Guests can enter to win great prizes like a $1,000 GIC or a new laptop; $5,300 donation to the Alberta Children's Hospital to mark the occasion

CALGARY, May 7 /CNW/ - Tomorrow, football great and former Calgary fullback Tony Spoletini will help CIBC celebrate the grand opening of the new state-of-the-art, 5,600 square-foot CIBC Aspen Landing Banking Centre at 17th Avenue and 85th Street. To mark the occasion, CIBC will make a donation of $5,300 to the Alberta Children's Hospital.

Spoletini will be onsite from 11 a.m. to 1:20 p.m. to meet guests who can also enter to win great prizes like a $1,000 GIC or a new ACER laptop. Families at the event can enjoy a barbecue by Spolumbo's as well as a variety of fun activities, including a caricaturist, tattoo artist and a psychic reader.

"CIBC is proud to celebrate the grand opening of our 28th branch in Calgary - our third new branch to open in the city," said Mike Stevenson, CIBC's Senior Vice-President of Retail Markets for Western Canada. "Calgary is a vibrant, fast-growing community and we're happy to provide more of our clients with even greater flexibility, access and choice in their banking."

The branch hours of operation are:

          Monday - Wednesday:   9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
          Thursday - Friday:    9:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
          Saturday:             9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

The new branch is barrier free with accessibility features such as a sit down teller station and three Automated Banking Machines (ABMs) installed at wheelchair accessible height with headphone jacks for audio access and grab bars for mobility assistance.

To further mark the occasion, CIBC will present a donation of $5,300 to the Alberta Children's Hospital to go towards the purchase of a vital piece of new heart imaging equipment.

"We are very grateful for this wonderful donation," says Dr. David Patton, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Alberta Children's Hospital. "This donation, along with other community donations, will be used to purchase a Cardiac MRI Coil. This new coil will allow us to take detailed moving pictures of the heart without radiation up to four times faster than our existing MRI coil. We are grateful to our community for supporting this important piece of equipment."

CIBC recently opened a new branch in the Shepard Centre at 130th & 50th and a new, larger branch in Thorncliffe, as well as investing in expanding four of its Calgary area branches to better meet the banking needs of the community.

With 1076 branches, CIBC has one of the largest branch networks in Canada. CIBC clients also benefit from access to more than 3,800 automated bank machines, and 24/7 service by phone, online and through mobile banking.

CIBC (CM: TSX;NYSE) is a leading North American financial institution with nearly 11 million personal banking and business clients. CIBC offers a full range of products and services through its comprehensive electronic banking network, branches and offices across Canada, and has offices in the United States and around the world. You can find other news releases and information about CIBC in our Press Centre on our corporate website at www.cibc.com.