My words to you this month will be brief. I want to recap some of the key points I’ve discussed over the last few months in an effort to encourage you to make an informed decision when you vote this year.

Your vote counts because you can use your vote to choose a path of stability for CIRI’s future. You can vote for the Board-endorsed CIRI slate of candidates who have been selected after a careful screening process aimed at finding people who are both creative and energetic and yet are grounded in sound business principles.

Here are some key points about CIRI’s current strategy and our ongoing focus:

• Over the last year, the CIRI Board has adopted an “attitude of patience,” and has maintained profitability in the face of a national and local economic situation that is challenging, even to the point of being confusing.



• This disciplined approach makes sense for the company at a time when pressure to take action for the sake of doing something could lead us in the wrong direction. Hindsight usually shows us that action taken under pressure is not necessarily the best course to follow.
• When it comes to politics and concerns raised by dissidents, the road we have tried to take is “the high road.” My job is to run your company as best I can for the good of the shareholders, so I try not to get myself too enmeshed in the details of Board politics.


• As we head into the future, our plans will need to take into account the fact that we are now a company that must pay income taxes. We have no choice in this. It’s a fact that we have grown and matured financially.

• The CIRI Board in the past has worked hard to find the right mix among:

1. Setting aside funds for investment to support regular quarterly dividends.
2. Giving consideration to special dividends when the company can afford it.
3. Investing to grow the company for the future, in the right business sectors at the right times. And we do have strategic plans and commitments for the cash we hold.

• Over the years, I believe the CIRI Board has always made the most of investment returns that become available. The most recent special distributions totaling over $400 million to the shareholders are clear examples of this.
  CIRI shareholders have a powerful voice, backed up by the means to make that voice heard through the corporate voting mechanism and the Annual Meeting. Voting for the Board-endorsed candidates sends a message that you the shareholders will not tolerate the continued attacks on your corporation and its leadership, which has a destabilizing effect on the corporation. Your Board of Directors has a proven track record of prudent stewardship of the company. The Alliance, in my view, has offered no real plan for CIRI’s future.