We try to service our members to the best of our ability, and when they ask us to help them do something that will directly benefit their businesses, we do it.

I understand that the U.S. Forest Service had water-tanker aircraft available to help douse the fires raging on our riverfront, but FEMA has yet to accept the aid. When Amtrak offered trains to evacuate significant numbers of victims - far more efficiently than buses - FEMA again dragged its feet,

Democratic countries have a sufficient ability to help, they are interested in helping us.

It's giving us one more tool to help the public get the service they need.

Alcatel's ability to look at and innovate on the entire lifecycle of voice-over-IP -- from enterprise to service provider to the manufacture of boards and chips -- really sets them apart from many vendors. Alcatel is already a leader in the enterprise IP-PBX market, and we expect that they will expand on that position in 2006.

This acquisition will help us to expand service to our niche market. Crop1's technology and proven savings will help us provide innovative and affordable crop insurance to meet the unique needs of crop producers throughout our marketing territory -- we're a winning combination that's great for agriculture.