Lewis Williams Kreps

SouthStateDuncanWilliams Securities Corp. (SouthStateDuncanWilliams) is a registered broker-dealer and financial services firm headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Formerly known as Duncan-Williams, Inc., the firm was founded in 1969 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of South State Corp. (NASDAQ: SSB). SouthStateDuncanWilliams offers sales, finance and underwriting of fixed-income securities to banks and other financial institutions. They focus on securities such as US treasury notes and bonds, federal agency securities, mortgage-backed securities, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, certificates of deposit and mutual funds.

C.K. Cooper & Co. is a full-service investment banking and broker/dealer headquartered in Irvine, California. The firm was founded in 1982 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of C & K Capital Corp., and a sister company to Paladin Capital Partners, Inc. The services provided by C.K. Cooper & Co. were expanded in 1996, when a management team led by Alexander G. Montano purchased the firm. In 2001, C.K. Cooper & Co. began to offer brokerage services to individual investors. The firm is a member of the NASD. C.K. Cooper & Co. focuses on the oil and gas sectors. Their primary focus within the oil and gas sectors is the exploration and production sub-sector. The core thesis of the firm's research is based on what they refer to as the feeding frenzy, suggesting that there are constant business cycles within the E&P sector. These cycles are predicated on the need for larger oil and gas companies to acquire smaller exploration and production companies to maintain rates of growth.

Jesup & Lamont Securities Corp. is broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of Jesup & Lamont, Inc. (AMEX: JLI), formerly Empire Financial Holding Co., a New York City-based full-service brokerage and investment banking firm that specializes in institutional, retail sales, trading services and equity research. Jesup & Lamont, Inc. was founded in 2000, but traces its roots to the 1877 partnership between James Jesup and Lansing Lamont. Jesup & Lamont Securities Corp. provides institutional and retail sales and trading services, equity research and asset management for institutions and high net-worth individuals. The firm's corporate finance activities include mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, acquisition finance, restructurings and other corporate finance matters. Their research covers the following areas in the US and abroad: biotechnology, industrials, specialty retail, aerospace/defense, alternative energy, oil & gas, restaurants, technology, transportation and special situations. Jesup & Lamont provides fundamental analysis of companies and sectors and also employs strategists and technical analysts to provide comprehensive research insights.

Aperion Group LLC is a Dallas-based investment research firm. They primarily focus on the energy sector including oilfield services and exploration and production services. They also focus some research coverage on the business services sector. Securities are offered through Bley Investment Group, Inc. Aperion Group members are registered representatives of Bley Investment Group.

Founded in 1999, Frost Securities, Inc. (FSI) is an investment banking firm and broker/dealer located in Dallas, Texas. The firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE: CFR). They provide clients with financial advisory services related to mergers & acquisitions, recapitalizations and board-level analyses of strategic alternatives. FSI's execution capabilities include raising private institutional capital such as senior debt, mezzanine debt, preferred stock and common stock. The firm provides services primarily to middle-market companies in the Southwestern US. FSI's experience covers a wide range of comprehensive capital structure alternatives across a variety of industries including general industrial, healthcare, manufacturing, media, restaurant/food services, retail, business services, financial services, technology and telecommunications. Frost Securities is a member of FINRA.