<PAGE>
                                                                   EXHIBIT 31.1

                   CERTIFICATE OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER


I, Thomas J. Martin, certify that:

1.   I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-KSB of Community
     Financial Holding Company, Inc. (the "small business issuer");

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;

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 small business issuer as of, and for, the periods presented in this
     report;

4.   The small business issuer'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 small business issuer and have:


         (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 small business issuer,
     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;


         (b) Evaluated the effectiveness of the small business issuer's
     disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our
     conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and
     procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on
     such evaluation; and


         (c) Disclosed in this report any change in the small business issuer's
     internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the small
     business issuer's most recent fiscal quarter (the small business issuer's
     fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially
     affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the small business
     issuer's internal control over financial reporting; and


5.   The small business issuer's other certifying officer(s) and I have
     disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over
     financial reporting, to the small business issuer's auditors and the audit
     committee of the small business issuer's board of directors (or persons
     performing the equivalent functions):


         (a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design
     or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
     reasonably likely to adversely affect the small business issuer's ability
     to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and


         (b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
     other employees who have a significant role in the small business issuer's
     internal control over financial reporting.


Dated this 24th day of March, 2004.


                                      /s/ Thomas J, Martin
                                      ------------------------------------------
                                      Thomas J. Martin, Chief Executive Officer