Arthur Budge and I are happy to welcome John Kiser as the newest member of the Five States family. John assumed the role of President at the beginning of August. His charge is broad, with responsibility for the effective planning and control of all aspects of Five States’ future management and operations. Arthur and I have long been aware of the need to bring aboard an individual with John’s background, knowledge and industry experience, but until recently we had not identified anyone with whom we were sufficiently impressed.

With receding hairlines and slowing steps, my partner Arthur Budge and I agreed that we needed to bring aboard someone into Five States with the knowledge, experience and character to serve on our senior management team. Following an active search, we identified and have added the person who we believe can lead the company into a period of renewed growth and expansion. John Kiser, 58, is precisely the individual we had been seeking. John is a petroleum engineer graduate of TAMU with an MBA from SMU. He began his career with Exxon in