mr. scherer and the members of the board of directors -- mr. chair and the members of the board of directors. earlier, i shared the news of mr. ford's moving on, and it was painful for me because i sat where you set when we went through the work of replacing the former director at that time, mr. burns. we did a national search, and we believe with all of our hearts that we found the top tier of candidates for our agency. i believe mr. ford did an excellent job under all of these circumstances in which he had to labor, and i wanted you all to know, and i wanted to stick with you because i understand how difficult these decisions and transitions are. you hear all these people -- this ought not happen, this is unfair. i wanted you to know that you were in my prayers as you make the decisions for the agency, as i am praying for mr. ford as he goes through this time. thank you for being as fair and just as equitable as you can with one another. chairman nolan: we appreciate it. good to see you. i could not agree more with your comments. ok. >> item