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                                                                                                       EXHIBIT 31.1

                                 CERTIFICATIONS

         I, John S. Penn, certify that:

1.       I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarterlyperiod ended September 30,
         2003 of Unified Financial Services, Inc.;

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 registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.       The registrant's other certifying officers 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)) and
         internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d
         -15(f))for the registrant 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 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;

         b)       (omitted pursuant to SEC Release No. 33-8238);

         c)       Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant'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

         d)       Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial
                  reporting that occurred during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's
                  fourth 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

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

         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
                  registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; 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 control over financial reporting.


     November 14, 2003                               /s/ John S. Penn
                                                     --------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          John S. Penn
                                                          PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER


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