Classified Ads---Asset Management

Massachusetts, MA Started in credit and collections 30 years ago with a private agency. My skills are negotiating with Attorney's, Insurance Companies & Large & small companies. cityofpa@earthlink.net | Resume

Minneapolis, MN 16 years leasing experience from micro to large ticket market, variety of equipment. Most recently calling on vendor telecom dealers in Upper Midwest. golfadm@yahoo.com

Santa Barbara, Ca. Full time/part time/Former Balboa/LEAF/Santa Barbara B&T, repossession, remarketing, liquidation.Top references; willing to relocate for excellent career opportunity. Resume

United States Financial service executive with over 25 years in the industry including banking, venture capital and equipment leasing. RESUME | Email: dan@ggpglobal.com

For a full listing of all "job wanted" ads, please go to:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted.htm

ELFA President Bentsen Ensuring the Transition Is Smooth

Hon. Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr.

While originally announced that he was leaving around Labor Day, Ken Bentsen, is still at work at the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, though now spending time also at his new office at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) in Washington, DC. He says everything is going smoothly; the team, the multiple boards, committees, staff, and Interim President Ralph Petta, all "top notch, dynamic."

"Even though there is a lot of stress today," he told Leasing News, "this asset class is a survivor and a necessity in the financial economy."

In making the original announcement, SIFMA President and CEO Timothy Ryan, said, "With his breadth of financial experience in both the private and public sector, Ken understands our members' public policy goals and business interest and will help drive our efforts to play a proactive, constructive role in the ongoing regulatory reform debate."

SIFMA President and CEO Timothy Ryan

"In his role at SIFMA, Mr. Bentsen will be responsible for SIFMA's legal, governmental, and legislative affairs and advocacy initiatives. Mr. Bentsen's career at SIFMA will begin in September. Mr. Bentsen will report directly to Mr. Ryan."

When he was initially interviewed three years ago by then ELFA chairman Paul Larkins, the search committee, and the board, Bentsen said he knew he was following a person who had built the foundation, Michael Fleming, CAE, and he would take the Association to the next step, with the understanding that this was not his "last stop."

He said when he took the position he knew very few of the participants, but leaves with a great deal of respect and knowledge. In the varied positions he has held since college, he says this was one of the best jobs he has ever had. He has enjoyed working with people for whom he has a great deal of respect, were dynamic, entrepreneurial in nature.

At 50, he has a daughter in college and a teenager at home. The commute and hours, 60 plus a week, will continue, including travel, as his new company has an office in New York and London. He is very much looking forward to his new position as his background has certainly given him the experience for it. Whether the former congressman will ever get back into a political office, he said, "Never say never," but he has no plans except to be of help in public policy, especially necessary in these critical times.

Reactions to Bentsen leaving ELFA

"Ken Bentsen has been a change agent and champion of transparency and advocacy for the Equipment Leasing and Finance industry. His contributions will live on long after he moves to his next assignment. Ken's bias for action and strategic focus have been extremely beneficial to the companies who enjoy Association membership. Ken was an absolute pleasure to work with."

Regards. PL
(Paul A. Larkins, was chairman of ELFA at time Bentsen was hired. He also is Leasing News Person of the Year for 2006.)

--

"I had the pleasure of working with Ken during my Chairmanship. His professionalism, knowledge and dedication to our industry played an important role in giving the ELFA a stronger identity in the world of commercial finance.

"The ELFA was fortunate to have Ken's leadership and vision as we have experienced these challenging times.

"I wish him all the best in his new endeavor.

"I have worked with Ralph Petta for over 20 years. Ralph has extensive knowledge and experience in this industry and I have full confidence in his ability to guide and lead the association through this next chapter."

Valerie Jester, President
Brandywine Capital Associates
113 E. Evans Street
West Chester, PA 19380
888) 344-2920, Ext. 21
valeriejester@brandywinecap.com

----

"Ken Bentsen's resignation as President of the ELFA is unfortunate but not completely unexpected. Ken has the good fortune to be moving on to a bigger role with a larger trade association affiliated with an industry segment he knows and loves. Ken is very talented leader who accomplished a great deal in his three years with the ELFA. Ken brought new ideas and renewed energy to the ELFA while increasing our industry profile in Washington and in the financial press. The industry and the Association are better off due to Ken's involvement over the past three years. I will miss working with Ken but take comfort knowing there will most likely be issues impacting both ELFA and SIFMA where we will have the opportunity to partner with Ken in his new role.

"ELFA leadership had the foresight to develop a transition plan several years ago which allows Ralph Petta to step in as Interim President. I have worked closely with Ralph over the past 20 years and have great confidence in his knowledge and dedication to the equipment finance and leasing industry. We should thank Ken for everything he accomplished over the past three years, and offer Ralph a hand as he steps into a difficult role in very challenging times

Rick Remiker
SVP, Chief Administrative Officer
RBS Asset Finance
71 S. Wacker Drive, 28th Floor
Chicago, IL 60606
Office (312) 777-3541
Mobile (312) 350-9920
richard.j.remiker@rbsaf.com

----

"I don't think anyone is surprised by this news. We were fortunate to have Ken this long. He's a born leader with the kind of experience, track record, and clout that keeps opportunity knocking. He's done a fine job repositioning the ELFA and leaves with few regrets if any at all. These are difficult times but Ralph is more than capable of running the show. Aside from the economy being what it is the ELFA structure is on as solid ground as can be expected."

(name with held)

--

"Two years ago I interviewed Ken Bentsen shortly after he joined ELFA. I was impressed by his interest, his focus and his willingness to consider different concepts. He has proved himself to be an extremely effective resource for the equipment leasing and finance industry, and we will miss his very valuable contributions." "

Bob Teichman, CLP
Teichman Financial Training
3030 Bridgeway, Suite 213
Sausalito, CA 94965
Tel: 415 331-6445
E-mail: BoTei@aol.com
"Training and education for equipment leasing and finance personnel"

(Bob is Leasing News Person of the Year for 2008, plus past president
of the Certified Leasing Professional Foundation.)

"Dancing with the ELFA"
by Bob Teichman, CLP

http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/October%202006/10-27-06.htm#elfa

---

"Thank you Ken for the wonderful work you have done with our association. Working with you has been an honor. I'm sad to see you go.

"Best of luck and prosperity to you in the future!

"Congratulations Ralph! I'm confident you will do great things while at the helm.

"Best regards,"

Ed Castagna
President
Nassau Asset Management

---

"ELFA has come a long way from the days of befriending the big boys (and why not, they paid the bills) to being a organization serving the industry as a whole. Membership is down, less is being contributed, and the economy has yet to show consistent trends that this mess is over. It appears our industry will shrink, the industry organizations will shrink as the number of employees in our industry has and will continue to shrink. Ken came in when focus and direction was needed. He made everyone feel valued, explored new directions, and got many involved that were once outsiders. He moved from a single focus organization with historic repeated direction to a name changed group (ELA to ELFA), and sent a more meaningful message to members and to the political community (where he is certainly at home). He did what was needed and it is now up the organization to keep it going, not lose focus, and continue to be meaningful for the entire lease/finance community.

"So a debt of gratitude to Ken for coming into an organization with a long history of tradition and forging a new path. Good organizational leaders are rare. I am sure we all wish Ken well and thanks for taking ELFA to the top.

Allan Levine,
Chief Operating Officer
MADI$ON CAPITAL
Equipment and Vehicle Lease Financing Solutions
9D Gwynns Mill Court
Owings Mills, MD 21117
Direct Line: 443.796.7337
Office: 800.733.5529 x 7337
alevine@madisoncapital.com
www.madisoncapital.com

(Al Levine interviewed Ken Bentsen when he addressed the
EAEL 2007 Spring Conference for Leasing News:)
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/May%202007/05-11-07.htm#eaelc

---

"I have followed all of the media on Ken Bentsen since he took over the presidency of the ELFA. I have watched his leadership with such admiration. He has fought with Washington DC to open their eyes to our industry and the damage the tightened flow of funds has created.

"He has been a true advocate of our industry.

"I would love to meet him in person and shake his hand some day. I wish him all the best in his new role at SIFMA."

Rosanne Wilson, CLP
1st Independent Leasing, Inc.
3800 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Suite 165
Beaverton, OR 97005
(800) 926-0851 or Fax: (503) 626-1631
"It's the Lease We Can Do"
www.1stindependentleasing.com

Leasing 102
by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP

Bank Leasing Companies

I have been asked to review with you the rules for commercial equipment leasing when funded by a bank. Legal authority to lease for non-regulated Lessor's is a non issue, however for Banks they are generally authorized by the corporate law of their incorporating jurisdiction to lease personal and real property. Bank leasing is divided into three categories; National banks, leasing operations owned directly by the Bank holding Company and State chartered banks. Also any foreign banks engaged in leasing fall under the same rules as the bank holding companies. The three distinctions are necessary because of the bank regulations that govern each type of bank.

National Banks are federally chartered and are regulated by the office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) under the National Bank Act. Their regulations are covered in two parts based on the size of the lease portfolio. The first comes from 12 U.S.C. #24 (seventh), and leases done under such authority are termed section 24 Leases. The second comes from 12 U.S.C. #24 (tenth), enacted as part of the Competitive Equality Banking Act of 1987 (CEBA) and these leases are called CEBA Leases. Both of these leases have the following restrictions:

Net Lease: The Bank may not, directly, or indirectly, provide for or be obligated to provide for:
1. The servicing, repair or maintenance of the leased property
2. Parts or accessories for such property
3. The loan of replacement or substitute property while the leased property is being serviced.
4. The payment of insurance for the Lessee (except where the Lessee has failed in its contractual obligation to purchase or maintain required insurance) or
5. The renewal of any license or registration for the leased property, unless such renewal is necessary to protect its interest as owner or financier of such property,

Full Payout Requirement: The bank must reasonably expect to receive its investment back from the rents, tax advantages (depreciation), and residuals.

The major difference between Section 24 (seventh) Leases and CEBA Leases is the reliance on residuals to meet the full payout requirement. The Section 24 leases only allow for a 25% maximum un-guaranteed residual risk and a maximum residual up to 50% with the second, or top half, of the residual guaranteed by a credit worthy insurer or vendor. The CABA requirements allow for unrestricted residuals except the lease portfolio with residuals in excess of 25%, unguaranteed, may not exceed 10% of the banks consolidated assets.

One additional provision usually found in the leasing policy of most banks is the restriction of supporting the Lessee's selection of the leased asset. If the suggestion of the bank were used to decide on the equipment, or the vendor, then the net lease provisions established to protect the rent stream from interruption could be in danger from poor equipment performance. A National bank needs to be a third party to the lease and not be responsible for equipment performance in anyway. This also prevents the bank from including any form of maintenance in the lease arrangement. Any service contract, or maintenance agreement, must be separate and not the responsibility of the bank. No prepayment for supplies, or inventory paid to the vendor for future delivery is allowed either.

Separate records for each type of lease (Section 24 or CEBA) must be kept to distinguish such leases from each other. This requirement is designed to permit the OCC to more easily monitor the separate requirements for the two types of leases.

Leasing under a Bank Holding Company. In 1956 congress enacted The Bank Holding Company Act (BHC). Then in 1970 they permit bank holding companies to engage in activities which they determined to be closely related to banking and amended BLC regulations under "Regulation Y " to provide authority for bank holding companies to engage in personal property equipment leasing. The rules required in 1974 that the maximum unguaranteed residual was 20% or up to 60% if the excess was guaranteed, and the lease had to be a net lease and a full payout, much like required by the OCC.

In 1987, following the enactment of CEBA for National Banks, several bank holding companies requested and obtained permission to do leasing, subject to limitations similar to those imposed by CEBA. In 1992 Regulation Y was further amended to include higher residuals except it contained a limitation for aggregate book assets of all tangible personal property, subject to residuals over 25%, was limited to 10% of the bank holding company's consolidated domestic and foreign assets.

State Banks: State banks are usually governed by their State department of Banking and while some of them have adopted similar regulations to the OCC in Some States they are less restrictive. However, many State banks are members of the Federal Reserve System and are regulated at the Federal Level by the Board. The Board permits the same activities as permitted in the BHC. Also those State Banks which are insured by the Bank Insurance Fund, administered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), are further limited to similar requirements for National Banks under the OCC.

Mr. Terry Winders, CLP, has been a teacher, consultant, expert witness for the leasing industry for thirty years and can be reached at leaseconsulting@msn.com or 502-327-8666. He invites your questions and queries.

Previous #102 Columns:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Leasing_102/Index.htm

(This ad is a "trade" for the writing of this column. Opinions contained in the column are those of Mr. Terry Winders, CLP)

Bank Beat---Why Three More Failed/What it Means

The reason credit remains tight among many banks is the situation among hundreds of banks across the country is similar to Corus, although this one was in the billions.

The closing of Corus Bank National Association, Chicago, Illinois, with 517 employees cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $1.7 billion, one of the highest to hit the fund. MB Financial Bank, National Association, Chicago, Illinois, will assume all of the deposits of Corus Bank, N.A. and their eleven branches are now open as MB Financial Bank. Original bank shareholders have lost everything.

Heavy into real estate transactions to condominium, office and hotel projects, locally, and also to luxury development at Cabo St. Lucas, Mexico, and Arizona resort living, the real estate sales were no longer there. Simply put: The bank was overextended.

Founded December 31, 1913, the bank was formerly known as Aetna Bank, National Association and changed its name to Corus Bank, National Association in June 1996. April 24, Robert J. Glickman resigned as President and Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the company for personal reasons effective immediately. August 18, 2009, Paula Manley gave notice of her resignation as First Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of Corus Bankshares Inc. and Corus Bank, National Association, effective September 3, 2009.

The bank had a $15.9 million loss June 30, 2008 and $779 million loss June 30, 2009.Cash went from June 30, 2008 of $8.9 billion to $7 billion June 20, 2009, with the bank equity in the same period going from $923 million to minus $161,076, real estate loans dropping from $4.57 billion to $3.65 billion, total unused commitments from $2.7 billion to $765 million.

In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, MB Financial Bank agreed to purchase approximately $3 billion of the assets, comprised mainly of cash and marketable securities. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition. The FDIC plans to sell substantially all of the remaining assets of Corus Bank in the next 30 days in a private placement transaction.
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2009/pr09168.html

Bringing the total of bank failures in 2009 to 92, the 18 branches of Venture Bank, Lacy, Washington, were closed on Friday with First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, Raleigh, North Carolina, to assume all of the deposits of Venture Bank,. Theolympian.com reported, "failed investments in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac led in large part to the problems, as had loans gone sour in the recession. Recent attempts to raise capital have been unsuccessful."
http://www.theolympian.com/topstories/story/968260.html

June 30, 2008 the bank had 272 employees and June 30, 2009 were down to 200 employees with a $3.5 million loss. While many of these banks that have defaulted were taking over by other banks, most had already cut back employees from 25% to 45%, as well as some debtors may have pulled it out with more time, but never got the opportunity as the bank was not in the position to extend more time or refinance transactions.

As of July 28, 2009, Venture Bank had total assets of $970 million and total deposits of approximately $903 million. The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $298 million
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2009/pr09170.html

Brickwell Community Bank, Woodbury, Minnesota, became the 91st bank to fail in the US and third in Minnesota. CorTrust Bank N.A., Mitchell, South Dakota, to assume all of the deposits of Brickwell Community Bank. Brickwell founded in 2004, was a one office bank, small, formed "…to focus on the small business community in the east metro, which was growing fast at that time," according to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal.

In the time between June 30, 2008 and June 30 2009 it had gone from 20 employees to 12 employees, with a loss 2008 of $1.48 million to $4.2 million in 2009 with equity from $7.3 million to minus $744,000, technically insolvent. Past due 1-4 residential loans from 139 to 269, loan losses from $2.4 million to $3.1 million. The FDIC notes 269 junior real estate liens on the books.

" The bank started making risky commercial real estate loans, which were popular with banks that started up in the past decade. By the beginning of 2009, its commercial real estate portfolio had so many troubled loans, the bank stopped making CRE loans. Regulators clamped down on the bank with a cease-and-desist order in March in which they told the bank to improve its capital position, which determines how well a bank can sustain losses."
http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2009/09/07/daily44.html

As of July, 24, 2009, Brickwell Community Bank had total assets of $72 million and total deposits of approximately $63 million.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $22 million. http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2009/pr09169.html

Beige Report -Lending Declined/Lack of Available Credit
http://leasingnews.org/archives/September%202009/09-11-09.htm#Beige_Report

List of Bank Failures
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html

Headline

Leasing News Top Stories-September 8-September 11

Here are the top ten stories opened by readers:

(1) Archive-February 17, 2009
Alert: Sterling Financial, Prairie Village, KS
Archive--May 10, 2009
Second Alert: Sterling Financial, KS, BBB D-
http://leasingnews.org/archives/September%202009/09-08-09.htm#archive_Feb

(2) Bob Krause Recovering Well
http://leasingnews.org/archives/September%202009/09-11-09.htm#Bob_Krause

(3) Lombard Exits Broker Marketplace
http://leasingnews.org/archives/September%202009/09-11-09.htm#Lombard_Exists

(4) The Age of the Super Broker
by Christopher Menkin
http://leasingnews.org/archives/September%202009/09-08-09.htm#Super_Broker

(5) Hugh Hefner files for divorce from wife
http://omg.yahoo.com/news/hugh-hefner-files-for-divorce-from-wife/27547?nc

(6) Wells Fargo exec & Madoff Malibu Beach Home
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-malibu-wells11-2009sep11,0,1323579,full.story

(7) Bank Beat---Five More/Why they failed?
http://leasingnews.org/archives/September%202009/09-08-09.htm#Bank_Beat

(8) Christina Cook of the Bank of Marin
http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/14301210?f=home_featured

(9) New SBA Financing Guidance Applauded by IFA
http://leasingnews.org/archives/September%202009/09-08-09.htm#New_SBA

(10) Leasing 102 by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP
Back to leasing
http://leasingnews.org/archives/September%202009/09-08-09.htm#Leasing102

Bob Krause in recovery-up-date

The Friday story was up-dated to include this email, and it is
re-printed here in case you read the edition before the up-date:

From Bob Krause's wife:

Thanks for posting the information about Bob.
It would be preferable to write him a note
rather than to call him.
Bobkrause@att.net
or
Bob Krause
153 Sagamore Drive
Carmel, NY 10512

Friday story:
http://leasingnews.org/archives/September%202009/09-11-09.htm#Bob_Krause

### Press Release ##############################

International Advisory Associates Launches and Unveils its Pool of Talent

The Leasing and Asset Finance Advisory Boutique International Advisory Associates iaa-advisory.com

"Global Experience, Success and Beyond"

International Advisory Associates, established in 1998 as the forerunner to The Alta Group in Europe, was re-introduced in summer 2009 and officially launched on 1 September. IAA is a boutique consultancy headed by Chairman Derek Soper that specialises in the leasing and asset finance industry, which specifically includes 'equipment sales financing' of all types.

IAA's clients are a variety of lessors and financial institutions, mainly across Europe and Asia, that span banks, bank subsidiaries, manufacturer captive finance companies and independents requiring external help or advice on a range of issues. Examples of IAA's portfolio of expertise include:
o Market entry/exit.
o Strategic planning.
o Funding and financing partner selection.
o Help in finding new senior team members and training/mentoring them.
o Reinventing and restructuring businesses together with 'turnaround' management.
o Benchmarking against competitors and/or the market.
o Mergers, acquisitions and disposals.

Chairman Derek Soper

Derek Soper said: "IAA aims to bring long-standing experience, strong advice and a history of success to our clients. The credentials and talent of our team members speak for themselves and we look forward to delivering positive outcomes for both our clients and the industry as it moves onwards and upwards, particularly through structural and regulatory changes."

IAA's business model is based on the following criteria: 'The selection of the best people for each project'; 'Close cooperation and effective working relationships amongst Associates and Business Partners'; and 'Being the best in the business whilst delivering the best value for money to our clients'.

IAA has signed agreements with several well-known and highly knowledgeable Associates and Business Partners.

Meet the IAA Team

Derek Soper, IAA Chairman, brings more than four decades of experience in global leasing and asset finance, banking and financial services to IAA. Few can match his experience and expertise in international leasing operations. Derek has worked with companies at all stages of development and maturity and has founded numerous successful leasing companies.

Adrian Leach, IAA Director, Strategy and Vendor Finance, has 23 years' experience in the leasing and asset-based finance industry with extensive international experience and a particular expertise in strategy development and vendor finance. He is an innovative strategist with a hands-on approach and a proven ability to drive shareholder value by meeting customer needs, delivering competitive products and services and successfully managing operations in both emerging and established markets.

Charles Taylor, IAA Director, Banking and Private Equity, has 35 years' experience in the finance and banking industries with particular expertise in leasing and asset and business finance. Charles is an accomplished strategist, adept at identifying a business's drivers, its competitive advantage and place in the market while charting a course for future growth and success.

Asset Lifecycle Management (Business Partner) ALM is a specialist asset management company focused exclusively on the asset finance industry. The team comprises professionals from banking and asset finance; specialists from a wide range of commercial and industrial backgrounds that have first-hand experience of procuring, operating, maintaining and trading equipment; and valuers.

BM Consultancy, headed by Marc Baert (Business Partner) Marc is an independent management consulting professional who is offering his knowledge to the leasing and asset finance industry through his Belgian-based company. Formerly Secretary General of Leaseurope, and sister Federation Eurofinas, for over 20 years, Marc is a hugely influential figure within the European leasing and asset finance community, particularly among the newly emerged countries of the CEE.

Broadwater Consulting Limited, headed by Angela Crockett (Business Partner) Angela is an independent management consulting professional with a highly successful background in the leasing and asset finance industry who has widened her client base to also include owners and management of independent businesses. Angela is a dynamic, passionate, flexible business leader with an impressive pedigree in sales and customer service and a proven track record of delivering within large multi-national corporations.

HILL International (Business Partner) More than 30 years of successful personnel and management consulting make HILL an international partner with regional competence and a specialist in strategic consulting for companies based in and expanding to Central and Eastern Europe as well as South-Eastern Europe.

InitioStar, headed by Gary Lowrey (Business Partner) InitioStar is an IT advisory and change management consultancy focused on the financial services industry. The company helps both vendors and users of IT solutions, by promoting IT suppliers within the asset finance industry and by advising companies on solutions that are available in the market.

The Alta Group (Business Partner) As advisors to many of the world's leading lessors, The Alta Group has built an unrivalled reputation as the principal provider of specialist services to asset finance and leasing companies, whether bank owned, captive or independent, and equipment manufacturers and vendors. Alta's professionals are all highly experienced, senior executives with decades of experience across the equipment leasing spectrum.

For more information, please visit iaa-advisory.com

#### Press Release #############################

Melissa Data-Revolutionary Search Technology

Groundbreaking technology enables anyone to find, analyze, report and export any type of information
- ideal for mining trapped legacy data

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. - Melissa Data, www.melissadata.com), a provider of data quality and data enrichment solutions, in partnership with SpeedTrack Inc., announces the availability of SpeedTrack - a new technology offering a completely new experience in terms of storage, access, and analysis of data. Powered by the Guided Information Access Platform™ (GIA™), users are guided to exactly what they are looking for simply by selecting from the unique words, characters, and values contained in the data. And SpeedTrack applications work with any type of stored data including relational databases, text, email, PDF, Microsoft Office documents, and legacy databases.

"SpeedTrack works differently than traditional relational databases that simply store and index data," said Jeff Pratt, SpeedTrack Inc.'s director of strategic development. "Rather than just storing data, SpeedTrack stores all the associations between the data and what it describes. By capturing the associations, SpeedTrack enables users to quickly find and retrieve answers contained in the data - turning data into actionable information."

From a single interface, users can perform standardized and ad-hoc queries, plus view, navigate and perform comparative analytics on the entire range of information contained in a database. Because SpeedTrack's technology works independent of how the data is stored or structured, it is an ideal solution to mine and manage legacy data - avoiding the costs and complexities associated with traditional data migration.

"One customer, a regional police agency in Ontario, Canada increased their use and cut the cost of managing legacy data by more than 50 percent using SpeedTrack," commented Pratt.

To learn more about this revolutionary technology, visit www.MelissaData.com/SpeedTrack.

ABOUT SPEEDTRACK, INC.

SpeedTrack is the leading developer of faceted information access technologies, connecting millions of people with information every day. Founded in 1999 by UCSD Professor Emeritus Jerzy Lewak and entrepreneur Miles Yano, SpeedTrack's Guided Information Access platform (GIA) improves information access for GPS navigation devices, Business Intelligence solutions, eDiscovery and Search applications.

ABOUT MELISSA DATA

Melissa Data is an active DMA member, as well as a member of the DMA's List & Database Council. The company was named #1 in Customer Satisfaction in a 2009 data quality survey report conducted by analyst house, The Information Difference. Since 1985, Melissa Data has helped companies like Mercury Insurance, Xerox, Disney, AAA, and Nestle improve customer communications by providing data quality solutions with an emphasis on U.S., Canadian, and international address and phone verification, and postal software. Melissa Data is a non-exclusive NCOALink Full Service Provider Licensee of the United States Postal Service®. For more information, visit www.MelissaData.com or call 1-800-MELISSA (635-4772).

### Press Release ##############################

Amid budget crisis, California legislators still wined and dined on lobbyists' dime
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2179049.html

Clijsters Wins U.S. Open
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/13/AR2009091303266.html?hpid=artslot

Green Bay Packers beat Chicago Bears 21-15
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-14-bears-packers-chicago-sep14,0,481974.story

Romo leads Dallas Cowboys to 34-21 win
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/091409dnspocowlede_hp.178d16fa0.html

McNabb has cracked rib
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/dneagles/McNabb_has_cracked_rib.html

Findings of wine contest study hard for critics to swallow
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-tc-biz-wine-0903-0908-sep14,0,5276172.story

Findings of wine contest study hard for critics to swallow
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-tc-biz-wine-0903-0908-sep14,0,5276172.story

The Upside of Doon-Randal Graham
http://palatepress.com/2009/09/the-upside-of-doon/

Things every wine lover should do
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/html/20090909T220000-0500_159324_OBS_THINGS_EVERY_WINE_LOVER_SHOULD_DO_.asp

One-Fifth of California Wine Is Exported
http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=news&content=67383&htitle=One-Fifth%20of%20California%20Wine%20Is%20Exported

The Riesling exception
http://rocnow.com/article/living/2009909090362

Last song for Konocti Harbor resort
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090909/BUSINESS/909099965/1036?Title=Konocti-Harbor-resort-closing

1889- Hull House in Chicago opened its doors. Formed by Jane Addams and Ellen Starr, it was the first major settlement house in the United States. In its first year of operation, it hosted more than 50,000 people. In all, there would be more than 600 residents at various times ranging from some of the most influential social reformers of the day to a future prime minister of Canada - and just about everyone in between. Hull House under Addams, in addition to social work and reform, served as the "mother house" for the meeting and networking of reformers who then went out to change the world.

THERE WAS A BALL GAME SOMEWHERE
by Tim Peeler

Before video parlors, PCs and
Nintendo, on our ragged bicycles
We scrambled to one house or the other-
Hefners, Peelers, then the Swansons who moved
In the neighborhood, sometimes the Coffeys
From church, or the Swansons' friends from their church -
For the really big affairs with full teams,
Baseball games with football scores. Out in the heat
Most of the day, just breaking for lunchtime-
Easy pitches and little guys taking
Big cuts, ghost runners and no catcher, weird
Rules like ground rule doubles for balls driven
Into the short cow pasture fence in left
Or how to play a pop fly that rolled off
The eight-sided parsonage roof or smacked
The huge oak trees in center field or the
Maple in right-center.
Barefoot sometimes, always in shorts only,
Crew cuts and popsicle stains on our mouths-
Before Play Station and VCRs there
Was a baseball game somewhere in dust and
Sweltering heat, a game to be played by
Our rules only.

--- with the permission of the author, from his book of baseball poetry.