**EXHIBIT 31.1**

 

FIRST FARMERS AND MERCHANTS CORPORATION

 

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-14 OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED,

AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE

SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

 

I,T. Randy Stevens, certify that:

 

1)              I have reviewedthis quarterly report on Form 10-Q of First Farmers and MerchantsCorporation;

 

2)              Based on myknowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material factor omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, inlight of the circumstances under which such statements were made, notmisleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3)              Based on myknowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information includedin this report, fairly present in all material respects the financialcondition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, andfor, the periods presented in this report;

 

4)              Theregistrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishingand maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined inExchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant andhave:

 

a.               Designed suchdisclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls andprocedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that materialinformation relating to the registrant, including its consolidatedsubsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularlyduring the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

b.              Designed suchinternal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control overfinancial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonableassurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparationof financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generallyaccepted accounting principles;

 

c.               Evaluated theeffectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures andpresented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of thedisclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by thisreport based on such evaluation; and

 

d.              Disclosed inthis report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financialreporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter thathas materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, theregistrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

 

5)              Theregistrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our mostrecent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to theregistrant’s auditors and audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors(or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

a.               All significantdeficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internalcontrol over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adverselyaffect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and reportfinancial information; and

 

b.              Any fraud,whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have asignificant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 
| Date   | November 6, 2009 |   | /s/ T. Randy Stevens                       |
|--------|-----------------------|--------|--------------------------------------------|
|   |                  |   | T. Randy Stevens, Chief  Executive Officer |

 

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