There is no more important annual event in a corporation's life than the meeting of shareholders. The process of printing and distributing proxy material and the tabulation of votes can become logistical nightmares. In recognition of the problems a corporation could encounter, AST has introduced procedures to make those processes as trouble-free as possible.

Our in-house Printing Department works closely with your corporate counsel and Investor Relations department to design and print a proxy card that is easy to read and understand, and is compatible with imaging technology, IVR voting and Internet voting.

The mailing of proxy material is completed on the same day we receive all the enclosures. When requested, we "household" proxy cards as a cost-saving technique.

Your shareholders are voting on important issues and the rapid and accurate tabulation of votes is vital. To expedite the tabulation process we offer three high-tech methods of voting:

• The Internet allows the shareholder to view, online, the nominees' names and proposal texts exactly as they appear on the proxy card, plus your annual report and proxy statement. E-mail acknowledgement of the vote gives us immediate acquisition of the e-mail address, which is used to create an electronic address book of your shareholders. Future distributions of material via e-mail can result in significant savings in printing and mailing costs.
• IVR technology allows the shareholder to vote using a touch-tone telephone. It is a convenient and more expeditious alternative to the conventional method of mailing a card.
• Votes cast via the Internet or the telephone are tabulated the same day. Shareholders may vote for multiple issues during the same session and may vote as often as they wish, but only the last vote received is tabulated.

Occasionally, a company needs assistance to obtain votes from shareholders who hold their shares with brokers. AST provides proxy solicitation for routine meetings to ensure that shares registered in broker or nominee names get voted in time for the meeting.

Proxy Distribution and Tabulation Services
American Stock Transfer offers complete proxy distribution, tabulation and solicitation services for clients. We manage your annual meeting for you from mailing to final proxy report.