINANCIAL PARTNERS LOGO)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                              MEDIA CONTACT:      Tiffany Utsman  615-320-7532
                              FINANCIAL CONTACT:  Harold Carpenter  615-744-3700
                              WEBSITE:            www.mypinnacle.com


                    PINNACLE FINANCIAL COMPLETES $3.6 MILLION
                        PRIVATE PLACEMENT OF COMMON STOCK
             FIRM POSITIONED TO CONTINUE RAPID GROWTH AND EXPANSION

         NASHVILLE, Tenn. - October 1, 2001 - Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc.
(OTC: PNFP), the holding company for Pinnacle National Bank, today announced
that it has completed the private placement of $3.6 million of Company common
stock.

         In connection with the private placement, the firm sold 402,000 shares
at a price of $9.00 per share. Approximately 31 percent of the shares were sold
to directors and officers of the firm and approximately 69 percent were sold to
institutional and other accredited investors. The $9.00 share price represented
a 23 percent premium to the most recent 30-day average adjusted closing price.

         "This additional capital is consistent with our long-term strategic
plan for growth," said M. Terry Turner, president and CEO. "We are very pleased
with the continuing confidence investors have in our firm."

         "When we opened a year ago, we identified a once-in-a-generation
opportunity. The past year has validated our decision. Pinnacle has grown almost
twice as fast as we originally projected," said Turner.

         During the last half of the year 2000, 85 commercial bank charters were
granted in the United States. Given its October 27, 2000 start date, Pinnacle
was the 55th of those 85 banks to open last year. According to FDIC report data
as of March 31, 2001, Pinnacle had already climbed to third in terms of total
assets, net-interest income and non-interest income.


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         The firm plans to use the proceeds received from this offering to fund
its continued growth and expansion in the Nashville market. The firm's
subsidiary, Pinnacle National Bank, recently opened its third office in the
Green Hills area of Nashville. Pinnacle is also beginning its search for a
fourth location in the Rivergate/Hendersonville area where the firm anticipates
opening an office sometime during 2002.

         Based in Nashville, Pinnacle Financial Partners was founded in March
2000 by prominent Nashville business leaders, including five former First
American Corporation executives. The firm offers a full-range of banking and
investment products to small and medium-sized businesses and their
owner/managers. The firm operates offices in the downtown and Green Hills areas
of Nashville and in Brentwood, Tennessee.

         Additional information concerning Pinnacle can be accessed at
www.mypinnacle.com.

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Certain statements in this news release contain "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such
as statements relating to financial results and plans for future business
development activities, and are thus prospective. Such forward-looking
statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties
included, but not limited to, general economic conditions, competition, interest
rate sensitivity, exposure to regulatory and legislative changes and other
uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company's Securities and
Exchange Commission filings.