Exhibit 31.1



Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a) Certifications:



CERTIFICATION:



I, R. W. Wilkinson, certify that:



|1. | I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of First Century Bankshares, Inc.;
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|2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the
circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
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|3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of
operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
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|4. | The registrants other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:
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| | a. | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information
relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
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| | b. | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrants disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
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| | c. | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrants internal control over financial reporting that occurred during this registrants most recent fiscal quarter (the
registrants fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrants internal control over financial reporting; and
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|5. | The registrants other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation, to the registrants auditors and the audit committee of
registrants board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
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| | a. | All significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal controls which could adversely affect the registrants ability to record, process, summarize and report
financial data and have identified for the registrants auditors any material weaknesses in internal controls; and
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| | b. | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrants internal controls over financial reporting; and
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Date: March 22, 2004



/s/ R. W. WilkinsonR. W. Wilkinson, Presidentand Chief Executive Officer