Founded in 1969, NIRI is the professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants responsible for communication among corporate management, shareholders, securities analysts and other financial community constituents. The largest professional investor relations association in the world, NIRI’s more than 3,500 members represent 2,000 publicly held companies and $5.4 trillion in stock market capitalization.

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National Investor Relations Institute Elects New Board Chairman and Four Directors

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National Investor Relations Institute Elects New Board Chairman and Four Directors

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: March 22, 2007

Contact: Michael McGough (703) 462-2204

National Investor Relations Institute Elects New Board Chairman and Four Directors

VIENNA, VA – March 22, 2007 – The National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) announced today the election of Matthew V. Stroud as the 2007-2008 chairman of the NIRI Board of Directors. Stroud is the Vice President of Investor Relations for Orlando based Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI). He succeeds Maureen Wolff-Reid, President of investor relations agency Sharon Merrill Associates Inc.

At its annual meeting, NIRI members also elected four new directors. They are Sally Curley, Vice President of Investor Relations for Genzyme Corporation (Nasdaq: GENZ); Don De Laria, Vice President of Investor Relations for Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC); Douglas Wilburne, Vice President of Investor Relations for Textron, Inc. (NYSE: TXT); and Mona Zeehandelaar, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications at Radian Group Inc. (NYSE: RDN).

New Board Chairman
“We welcome Matthew’s strategic involvement with NIRI,” said Linda Kelleher, Interim CEO of NIRI. “He brings a wealth of investor relations experience and a strong financial background to the chairmanship, and will be able to guide us in continuing to meet member needs and expectations.”
“I look forward to my term as NIRI Board Chair,” said Stroud. “With a dedicated board, enthusiastic Interim CEO and staff, and sound financial standing, NIRI is positioned to continue to lead the way for investor relations professionals. The diverse backgrounds and experience of our incoming directors are strong assets to the board as we help direct the association.”

Stroud has been Vice President of Investor Relations at Darden Restaurants, Inc. since December 2002. Beginning in October 1995, he served as Darden’s Manager, Director and Senior Director of Investor Relations. Stroud began his tenure with Darden Restaurants (previously General Mills Restaurants) in 1990 as a financial analyst. He has worked in several other areas of the company including International, Red Lobster USA and Corporate Analysis. He has served as a Director and Strategic Planning Chair of the NIRI Central Florida Chapter. In 2002, IR Magazine recognized his work when he received an honorable mention as one of the nation’s best investor relations officers in a mid-cap company. He was elected to the NIRI National Board of Directors in March 2004. Stroud holds a B.A. and M.B.A. from Brigham Young University.

New Board Members
Sally Curley is Vice President of Investor Relations for Genzyme Corporation in Cambridge, MA, having joined the company in 1999. She also is one of four Genzyme executives who serve as advisors to the Board of Directors Corporate Governance Committee. Prior to joining Genzyme in 1999, Curley’s positions included Manager of Investor Relations for EG&G, Inc., Director of Investor Relations for Renaissance Solutions and Senior Consultant at Sharon Merrill Associates, Inc. She is a past president of the Boston Chapter of NIRI, serves as co-chair of NIRI’s BioPharma Committee, and is a member of the Investor Relations Association. Curley received an M.B.A from Northeastern University and a B.A. from Colby College.

Don De Laria has served as Vice President of Investor Relations for Regal Entertainment Group in Knoxville, TN for the past five years. De Laria established and managed Regal's investor relations program since its IPO in May 2002. Prior to joining Regal, he founded Deephaven Financial Group, a strategic investor relations consulting firm and served in various roles in equity capital markets, including time as a Corporate Finance Analyst, Director of Equity Syndicate, and Vice President of Institutional Sales. De Laria is past president of NIRI’s virtual chapter and a member of the 2007 NIRI Annual Conference Committee. He holds a B.S. from Babson College.

Douglas Wilburne, CFA, is Vice President of Investor Relations for Textron, Inc. in Providence, RI. Wilburne was appointed to this position in April 2000. In addition, he serves on Textron's enterprise-wide Finance Council. Prior to Textron, Wilburne headed investor relations at Rite Aid Corp., where he established its first formal IR program. From 1997 to 1999, Wilburne headed investor relations for AMP Incorporated. Prior to joining AMP, he spent 20 years at Bell Atlantic Corporation, where he held numerous positions of increasing responsibility in engineering, operations, finance, and investor relations. Wilburne earned a B.S. from Pennsylvania State University, an M.B.A. from Drexel University and completed the Leadership at the Peak program at the Center for Creative Leadership and Textron's Global Leadership Forum at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the Providence Society of Financial Analysts.

Mona Zeehandelaar, CPA, is Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications at Radian Group Inc. of Philadelphia, PA. Prior to joining Radian Group in September 2002, Zeehandelaar was Director of Investor Relations at Safeguard Scientifics. She spent most of her career at CIGNA Corporation, where she held senior management positions in Sales Planning/Development and Marketing in the Managed Healthcare and Property and Casualty divisions, and Investor Relations on the corporate level. She began her career at KPMG, where she managed the audits of primarily financial services and non-profit institutions. Zeehandelaar earned a B.S. from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She was awarded her Certified Public Accountant license in 1977.

About NIRI
NIRI is the professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants responsible for communications among corporate management, shareholders, security analysts and other financial publics. NIRI’s 4,400 members represent over 2,100 publicly held companies in the United States. For more information on NIRI, please visit www.niri.org.

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