Two Co-speakers to Highlight Southeast Venture Capital Forum Luncheon; Chip Grayson of Morgan Keegan and Randy Pittman of Emageon to Speak on 'The IPO Journey — Two Perspectives' at April 14, 2005, Event

Business Wire, April 7, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- John H. (Chip) Grayson Jr. of Morgan Keegan and Co. Inc. and W. Randall Pittman of Emageon Inc. will be the featured co-speakers at the Southeast Venture Capital Forum luncheon on April 14, 2005, at the Birmingham Hilton Hotel in Birmingham, Ala.

Grayson and Keegan will speak on "The IPO Journey -- Two Perspectives" at the luncheon sponsored by Morgan Keegan and Co., beginning at 12 p.m. in the hotel's Cahaba rooms.

"Both Chip Grayson and Randy Pittman are recognized leaders in the financial field, and we're thrilled to have them speak at this year's luncheon," said Brad Bertoch, president of the Wayne Brown Institute, a co-sponsor of the event. "We're anticipating another very successful conference this year, and the expertise and enthusiasm of these two speakers will help make this event one that truly should not be missed. Emageon was a presenting company at the forum last year and went on to recently complete a $60 million initial public offering on Nasdaq."

The Southeast Venture Capital Forum provides opportunities for high-tech companies from around the United States to participate in the venture capital fundraising process. Fourteen companies will present at this year's conference, a complete list of which is available at www.sevencap.org. The schedule for April 14 will be as follows:

--8 - 8:45 a.m.: Late registration

--8:45 - 9 a.m.: Welcome/announcements

--9 - 10:24 a.m.: Company presentations

--10:24 - 10:44 a.m.: Break

--10:46 a.m. - 12 p.m.: Company presentations

--12 - 1:30 p.m.: Luncheon

--2 - 4 p.m.: One-on-one meetings

Grayson is executive managing director of Morgan Keegan and Co. Before joining Morgan Keegan in October 1993, Grayson was a partner at Heiskill, Donelson, Bearman, Adams, Williams and Caldwell, where he worked extensively in the areas of public and private securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and venture capital financings. He received a B.B.A. in finance from the University of Mississippi magna cum laude and a law degree from the University of Virginia. He has extensive experience in raising public and private capital, as well as completing numerous complex merger, acquisition and divestiture assignments, many of which involved transportation and logistics companies.

Pittman has served as chief financial officer of Emageon since November 2002. From 2000 to 2002 he was chief financial officer of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biotechnology company, and from 1998 to 1999 he was chief financial officer of ScandiPharm Inc., a pharmaceutical company. He previously served as senior vice president of Caremark Rx Inc., a pharmacy benefit management company, and executive vice president and controller of AmSouth Bancorporation. He earned a bachelor of science degree from Auburn University and has been a certified public accountant since 1978. Pittman is a director of the Regions Morgan Keegan Select Funds, the RMK High Income Fund Inc., the RMK Advantage Income Fund Inc. and the RMK Strategic Income Fund Inc. He also serves as a trustee of Samford University and vice president of the Birmingham Venture Club.

Interested parties can register for the event online at www.sevencap.org or by calling 801-595-1141. Registration begins at $395.00 per person for admission to the conference. The cost of registration for the conference drops to $295.00 for any additional conference attendee(s) from the same firm. There is also special pricing for members of the co-hosting organizations.

More information about the Wayne Brown Institute and the Investors Choice Southeast Venture Capital Forum is available online at www.venturecapital.org and www.sevencap.org, or by calling 801-595-1141.

About the Wayne Brown Institute

Located in Salt Lake City, the Wayne Brown Institute is the oldest, most successful non-profit venture capital accelerator in the world and was formed in 1983 by Dr. Wayne S. Brown. It seeks to educate early-stage companies through mentor-based training in the methods of becoming attractive and viable investments for venture capitalists, while creating value-added relationships between entrepreneurs, capital providers and key professionals specializing in equity-backed business. The Wayne Brown Institute is nationally recognized for its expertise in understanding and applying the venture capital funding processes of Silicon Valley to areas that are capital constrained.