RV Weekly

News that a major stockholder was advocating the sale of Fleetwood Enterprises came as quite a shock to company executives gathered in Las Vegas Monday for the company’s annual dealer event. When someone who owns 11.8 percent of a company’s stock advocates the sale of that company on the same day corporate executives are traveling to meet with the very people who generate bundles of money for the firm, you’ve got to question the timing of such a suggestion.

Monday, New York City investment company SLS Management released a letter to the Fleetwood Board of Directors. Signed by Scott L. Swid, managing partner of the group, it advocated the sale of Fleetwood not just to the highest bidder, but to a specific company — Champion Enterprises. For those unfamiliar with the mobile home and modular housing industries, Champion is a key player in an industry losing money almost as fast as FEMA.

Here’s a quick financial snapshot for Champion Enterprises:

• 2006 = $1.36 billion in sales netted $43.1 million in profit (3.2 percent to the bottom line).
• 2005 = $1.27 billion in sales netted $45.5 million in profit (3.6 percent to the bottom line).
• 2004 = $1.01 billion in sales netted $17 million in profit (1.7 percent to the bottom line).
• 2003 = $1.14 billion in sales netted a $40 million loss (the last profitable year being 1999)

Fleetwood, by comparison, reported these results:

• 2006 = $2.01 billion in sales netted a $90 million loss
• 2005 = $2.43 billion in sales netted a $28.4 million loss
• 2004 = $2.37 billion in sales netted a $161.5 million loss
• 2003 = $2.36 billion in sales netted a $22.3 million loss

In other words, over the past four years, Fleetwood has logged $9.17 billion in sales compared to Champion’s $4.78 billion. But, Champion returned a profit of $65.6 million (1.4 percent of sales) while Fleetwood posted a $302.2 million loss. Okay, so Fleetwood has struggled a bit. But is Champion the model company SLS Management really wants the RV industry to emulate?

SLS Management produces nothing but financial statements and, apparently, letters to boards of directors for companies that don’t earn this freeloading firm enough money fast enough. Besides having contributed $4,600 to Hillary Clinton’s campaign so far this year, Swid’s job is similar to that of the Gordon Gekko character in the movie Wall Street. He also served on the finance and budget committee of the left-leaning Council on Foreign Relations, a group of “experts” who offer advice to government leaders (people elected to real jobs) on critical issues like the ”scant progress made for Afgahn women,” or who advocate that U.S. drug companies be denied patents for new life-saving medicines until they renounce those patent rights in poor countries.

According to an article that appeared in the Financial Times June 6, 2001, “SLS Investors is run by Scott Swid, whose father, Stephen Swid, was a pioneer in the leveraged buyout market.  Hmmmm.

But Mr. Swid isn’t the key focus, SLS Management is. Perusing the Securities and Exchange Commission website, I had a chance to review SLS’s last few quarterly reports. Besides owning stock in Fleetwood, SLS also owns shares in Alcoa, Burger King, Citigroup, Comcast, Dell, E-Trade Financial, Ford, Gap, Herbalife, Kraft Foods, Macy’s, Motorola, Sandisk, Sears, Suntrust Bank, UAL, Wendy’s and a dozen others. So naturally, this company’s expertise clearly lies in the production and sale of recreation vehicles. (You can view SLS Management’s annual reports by clicking here.)

Digging deeper into the financial data, I discovered that SLS, despite losing money with Fleetwood, has consistently increased its shares of Fleetwood stock.

• June 30, 2004 = 494,199 shares
• Dec. 31, 2004 = 687,000 shares
• Dec. 31, 2005 = 3,774,501 shares
• Dec. 31, 2006 = 7,777,208 shares
• June, 30, 2007 = 7,588,590 shares

In fact, according to its June 2007 filing, SLS Management owns more shares of Fleetwood than it does any other company in its portfolio; Ford being second with 6.7 million shares and Lawson Software at 4.4 million shares.

But, during the same time, the company also acquired a number of shares in Champion.

• Dec. 31, 2006 = 518,872 total shares
• March 31, 2007 = 1,250,300 shares
• June 30, 2007 = 1,681,700 shares

So, in less than a year, SLS Management/Scott L. Swid have discovered Champion Enterprises, fallen in love with the company and tripled its investments in it. So enamored with Champion’s ability to generate $65.6 million in profit on $4.78 billion in revenue, SLS believes the Fleetwood board of directors should roll over and sell its $9.17 billion company to Champion.

Who stands to make the most money in this deal? Sounds like an attempt at market manipulation to me; and fiendish trick to play on Fleetwood on the eve of their dealer conference where several new brands and models will be announced. It makes me wonder if Scott L. Swid or SLS Management has an axe to grind with Fleetwood executives who will no doubt be ambushed at their dealer meeting by investors and others who have read Swid’s ridiculous recommendation, which you can view by clicking here.

Someone needs to get a job. As a shareholder in Burger King and Wendy’s I suggest that Mr. Swid start there.

Maybe if the company had ever manufactured something, we could take their recommendation seriously.

The last paragraph in a news story released by the Associated Press over the weekend pointed a finger — and a huge, blinking neon sign — toward an environmental group as the source of some of the negative news stories about formaldehyde that have made their way into the mainstream media in recent weeks. You can read the article by clicking here. 

The article itself is questionable simply due to the fact there are very few quotable sources in it. There’s not even an “author” listed for whom people can contact or even attribute some of the comments.

Here’s a news reading tip for people who aren’t trained in the business. If a story lacks attribution (a documented source) for any wild claims, you can bet the farm that the story is the result of a press release issued by some group. If a story lacks an author, feel free to bet your retirement funds that the source is a press release.

The story widely distributed by the Associated Press is nothing more than liberal talking points uttered in an attempt to damage the RV industry’s credibility.

So, who would issue a press release to the Associated Press in hopes the news agency would distribute it far and wide? Here’s another news reading tip. The source will want to take credit for the article with its membership or key influencers, or to draw attention to itself in some way. So, look for a reference in the story to either a membership-based or government-sponsored group. In the story in question, several groups are mentioned, including:

• The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
• The State of Oklahoma’s Department of Central Services Property Distribution Division
• Cookson Hills Community Action Foundation
• The Sierra Club

I wonder which of these groups has an axe to grind with the RV industry.

The article notes that “FEMA also said it would move thousands of hurricane victims out of the trailers.” Imagine, and after only two years of living in emergency shelters.

Anyone who has ever worked for government is familiar with the term CYA, which loosely translated means “cover your blockheaded mistakes.” Caught once again in the spotlight of massive disorganization, FEMA officials are knocking each other over racing toward the closest microphones and television cameras to disavow any role in the formaldehyde issue and to point all its fingers at everyone else. As everyone knows, government can’t be at fault for any thing at any time for any reason.

Case in point. A common ordinary citizen lights a campfire, from which a spark escapes and causes a forest fire that destroys one or two homes. The citizen will likely be charged with felony destruction of property, jailed, sued and prevented from writing a book about his captivity. Yet, when a National Forest Service worker with a blowtorch purposely starts a fire in a windstorm to trim out a few trees — a fire that destroys hundreds of homes and burns thousands of acres — he’s promoted for having the foresight to call 9-1-1 to report a problem.

So when you read that FEMA spokesman Aaron Walker said, “The formaldehyde issue is not a FEMA issue, it’s an industry issue,” you know exactly what he means. He’s saying it’s not a government problem, but rather one caused by an evil, capitalistic, profit-oriented industry which employs people in productive jobs.

Be wary anytime you see the Associated Press quote someone as a “spokesman.” In every company, organization or government agency, there is only one official “spokesperson.” All other people are just common, ordinary folk who happened to answer the phone and got trapped by the media into revealing something they weren’t supposed to.

In this case, Aaron Walker is FEMA’s official press secretary, so the source is high enough in the agency to make Walker’s pronouncement an official indictment against “an industry.” But which industry? The author conveniently left that out of the story. It could be the RV industry, or the media industry, or the towing industry or the wood industry or the paint industry. Who knows?

The “author” also quotes Walker a second time. Pay special attention to the quote marks.

When it comes to health regulations, “travel trailers fall into a legislative and regulatory black hole,” he said.

There is probably little doubt that Walker said “travel trailers fall into a legislative and regulatory black hole.” But was he really talking about health regulations? Recreation vehicles, like everything else manufactured in America, are heavily regulated. Ask anyone tasked with enforcing OSHA rules in a manufacturing plant. It could be Walker made an off-the-wall comment that when it comes to transporting emergency housing units into disaster areas, there are no specific regulations regarding how many can be set up in one neighborhood. Until Congress addresses that specific issue, then, yes, trailers fall into a regulatory black hole. But with health issues? Give me a break.

In fact, whenever you see a sentence constructed with half a statement in quotes and the other half standing alone, chances are very high whatever appears in quotes was taken out of context and has little, if any, correlation to the rest of the sentence.

The AP story also wields several wild assumptions as though they were, indeed, fact. For example,

• Hurricane survivors were exposed to “dangerous levels of formaldehyde.” (Define “dangerous” for a substance naturally produced by the human body.)
• Formaldehyde is a “carcinogen found in building materials like plywood and carpeting.” (Good thing our homes and offices aren’t built out of such carcinogens.)
• Plywood and carpeting can lead to “severe respiratory problems.” (Maybe that’s why I snore.)
• “Independent studies and experts have claimed some trailer manufacturers cut corners by purchasing materials from countries with weak formaldehyde regulations.” (Which studies and which experts?)

Isn’t it interesting how these manufacturers had time to import materials over the ocean from Malaysia where, apparently, they had ocean liners loaded with carcinogens just waiting to be transported to America in time to build emergency homes for storm victims. George W. Bush is portrayed as a buffoon, but when it comes to destroying the lives of American’s he’s brilliant. After creating the storm by his reluctance to embrace the global warming hype, and then having the military blow up a levy in New Orleans, he had shiploads of cancer-tainted building materials at the ready for use by an industry acting in collusion with the White House to infect as many hurricane survivors as possible with long-term, serious health issues.

Here’s where the real story begins — in paragraph nine. “Environmental groups have called on the federal government to investigate (the problem) for at least a year.” Ahh ha! An environmental group has been pressing the feds to declare RVs unsafe for more than a year. The problem is, millions of Americans enjoy RVs already, so how can they be unsafe?

Environmentalists must find a loophole. Here it comes.

“Becky Gillette, with the Sierra Club, a national environmental group, said there are thousands of excess FEMA travel trailers that have been spread throughout the country,” the article read. “Many end up in rural, impoverished areas, where housing options are minimal, she said.

Why is it that poor, impoverished people in rural areas always wind up getting sick while middle class RV owners can continue to use their units without any adverse side effects?

The bottom line is that the Sierra Club, while pretending to be advocates of everyone who enjoys the outdoors, has for years been blatantly anti-RV. This group of tree-huggers seeks to prevent any human from interfering with nature. These yahoos are consumed with guilt that humans are even allowed to breathe the same air as wildlife.

Simply Google the term “RV AND Sierra Club” and you’ll be amazed at the vitriol on display by these friends of nature.

Make no mistake, these hard-boiled environmentalists want all motorized travel prohibited in our state and federal parks. In their eyes, carbon-emitting recreation vehicles bring droves of methane-emitting humans into the wilderness. They want RVs stopped, which is impossible due to their popularity, so they must be slowed.

What better way than by getting people, especially moms, to think that by spending time in their much desired RVs their children might contract cancer. Could this have any correlation to this year’s decline in travel trailer sales?

Is anyone as ticked off as I am at the Federal Emergency Management Agency for withdrawing its support of the RV and manufactured housing industries?

Late last week, some ambulance chasing attorneys — likely on a summer holiday from pursuing bogus claims against implant makers and tobacco companies – filed a lawsuit against a dozen RV manufacturers for their role in producing emergency housing units that contained formaldehyde.

According to the RV Dealers Association, formaldehyde is a common chemical found in smog, cigarettes and other tobacco products, gas cookers, and open fireplaces, manufactured wood products used in new manufactured homes, fiberglass, carpets, permanent press fabrics, paper products and some household cleaners. Even the human body naturally produces formaldehyde.

Yet RV manufacturers and dealers are being slandered in the media and by attorneys in a way that portrays them as money-grubbing companies that willingly made people sick in their mad rush to profit from one of America’s greatest tragedies.

Isn’t it ironic that the RV industry has been providing emergency housing to families impacted by hurricanes, tornadoes and floods for decades and only until a major storm hits a population of hereditary freeloaders does the formaldehyde issue really become an issue. The speed was staggering in which Louisiana residents gobbled up more than $6 billion in federal aid, countless millions in charitable donations and, don’t forget the credit cards used for hair stylings and gambling trips.

When Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Louisiana coast, the RV industry responded in a powerful, mighty and honorable way. Within hours of impact, dealers from around the country were marshalling their available inventory and shipping RVs to the affected area. In fact, many units dispatched to the Gulf Region were laden with other essential items like food, toilet paper, water and even portable generators donated by citizens and small business owners everywhere.

Yes, it’s true many RV dealers profited from the tragedy. It’s also true that a few profited greatly. But dealers also sacrificed a great deal of their time and treasure to come to the aid of their fellow Americans. Knowing replacement units would be tough to get, they often sacrificed their complete inventory to help others in need – even if it meant they didn’t have units in stock to keep their own staffs employed in the months ahead.

Manufacturers were no different. Many pushed aside paid customer orders to rush units through the assembly lines as quickly as humanly possible. The goal, after all, was to provide immediate, emergency housing for children, the elderly and common, ordinary folks who were quite down on their luck.

The manufacturers amassed huge quantities of materials from their supplier partners, which also stepped up to the plate to accommodate the rush orders. The humanitarian aid project required lumber, plywood, electrical wire, plumbing, carpeting, varnish, sealants, windows, doors, cabinets, glue and many other essential construction materials.

Employees at manufacturing facilities and supplier firms sacrificed time with families to put in extra hours to rush homes to people without any. In many cases the paint dried on the freeway as thousands of trailers were dispatched to the Gulf Region every week. The need for housing was so great that people were often living in the units 72 to 96 hours after they rolled off assembly lines.

Imagine painting an entire home, gluing together all the cabinets and counters, and laying down new carpet on Tuesday just so a family of four could move in full-time on Friday. Do you think the building would stink? Do you think the people inside might get a little loopy from the fumes?

Of course the emergency housing units smelled. But, the need for housing was so great the trailers didn’t have the luxury of sitting on a manufacturer’s or dealer’s lot for a few weeks to allow the fumes to dissipate.

The same idiots who couldn’t board busses to leave the area in light of imminent warnings of a life-threatening hurricane, also chose to ignore written and verbal directions to open the windows inside their free units to allow the fumes to vent. Rather than spending time outside the emergency home helping others clean up debris, they chose to remain inside watching TV news coverage of the disaster and using their free cell phones to call government agencies begging for more immediate relief.

According to the RVDA, Dr. Lee Shull investigated the formaldehyde problem for the industry. His report references federal testing which shows that simply opening windows for ventilation for four days reduced formaldehyde levels in closed FEMA trailers to below the 0.3 ppm level which is considered safe for even the most sensitive individuals, like as asthmatics.

Yet a gaggle of damnable attorneys living in their multimillion dollar mansions and working from high rise offices miles away from any real tragedy are trolling for victims in the streets of New Orleans. Promising a big payout to people with an insatiable greed, these loathsome legal louts are seeking to punish the very people who sacrificed so much to help their unappreciative clients.

And the spineless Bush administration silently stands on the sidelines watching as attorneys and the media rip into the very industry that stepped in to make up for the lack of planning and gross dereliction of duty demonstrated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the days following the disaster.

If Congress had any inclination of ever doing the right thing, they’d immediately pass legislation preventing the federal courts from becoming involved in this type of tripe. But don’t hold your breath – half of Congress consists of lawyers. Consequently, they’re planning hearings to investigate the RV industry’s allegedly deplorable lack of concern for the safety of people living in units it produced.

To add insult to injury, FEMA announced over the weekend it would never again use manufactured homes and recreation vehicles as emergency shelters in future disasters. That position was a slap in the face to an industry that has done a great deal of good for thousands of people suffering from similar disasters in the past. It also lends credence to the lawyer’s arguments that the RV industry was somehow culpable in willingly providing “dangerous” homes as quickly as they could at a cost that wouldn’t bankrupt those American taxpayers intelligent enough to know when to seek shelter as a killer storm approaches.

FEMA’s snub of the RV industry is an abomination to which I say, “Fine, next time use tents.”

I’m sure a family of four will fit comfortably into a 75-square-foot dome tent with little difficulty. After a few weeks of adjustment, they’ll make fine homes for six months to two years until a permanent solution can be achieved. At least they won’t stink or make people sick, unless the fabric gets moldy or the lack of heating and appliances forces people to burn propane ovens inside the structures. I’m sure the 2.5-mil nylon taffeta sidewalls will provide ample protection from the elements and a solid barrier to all the noise in the “neighborhood.”

In my area, Farm and Fleet has a sale this week on domed tents. FEMA could buy a whole bunch for $89.95 each. They won’t have indoor plumbing, nor any type heat, vents, fans or electricity. But they’ll be formaldehyde free, which of course, is the most important thing people apparently want in emergency housing.

Then, as the tenters commingle in makeshift campgrounds as they wait for government agencies to provide more bailout money, maybe the sound of tent material flapping in the breeze will drown out the pathetic sound of ungrateful freeloaders flapping their gums and drumming up legal schemes with their profiteering antagonists.

A California dealer has suggested a brilliant marketing strategy that, if not picked up by Go RVing, should be implemented by other dealers around the country on a local or regional level.

For some reason, lots of people are caught up in the keep America green bandwagon. The global warming fringe has forced many firms to advocate their commitment to a greener planet in light of being scorned for contributing to the planet’s imminent “demise.”

Everyone from evening news anchors to Hollywood movie stars to Washington politicians is talking about protecting the environment and reducing fuel consumption. The only problem is that our industry encourages people to drive gas guzzling motorhomes or tow vehicles and take people and equipment into places some people would rather humans not tread. Some people are trying to brand RVs as environmentally unfriendly and unnecessary in light of the “crisis facing the planet.”  Thank goodness many people aren’t buying that message.

But, the idea of a Go RVing This Weekend campaign has lots of merit. It’s time to go on the offensive and promote that RVs are true environmentally-friendly family support vehicles that don’t require that much fuel — if people took the time to think about it.

The dealer suggested that we, as an industry promote how much more environmentally friendly RVs are than houses. People who use a 400-square-foot RV for a weekend aren’t spending money and using energy to heat or cool a 2,000-square foot home. This type of “turn off your house and turn on your RV” campaign would be an instant hit among people  A) sheepish about being seen in a gas guzzling vehicle; and B) looking for ways to reconnect with nature.

Locally, RV dealers could develop joint promotions with campgrounds, parks and area tourist attractions to identify all the places people could visit with their families using only 10 or 20 gallons of gas a weekend. By framing the debate in “10 gallon trips,” people begin to think it’s nothing to use an RV. If they’re like me, they’ll burn up 10 gallons of gas a week in their driveways waiting for their “I’ll be outside in a sec” teenage daughters to pry themselves away from the bathroom mirrors.

Ten gallons of gas is less fuel than people burn to get to their jobs every week — and this investment of fuel will give them energy on the weekend to return to their jobs refreshed, relaxed and motivated to perform. Ten gallons of gas will get people anywhere from 100 to 300 miles. Surely there are dozens if not hundreds of fun, family-friendly activities within a 100 to 300 mile radius of any RV dealership.

Let’s not wait for the environmentalists to frame RVs in a way that is totally out of touch with reality. We’ve got a great foundation with Go RVing, and a great following of people who either own or someday hope to buy an RV. Let’s build on that foundation by taking the microphone away from the shrillspeakers and give the American public a message they really want to hear.

It’s a new day in corporate America. Can anyone remember the old way companies were run before the constant, unrelenting pressure to push the envelope?

It seems we’ve entered a new era in which achieving 109 percent of goal is still considered failure. I received this e-mail from a reader whose spouse works for a major national bank.  Here’s a little background. The bank’s sales team achieved 153 percent of their branch’s sales goal in July. No e-mail was received from the management team marking that achievement.

By close of business August 2 — two days into the new month — the team had already achieved 109 percent of their sales goal for August. How did the branch manager respond on August 3rd?  Read for yourself.

Team,

We dropped 43% yesterday!  It appears as though almost everyone took a ‘break.’  Today is a new day and we have a lot of catch up to do.  As a result, our MINIMUM goal is 36 solutions and 7 checking accounts.  How are we going to get there?

Teller team-we cannot wait until 1:00 to start our day and have conversations.  We cannot pick and choose who we talk to.  We MUST profile 100% of the time.  It is EXPECTED we generate 4 walkovers per teller per day.  It is EXPECTED we have 1 direct sale per day.  IF they have not done so, they need to be held accountable for making up for lost time.  We need to make sure a line director and teller coach are scheduled during pertinent times, no exceptions.  REFER A FRIEND REFER A FRIEND REFER A FRIEND.

 ‘When was the last time you met with a banker for a financial check up?  It is never a bad idea to explore your options and see what is available.  X banker is available right now.  How does that sound?’—I haven’t heard much, if any, of this (i.e. One teller in another bank had over 83 contributions in less than a MONTH from doing this).

 Platform team-schedule an hour of your time today to work with the tellers.  Your objective when you are with them is to get the customer over to your desk.  Each of you are WAY behind on your contact events.  This looses our credibility with customers, especially when they are expecting a call.  What are YOU going to do to get up to date?  We are missing TONS of opportunities!  Do we need to have a call night?  What are you going to do to get organized?  What are YOU going to do to hold yourself accountable?   Team, we need to have a sense of urgency with every interaction.  A customer service issue is still an opportunity to profile and MUST NOT be missed. I need each of you to respond with your game plan by 9:30AM today. 

Sounds like someone needs a hug. And banks wonder why more and more customers are doing all their transactions online.

It used to be a company could take an entire year to achieve its goals, using monthly and quarterly benchmarks to ensure everyone remained on target. Today, how many managers have to submit daily budget reforecasts? Or one in the morning and another at close of business?

Not too long ago, corporate goals were respectable. Companies used to target 5 to 8 percent annual sales increases. Now, it seems the expectation is that sales will increase by 18 to 20 percent — every year — and a 15 percent increase is considered failure. Investors who used to be delighted if their stocks returned two times inflation, now don’t even look at funds which fail to return double digit annual growth. In fact, a 12 percent annual return may suggest the fund manager needs to be replaced.

Another friend of mine who sells cash handling equipment closed his fiscal year in May at 164 percent of his goal. He received a pat on the back, a framed certificate and an incentive trip.  But, by the end of July, his numbers fell to 87 and 91 percent of goal for two consecutive months. He’s on probation now.

The photo appearing in the July 27 edition of the Drudge Report featuring a stressed out stock trader makes the point. (http://www.drudgereportarchives.com/data/2007/07/27/20070727_144830.htm) Less than a week after the New York Stock Exchange set an all-time record, the market experienced a 300 point correction. The guy with his hand on his head knew what that meant — his quarterly and/or annual bonus was gone, but maybe he’ll be able to keep his job through the end of the quarter.

Last year, a highly-educated friend of mine went to work for a major restaurant chain as a benefits manager in the human resources department. His work day started at 8 a.m. He needed permission from a vice president to leave work before 7 p.m. Saturday work was expected, but working Sundays proved a employee’s commitment to the company. To reduce clutter and keep people focused on their jobs, corporate policy prohibited employees from having pictures of their families on their desks or in their cubicles. Once in the morning and again in the afternoon, he had to take a clipboard and walk the floor noting which employees were not sitting at their desks. He then had to contact the employee’s supervisor and cc the vice president to learn where the employee was. Yep, even if a staff member dared to use the restroom during work hours, he risked being accused of dereliction. Because most doctors’ offices aren’t open after 7 p.m. Monday through Saturdays, a trip to the doctor was allowed, but only if the staff member brought a note back for his supervisor. (I wonder how the government would interpret HIPAA laws in light of that type of policy?) Corporate managers were upset that employee turnover was inching toward 200 percent. Go figure.

All this begs the question, how much is enough? There has to be a happy medium between the socialist state of France, where employees receive two months of paid vacation a year, and corporate America, where professionals are expected to take laptops and cell phones with them in order to check in with the office on their three-day weekends.

Does competing in a global market, require this kind of constant stress?  I’d say, “No way.” We bring it on ourselves.

A report in the New York Times’ July 21st edition noted that foreigners put more money into American stocks and bonds in May than in any previous month. That’s not surprising. While the rest of the world relaxes and enjoys the fruits of a hard, honest day of work, Americans will still be on the job killing themselves for a double-digit increase to appease their bosses and foreign investors.

Goals must be met. Failure is not an option. Team, I need you to have a sense of urgency with every interaction. I need each of you to respond with your game plan by 9:30 a.m.