Hurricane Katrina has had a major and devastating impact on our employees in and around the New Orleans area. We anticipate that many employees will have suffered severe property damage and that some may have lost their homes.

Our immediate efforts are focused on establishing contact with each employee to ensure that they, and their families, are safe. This is a difficult task. All landline phone service is out in New Orleans and the surrounding area. Cell phone service is nearly the same.

At this moment we have made contact with, or received information about, 32 of our 55 New Orleans Plant employees and Sales personnel. A toll-free phone line has been established. The number is 1-888-405-4014. We ask that employees and anyone with information about employees call the toll-free line.

All employees are continuing to be paid and we are taking extraordinary measures to try to get money to people who cannot access their accounts. A special bank account is being established in Baton Rouge for this purpose.

The New Orleans Plant, located just east of downtown, is currently under several feet of water. Access roads and bridges have been severely damaged or destroyed. We are making preparations to reenter and repair the plant as soon as practical. We recognize it is too early to determine when that might be. We will be ready.

We have three terminal locations within the hurricane's broad path. In order of closest proximity to New Orleans, the reported status of each is as follows:

• Burnside - Located 40 miles north of New Orleans toward Baton Rouge - Both the employees and facility ok. There is no power yet.
• Natchez - Located 60 miles north of Baton Rouge - Employees and facility ok. Power was restored yesterday.
• Brandon - Located in the Jackson, Mississippi area - Employees and facility ok. No power.

We know everyone in the Company is concerned about their fellow employees, many of whom have become friends over the years. We are of course considering various ways to provide help to them both financial and otherwise. After we determine the actual needs we will finalize a course of action and communicate it to you. In the meantime, we will continue to keep you advised as developments unfold in upcoming days.

D. A. Nepereny