# Exhibit 31.1

Certification of the Chief Executive Officer
pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

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# Certification Pursuant
to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

I, R. Dennis Hennett, President and
C.E.O., certify that:

1.       
          I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of Greer Bancshares
          Incorporated;

2.       
          Based on my knowledge, this annual 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 annual report;

3.       
          Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information
          included in this annual 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 annual 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-15e and 15d-15e) for the registrant and we 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 know to us by others within those entities, particularly
                    during the period in which this annual report is being prepared;
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|b) | evaluated the effectiveness of the registrants disclosure controls and
                    procedures and presented in this annual 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
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|c) | disclosed in this report any change in the registrants internal control our financial
reporting that occurred during the registrants fourth fiscal quarter that has
materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrants
internal control over financial reporting.
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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 registrants board of
          directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

|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.
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6.       
          The registrants other certifying officers and I have indicated in this
          annual report whether or not there were significant changes in internal controls
          or in other factors that could significantly affect internal controls subsequent
          to the date of our most recent evaluation, including any corrective actions with
          regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.

| |  | By:  /s/ R. Dennis Hennett
R. Dennis HennettPresident and Chief Executive Officer
| |  | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dated:  March 25, 2004