NIRI Virtual Chapter Wins Five Awards, Including Best Chapter Communications, at 2008 Annual Conference

Business Wire, June 23, 2008

Introduces 2008 - 2009 Board of Directors

SAN DIEGO -- The Virtual Chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) garnered several awards at the NIRI Annual Conference held in San Diego, CA earlier this month, further recognizing its position as a leading innovator within the NIRI organization. Included among its awards were Best Chapter Communications, Chairman's Award for Best Event at the national conference, and Chairman's Award for its Virtual Community. In addition, Anita Novak, the 2007-2008 chapter president, won two awards, including the Chapter Knowledge Award as well as the prestigious award as Outstanding Board Member.

Commenting on the chapter's recognition for its achievements, Ms. Novak said, "We are very honored to have received these awards, which I think are a true testament to the hard work and dedication of our board and our members. We believe the 2007-2008 year was a success in all facets of the chapter, including the quality of our programs, growth of our membership, depth of information in our newsletter and other marketing initiatives, enhanced professional development programs, and further improvements to our state-of-the-art technology platform. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to have worked with such a great group of individuals and look forward to the continued growth of our chapter going forward."

In addition to adding many new members from all areas of the globe while further enhancing its technology, one of the chapter's most notable successes during the year was the creation of the NIRI Virtual Ally Chat Program. The Virtual Chat Program provides a virtual forum where both new IR practitioners as well as seasoned IR pros can tap the talents of their Virtual Chapter colleagues as a sounding board, or simply to build a network of contacts. It has given existing members the opportunity to discuss, over the phone, changes at the NYSE and the NASDAQ, the new E-Proxy rules, hedge fund activism, and how to build an IR plan, among many other topics. Participation has been strong and the chapter expects this virtual forum to expand even further as the program gains greater visibility.

Supplementing the knowledge share capabilities of the Virtual Ally program is the NIRI Virtual Chapter's Online Community, where IR professionals can connect with fellow practitioners around the world from the convenience of their computer. Through the Community, Virtual Chapter members can connect/network with their peers with like interests, share their knowledge by participating in one-on-one private discussions or public group threads, participate in online polls, share files, and set up meetings using the integrated calendar.

Additionally, at the NIRI Annual Conference, the NIRI Virtual Chapter announced its Board of Directors for the upcoming program year. Commenting on the Board, Lenny Santiago, chapter president for the 2008-2009 year, noted, "We are very excited by the level of talent and diversity our board brings to the table this year. From the range in the size of companies that are represented to the geographic diversity and the variety of industries in which they work, we believe our new board provides a strong representation of our overall membership and will allow us to take one of the fastest-growing NIRI chapters to the next level. Even more than their broad experience and knowledge, our Board brings with it a lot of enthusiasm and passion that will translate into making the upcoming year our best ever."

The new officers for 2008 - 2009 include:

President - Lenny Santiago - International Speedway Corporation

President-Elect - Ann Storberg - American Physicians Capital

Treasurer - Kathleen Till Stange - FBL Financial

Secretary - Joy Gillis - Hanover Square Investor Relations

Financial Advisor - Paul Guichet - Hancock Bank

Executive Advisor - Anita Novak - EMC Insurance Group

Chapter Administrator - Jackie Powell

Committee officers are as follows:

International Committee

Senior Director - Steffan Williams - Capital MS&L

Co-Chair - Anita Novak - EMC Insurance Group

Co-Chair - Lauren Puffer - Bank of New York Mellon

Communications and Marketing

Senior Director - Chris Kettmann - FD Ashton Partners

Co-Chair - Josh Carlon - Tennessee Valley Authority

Membership

Senior Director - Bernadette McCormick - Business Wire

Co-Chair - Sally Thiel - Private Practitioner

Co-Chair - Laura Guerrant - Guerrant Associates

Professional Development

Senior Director - Beth Carty - Precision IR

Co-Chair - Stephen Kilmer - Kilmer Lucas Inc.

Programs

Co-Chair - Ellen Roberts - Wilmington Trust

Co-Chair - Michael Calvario - Selective Insurance Group

Technology

Senior Director - Julie Cimino - Lam Research

Advisory Council

Deborah Pawlowski - KEI Advisors

Brian Arsenault - New Alliance Bancshares

Ken Houseknecht - Gibraltar Steel Corp.

Margo Happer - Wyndham Worldwide Corporation

Laura Guerrant - Guerrant Associates

Don DeLaria - Regal Entertainment Group

Anita Novak - EMC Insurance Group

About NIRI Virtual

The NIRI Virtual Chapter was founded in 2002 by a group of NIRI members who were located in geographically distant locations across the United States that were not served by any of NIRI's 34 traditional bricks-and-mortar chapters. We have become the second largest NIRI chapter as well as the most diverse group of investor relations professionals in the world. After expanding our reach to include IR experts living outside the United States, international members now represent nearly 40 percent of the NIRI Virtual Chapter. Our 400 members span the globe and come from 46 states and 31 countries. Visit our Web site at www.nirivirtual.org.