SPOKANE, Wash., May 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Avista Corp. (NYSE: AVA) board of directors has appointed Marc Racicot as a member of the board effective Aug. 1, 2009. Mr. Racicot, age 60, served as president and chief executive officer of the American Insurance Association from August, 2005 until February, 2009. Prior to that, he was a partner at the law firm of Bracewell & Giuliani, LLP from 2001 to 2005. He is a former governor (1993 to 2001) and attorney general (1989 to 1993) of the state of Montana. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040128/SFW031LOGO) Racicot presently serves as a director for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and Allied Capital Corporation. In addition, he serves on the board of Jobs for America's Graduates and as a member of the Board of Visitors for the University of Montana School of Law. Racicot is a Montana native who graduated from Carroll College, Helena, Mont., and the University of Montana School of Law, Missoula, Mont. "We are pleased that Marc has agreed to join our board of directors. His breadth of experience and knowledge of the Northwest will be great assets for our corporation," said Scott L. Morris, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Avista Corp. Avista Corp. is an energy company involved in the production, transmission and distribution of energy as well as other energy-related businesses. Avista Utilities is our operating division that provides service to 355,000 electric and 315,000 natural gas customers in three Western states. Avista's primary, non-regulated subsidiary is Advantage IQ. Our stock is traded under the ticker symbol "AVA." For more information about Avista, please visit http://www.avistacorp.com/. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040128/SFW031LOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Avista Corp. CONTACT: media, Jessie Wuerst, +1-509-495-8578, , or investors, Jason Lang, +1-509-495-2930, ; or Avista 24/7 Media Access, +1-509-495-4174 Web Site: http://www.avistacorp.com/

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