I guess the reason we're not talking
there's so little left to say we haven't said -- George Jones
This diary follows one early by RayH, Susan/George Allen Collusion with Power Industry. Here's the motivation. I can't find the article, but I remember reading a bit about Allen gazing out at the water on his trip to New Orleans. It was a nagging red flag, because he just is not a nature gazer.
Dominion is not the only large corporation that unduly influences George Allen, but it came up, so let's look at it more carefully. Though based in Delaware, Dominion Resources is a major employer in the state, and many Virginians are among the stockholders. At the same time affordable energy and a livable environment often represent competing interests. Though perhaps not in a strictly legal sense, it is clear that George Allen is not in a position to make unbiased decisions in the best interest of Virginians with regard to energy issues. Not for the present and not for the future.
Dominion Resources has a market cap of 27.47 billion and provides electrical power to millions of customers in 9 states. To recap, in April 2003 both George Allen's wife, Susan, and State Senator Benny Lambert were appointed to the Board of Directors at Dominion. The compensation was in cash and stock options. Few would argue that Susan was appointed to the board remotely on her own experience or resume. Lambert was the only member of the Virginia's Black Legislative Caucus endorsing George Allen, and many people were quite surprised as to why he chose to support a member of the opposing party.
When Allen was appointed to the Senate Energy Committee, the conflict was all too obvious and Susan very publicly resigned her board seat.
George Allen is on its subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. Dominion has an interest in federal waters, which comes under that subcommittee. Consequently, a number of conflicts arise with regard to leglislative issues other than nuclear power which was already discussed. Here we'll address a couple more. This is from a NYT article in August 2006.
On Tuesday, the Senate voted to open for bidding 8.3 million acres of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, thought to hold 5.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 1.3 billion barrels of crude oil. That would be enough gas to heat and cool six million homes for 15 years, and enough oil to satisfy two months' demand in the United States.The House passed a far more ambitious bill in June that would effectively end a federal moratorium since 1982 on offshore drilling on most of the outer continental shelf in the Atlantic and the Pacific.
Because it has been so long since exploration has been done, industry officials say it is anyone's guess just how much oil and gas are out there, especially in deep waters 50 miles or more from the coast. But industry officials say the potential could be enormous.
As the energy companies see it, either version of the legislation would be a step in the right direction, although they prefer the broader House bill.
But with drilling still in disrepute among some senators, the companies say they will be delighted to see virtually any compromise worked out in conference and enacted after the summer recess.
''We're making real headway, there is no question about that,'' Shell's vice president for exploration in the Americas, Annell R. Bay, said, attributing the advances in the House and the Senate in large part to a shift in popular opinion in favor of exploiting more domestic oil and gas resources.
The bolded section contradicts the fact that there were hard estimates two paragraphs above. There are some 4,000 offshore platforms in the Gulf, but this article reads like the deepwater portion of the Gulf is virgin. I imagine that this is residual lobbyist spin adventurizing the Gulf.According to their SEC quarterly report, before Hurricane Katrina, Dominion assets were already producing approximately 435 million cubic feet (mmcfed) of natural gas equivalent per day, and they had forecasted production increases to approximately 700 mmcfed during October with the addition of four previously announced deepwater projects, plus other planned completion activity.
As a matter of fact, Dominion's first priority was to get their own people - over 450 of them - to safety. They were already pumping the shallows and exploring the deepwater, generally in partnered situations.
Here's the quote with some context. From Dominion's quarterly filing with the SEC November 2005
Gulf of Mexico Hurricanes
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast area in late August and late September 2005, respectively. Due to the hurricanes, Dominion's production assets in the Gulf of Mexico and, to a lesser extent, South Louisiana were temporarily shut-in. Prior to the hurricanes, these assets were producing approximately 435 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day (mmcfed). Dominion had forecasted production increases to approximately 700 mmcfed during October with the addition of four previously announced deepwater projects, plus other planned completion activity. As of late October, Dominion's Gulf of Mexico and South Louisiana assets were producing approximately 145 mmcfed. While Dominion's facilities were not significantly damaged by the hurricanes, production capability of approximately 555 mmcfed remained off-line primarily due to damage to downstream infrastructure owned by third parties. At this time, Dominion is not able to predict with certainty when off-line production will resume. Dominion expects that the financial impacts of delays in production will be mitigated by business interruption insurance that Dominion maintains for hurricane-related delays in natural gas and oil production. Dominion's business interruption insurance covers delays caused both by damage to its own production facilities and by damage to third party facilities downstream. Dominion's policy coverage for Hurricane Katrina has a 30-day deductible period and an event limit of $700 million, while its policy for Hurricane Rita has a 45-day deductible period and an event limit of $350 million.The hurricanes have negatively impacted Dominion's earnings in 2005 due to:
-¦ A reduction in expected gas and oil production;
-¦ Losses resulting from the discontinuance of hedge accounting for certain cash flow hedges related to forecasted gas and oil production; and
-¦ Expenses incurred to temporarily relocate Dominion's employees that were based in New Orleans.The hurricanes could also negatively impact Dominion's earnings in 2005 and 2006 if the hurricanes result in a sustained increase in gas and oil prices. Specifically, Dominion could be affected by:
-¦ The impact of higher prices on fuel expenses incurred by utility generation operations;
-¦ An increase in the demand for and cost of gas and oil industry services and equipment; and
-¦ Incremental expenses related to additional collateral required on derivative contracts used in Dominion's risk management strategies for gas and oil production. [2]
Dominion Exploration & Production already includes gas and oil exploration, development and production in areas such as the outer continental shelf and deepwater areas of the Gulf of Mexico and Canada. Dominion interests had already explored and hit in deepwater before the legislation, which contradicts the underlined clause above. They were a 25% partner with the Murphy Oil June 2006 deepwater discovery at Thunder Bird in the Gulf of Mexico. [3]
Dominion partner, Murphy Oil, has been involved with a number of class action lawsuits related to a fire and a million gallon oil spill as the result of the hurricanes. Part of one proposed settlements involves buying up several blocks in New Orleans [4]
The entire Class Area will have the benefit of a comprehensive remediation program as approved by the Court and regulatory bodies and to be overseen by regulatory authorities.Additionally, the company has agreed to make bona fide offers to purchase, at fair market value, all residential and business properties located on the first four streets west of the refinery and north of St. Bernard Highway up to the Twenty Arpent Canal.
Here are details of the pending settlement.
Dominion has had other deepwater finds. But as more and more suits are filed and more legislation is passed, operating in the Gulf is riskier and less lucrative, and the Atlantic is looking more attractive to oil companies, if for diversification alone.
A great deal of legislative conflict has taken place over the Gulf leases, and I don't have great knowledge as to what the current status is. See http://ncseonline.org/NLE/CRS/abstract.cfm?NLEid=1492.
These are the final bids for sale 181, for rights in the Eastern Gulf. Dominion is a major player.
In short, huge huge money is involved here, and other stakes are high as well. That said, the board appointments are the precursor to Lambert's endorsement. And you don't round up a group of industry neophytes to make real decisions about a 27+ billion dollar company in the low P/E, retirement portfolio category, with all due respect to Ms. Allen and Sen. Lambert.
Other interests tie in as well. New Orleans hadn't dried up and Allen wanted to go after Medicare prescription drugs in a rare divergence from Republican consensus.
To foot the high costs of rebuilding in the Gulf states after Hurricane Katrina, finding consensus isn't easy.Sen. George Allen, R-Va., parted ways with the White House this week when he said the idea of delaying the launch in January of the new Medicare prescription drug coverage "should be on the table" in hunting new revenues.
The same day, fellow Virginia Republican Sen. John W. Warner called such a possible delay an "idea which I would have great difficulty supporting." There are many lower-income people "who are so dependent on that program," and many are victims of the hurricane, Warner said.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay called the idea a "nonstarter," and it also has been rejected by the White House.
With rebuilding costs estimated as high as $200 billion -- although some leaders say they might not climb that high -- Virginia Republican lawmakers were among those searching for a difficult consensus this week after President Bush called for massive rebuilding plans. Republicans control both chambers of Congress.
And - he went straight where Dominion wanted to go - the continental shelf.
New revenue from drilling?Cantor fought hard as chief deputy majority whip for passage of the Medicare prescription drug benefit and outright rejected delaying it. It is an important piece in beginning the reform of Medicare, he said, and "Why would we want to delay that?"
After hearing from House Republicans on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, Cantor said, "There is unanimity we need to do something to tighten the belt and reduce spending."
"I think there will be the resources to rebuild" in the wake of Katrina, said Rep. Frank R. Wolf, R-10th and a House Appropriations subcommittee chairman. It will have to be done in a way that keeps faith with taxpayers nationwide and doesn't involve demagoguing, he cautioned.
One idea mentioned by Sen. Allen as a potential revenue-raiser was permitting states that wish to explore for oil and natural gas in the outer continental shelf, possibly bringing revenues to government coffers in the future.
In much of the outer continental shelf, drilling is banned. Proposals to let states drop out of the existing moratorium were contentious during debate of an energy bill this year and were not written into law. But Hurricane Katrina and high energy prices have rekindled interest in the idea in some quarters.
Finally, here is a fact sheet put out by the DNC on Allen in March 2006.
Allen Carries the Ball for LobbyistsOn Mine Safety:
-- In the Wake of West Virginia Mining Disaster, Allen Raced to Defend Mining Industry Over Regulations. After the recent West Virginia mining tragedy, Allen said the mining industry "is a heavily regulated, heavily inspected industry. It is also, please understand, a very dangerous job." And "you can't have it so over regulated that no one could economically mine coal in this country and therefore have to import it from Colombia or somewhere else around the world." (CNN, 1/22/06, 1/23/06)
-- Allen Took Over $73,000 in Contributions From PAC Linked to Coal Mining. Over the past year, as of December 31, 2005, Allen received over $73,000 from PACs directly tied to at least 23 companies that have interests in the mining industry. (http://www.tray.com)
On Hurricane Katrina:
-- In Katrina Aftermath, Allen Focused on Deregulating Energy Industry. "Hurricane Katrina added impetus to an ongoing effort by Republicans in the House to relax the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires environmental reviews and public comment for major projects. 'Why not use this tragedy as a way to have some regulatory review?' said Allen, 'If this works, and it gets more investment in southeast Louisiana and Mississippi, people will say, 'Gosh, why do you have to have a hurricane to do this?'" Allen also suggested that Katrina relief could be funded by permitting states that wish to explore for oil and natural gas in the outer continental shelf to do so, something that Allen has been pushing for in Virginia far before Hurricane Katrina. Allen also called for the extended lifting of regulations on gas contents after Hurricane Katrina and introduced legislation calling for the reduction in the number of fuels on the market, an attempt to deregulate an array of gasoline blends that is currently required to comply with environmental standards. (St. Petersburg Times, 10/1/05; Richmond Times Dispatch, 9/22/05; Richmond Times Dispatch, 10/9/05; New York Times, 9/7/05)
-- Allen Received $174,100 in Energy PAC Contributions During 2005. According to Political Money Line, Senator Allen received $174,100 in contributions from "Energy & Natural Resources" PAC's, the third most for any other industry that has distributed money to Allen. (http://www.tray.com)
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Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, http://www.democrats.... This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. [6]
And as you turn to walk away
as the door behind you closes
the only thing I know to say
it's been a good year for the roses.
-- George Jones
[1] Aug 3, 2006: The New York Times, 'Senate Bill Lifts Hopes Of Big Oil Offshore,' Clifford Krauss.
[2] Form 10-Q for DOMINION RESOURCES INC /VA/ Nov-3-2005 via http://biz.yahoo.com...
[3] June 21, 2006: Press Release, Murphy Oil, 'Murphy Oil Announces Discovery at Thunder Bird In The Deepwater Gulf of Mexico.'
[4] September, 2006: MURPHY OIL ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE TO SETTLE HURRICANE KATRINA OIL SPILL CLASS ACTION LITIGATION via http://sec.thomsonfn...
[5] Sep 22, 2005: The Richmond Times-Dispatch, 'KATRINA FUNDING DIVIDES GOP ; VIRGINIA REPUBLICANS DIFFER ON HOW TO PAY FOR GULF REBUILDING,' Peter Hardin.
[6] Mar 8, 2006: U.S. Newswire, DNC: George Allen's Special Interest Birthday Bash.
and the suggestion - someone needs to put out into the Black community how Bennie Lambert got bought with $$ from Dominion - that might well defuse any influence he still has left
might be best if it came from one of other Black legislators or even if possible Bobby Scott and Doug Wilder
High level Dominion execs were big contributors to Lambert's campaign fund. The board upon which Lambert serves makes the decisions about their salaries and retirement packages. To get an idea of what they are paid, Thomas Chewning was listed in the article The Most Overpaid CFOs?. Here's the list.
Here is Crystal's list of the 15 most (relatively) overpaid CFOs for the December 1998 to December 2001 period studied. The list includes the CFO, company, average annual total pay, and percentage above the market norm. Four of the 15 finance chiefs are no longer with their companies—Swartz, WorldCom's Scott Sullivan, Sun Microsystems's Michael Lehman (retired,) and Verizon's Frederic Salerno.* Mark Swartz, Tyco International, $59 million, 1052 percent
* Jeff Henley, Oracle Corp., $10.8 million, 281 percent
* Larry Carter, Cisco Systems, $13.9 million, 231 percent
* Scott Sullivan, WorldCom, $16.5 million, 179 percent
* Richard Kelson, Alcoa, $10.6 million, 149 percent
* Michael Rose, Anadarko Petroleum, $4.7 million, 143 percent
* David Viniar, Goldman Sachs, $11.4 million, 117 percent
* James Stewart, Cigna Corp., $8.4 million, 105 percent
* Jack Wyszomierski, Schering-Plough, $5.5 million, 101 percent
* Arthur Krause, Sprint, $8.7 million, 90 percent
* Charles Golden, Eli Lilly, $5.4 million, 85 percent
* Michael Lehman, Sun Microsystems, $6.4 million, 77 percent
* Thomas Chewning, Dominion Resources, $4.2 million, 64 percent
* James Daley, Electronic Data, $6.8 million, 63 percent
* Frederic Salerno, Verizon, $12.9 million, 59 percent
Lambert was part of the subsequent decision making when Chewning retired. A lucrative retirement indeed.
Dominion and its execs gave Lambert more than average in 2003, but not outliers that would give a strong signal. In 2003 VPAP shows that Dominion gave Lambert $4,846, Thomas Chewning gave $1,000, Thomas Ferrell gave $1,000.
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In the case of Susan Allen, we're talking about annual compensation of $54,000 in cash and stock - and just for showing up. Last year, the Dominion board met 10 times.Susan Allen must be able to pursue her own career and interests. But for political couples, there can be peril. Just ask two Republicans: Phil and Wendy Gramm.
Phil was the senior senator from Texas. Wendy was a former federal commodities regulator who sat on the board of Enron Corp. The collapse of that energy giant, now the subject of a criminal investigation, cast a cloud over his retirement and raised questions about her competence.
The seemingly cozy arrangement with Dominion has the potential to backfire for the Allens, the GOP and Dominion and its executives, a swaggering bunch skilled at muscling pols.
For starters, this further damages George Allen's just-folks image. It was dinged last year by reports that Allen, who's worth $903,000 to $2.6 million, pocketed a quick $280,000 by flipping stock options from a high-tech company in Lynchburg he advised for less than a year between his most recent government jobs.
The deal was approved by the Senate Ethics Committee, but that doesn't mean it passed the smell test. Indeed, the arrangement was executed at the same time that stock options became synonymous with corporate greed and corruption.
As for Susan Allen, there's nothing in her background that would appear to qualify her for this directorship.
She hunted convention business for a Charlottesville hotel, saying it was one of the reasons she accepted a date with the man she would marry: that she might make some contacts among members of the lobbying corps. As first lady, she promoted tourism and cancer awareness.
Dominion presumably is aware of her limited resume. But perhaps that's why company chief Thomas E. Capps wants Allen. Put another way: She's nonthreatening.
Even as Capps nears retirement, he may be haunted by his high-stakes power struggle a decade ago with the old Virginia Power crowd. Capps triumphed and consolidated his authority by stacking Dominion's front office and its board with his friends.
This also includes Sen. Benjamin J. Lambert III, D-Richmond, a director since 1994. And while he doesn't vote on Dominion legislation, Lambert nonetheless faces directly the same conflict-of-interest issues that indirectly affect George Allen because of his wife's pending appointment.
One way of dealing with this: Dominion and its brass could end contributions to Lambert and Allen, who've received $500 and $24,000, respectively, from company sources.
That might put a real hurt on Allen. As head of the Senate Republicans' campaign arm, he's looking to home-state interests to cut checks for '04 and his re-election bid two years later.
But back to the Dominion directorship: If one considers that the negatives of Susan Allen's nomination apparently outweigh the positives, then why would she even want to join the board? Maybe the couple just needs the cash.
From the Public Citizen Corporate Profile
Money and Politics
When it comes to politics, Dominion knows how to play the game. Through lobbying, campaign
contributions, and favors to legislators, Dominion has been able to exert a considerable influence
over government officials, most notably in pushing through Virginia’s electric deregulation law
in 1999—a highly sought prize for the company. Whether on the federal or state level,
Dominion knows that money equals access.Dominion has been a prodigious funder of the campaigns of candidates for federal elective
office. The company has emerged as the fourth- largest federal campaign contributor in the
energy sector, giving even more than ExxonMobil: since 1999, Dominion has given over $3
million to presidential candidates and prospective members of Congress; about two-thirds of that
total went to Republican candidates. In that same period, Dominion spent more than $2.4
million lobbying Congress.Dominion’s access to government regulators extends beyond mere campaign contributions.
Dominion’s president and chief operating officer, Thomas F. Farrell, was part of the new Bush
administration’s transition team for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), just as Dominion was
facing litigation from the federal government for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.8 Since
2003, Susan B. Warner, the wife of U.S. Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), has had a seat on
Dominion’s board of directors, a position for which she earns approximately $54,000 per year,
despite virtually no experience in corporate governance or the electric utility business. The
Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star of Norfolk called the appointment “influence-buying, pure
and simple.” Sen. Allen has said that he will continue to vote on legislation that might affect
Dominion, and he has accepted $39,900 in campaign contributions from Dominion, his thirdlargest
contributor, since 1999.Neither has Dominion ignored the Republican senators from Ohio—home of the company’s
“East Ohio” natural gas distribution subsidiary. During the Republican Party’s 2004 national
convention in New York City, Dominion hosted a luncheon in honor of Sens. Mike DeWine and
George V. Voinovich. According to a Dominion official, such a gathering provided “an
effective way to get all the officeholders together in one location and introduce ourselves or
reintroduce ourselves.”12 Both senators have supported comprehensive energy legislation
(derived from the infamous energy “task force” lead by Vice President Richard Cheney) favored
by Dominion. Dominion has been a top campaign contributor to Sen. Voinovich, shelling out
$26,353 to the Ohio politician since 1999.Dominion has also been an aggressive lobbyist on the state level in Virginia, where it has won
passage of electric restructuring legislation that is opposed by the state’s own utility regulator,
the Virginia State Corporation Commission. During the 2003-2004 legislative session,
Dominion spent more money lobbying Virginia government officials than any other entity,
shelling out $459,990 to fund its small army of lobbyists. Moreover, in apparent attempts to
seek favor from state officials, Dominion treated seven Virginia legislators to a Washington
Redskins football game at a cost of $3,154, and the company spent $1,899 on a hunting outing in
Georgia for state Sens. William C. Wampler Jr. (R-Bristol) and Martin E. Williams, (R-Newport
News)
Benny Lambert was one of those seven legislators who went to the football game.
PETER W. BROWN, 63, physician, Virginia Surgical Associates. He is a director of Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc. Dr. Brown received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Emory University and is a clinical associate professor of surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. He is a former director of America's Utility Fund and former Chairman of the board of trustees at Capitol Medical Center.
RONALD J. CALISE, 57, private investments, former Managing Director of the Global Power Group, Investment Banking Division, Lehman Brothers. He received his undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University and his MBA from Columbia University. Mr. Calise began his investment-banking career in 1975 at Salomon Brothers and later at Wasserstein Perella & Co., focused on the electric utility and power industry.
THOS. E. CAPPS, 70, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dominion (from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2005, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, from August 1, 2001 to December 31, 2003, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and before that Vice Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer). He is a director of Amerigroup Corporation and Associated Electric and Gas Insurance Services (AEGIS). Mr. Capps received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He joined Dominion in 1984 after practicing law in North Carolina and Florida and holding positions in the law departments of two other electric utilities.
THOMAS F. FARRELL, II, 51, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dominion (from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2005, President and Chief Operating Officer and before that, Executive Vice President). He is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Virginia Electric and Power Company and Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Consolidated Natural Gas Company, both wholly-owned subsidiaries of Dominion. He is also a director of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO). Mr. Farrell received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Virginia, where he is currently the rector of the Board of Visitors. He joined Dominion in 1995 after practicing law with a regional law firm and has held several executive management positions for Dominion and its subsidiaries.
JOHN W. HARRIS, 58, President, Lincoln Harris, LLC, a real estate consulting firm. He is a director of Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. and Mapeley Limited, a commercial real estate management and outsourcing company located in the United Kingdom. Mr. Harris received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also the former president of The Bissell Companies, a real estate development firm.
ROBERT S. JEPSON, JR., 63, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Jepson Associates, Inc., a private investment firm, and Jepson Vineyards, Ltd. Mr. Jepson received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in business and commerce from the University of Richmond. He also was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kuhlman Corporation, Coburn Optical Industries and The Jepson Corporation. He is the principal contributor and founder of the University of Richmond's Jepson School of Leadership Studies.
MARK J. KINGTON, 46, managing director, X-10 Capital Management, LLC and President, Kington Management Corporation, private investment firms. He is and has been the principal officer and investor in several communications firms and is a founding and managing member of Columbia Capital, LLC, a venture capital firm specializing in the communications and information technology industries. Mr. Kington received his undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee and an MBA from the University of Virginia.
BENJAMIN J. LAMBERT, III, 69, optometrist. He is a director of Consolidated Bank & Trust Company and SLM Corporation. Mr. Lambert received his undergraduate degree from Virginia Union University and a graduate degree from the New England College of Optometry. He has been a member of the Virginia Senate since 1986 and before that was a member of the House of Delegates beginning in 1978.
RICHARD L. LEATHERWOOD, 66, retired President and Chief Executive Officer, CSX Equipment Group, an operating unit of CSX Transportation, Inc. He is a director of CACI International Inc. Mr. Leatherwood received his undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee, a graduate degree in mathematical statistics from Rutgers University, and a doctorate in industrial and systems engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. He also held various executive positions from 1977 to 1985 with Texas Gas Resources Group, including President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer.
MARGARET A. McKENNA, 60, President, Lesley University. She received her undergraduate degree from Emmanuel College and her law degree from Southern Methodist University. Ms. McKenna was a civil rights attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice and held a variety of positions with the U.S. government from 1976 to 1981, including Deputy Counsel in the White House and Deputy Under Secretary of Education. Prior to taking her current position in 1985, she was a director of the Bunting Institute and Vice President at Radcliffe College.
Frank S. Royal, M.D. is President and a member of Frank S. Royal, M.D., P.C. (family medicine). Dr. Royal is also a director of Chesapeake Corporation, Columbia/ HCA Healthcare Corporation, CSX Corporation, Dominion Resources, Inc. and Smithfield Foods, Inc. Dr. Royal is 66.
S. DALLAS SIMMONS, 66, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dallas Simmons & Associates, a consulting firm. He also is a former President of Virginia Union University. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in business from North Carolina Central University and his doctorate from Duke University. Dr. Simmons also was President of St. Paul's College and held administrative and teaching positions at North Carolina Central University.
DAVID A. WOLLARD, 68, founding Chairman of the Board, Emeritus, Exempla Healthcare. He is a director of Vectra Bank Colorado. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and graduated from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking. Mr. Wollard held a variety of executive positions with banking institutions in Florida and Colorado, where he was the President of Bank One Colorado, N.A.