A Message from John Phillips

We’ve all heard the expression, “I have some good news and I have some bad news.” Well, Teammates, I have some good news and some BETTER news.

First the good news: In an earlier edition of The Spirit, I reported that our revenue was up 25% in fiscal 2004 from what it had been in 2003, and this year we are looking for similar growth. To keep pace with the increasing demand for our services, we’ve added 100 new Teammates bringing our workforce up to 1,300. And we plan to add another 200 Teammates by the end of the year.

The BETTER news is that we’ve made this turnaround in as competitive an environment as any of us can remember. Where we used to boast that we got a job “without even being the low bidder,” today being the low bidder means everything. The qualities we used to stress that set us apart – customer service, trained and productive Teammates, safety, quality of workmanship, pride in our workplace, and the cleanliness of our job sites – are simply taken for granted. Today’s customer insists on all these and that we are the low bidder. In true Team Fishel tradition, we saw what we had to do and we are responding to it.

Tough times don’t last, but our tough Teammates do! My hat is off to every one of you; let’s keep up the good work.

To make sure we steer a steady course through still choppy waters, our Officers have been at work on a new strategic plan entitled “Vision 2010 & Beyond.” No small docu-ment, this plan sets forth the industry groups and individual companies with whom we hope either to begin working or to expand our present ser-vice offerings (Market Opportunities); the areas of our company that need additional attention and/or offer the best opportunity for profitable growth (Strategic Initiatives); a reassessment of our full portfolio of services as measured against current market requirements; and an unblinking appraisal of current industry threats including the fact that continuing pressure on our customers’ margins and cash flows are affecting their procurement decisions. Said in simpler terms, we must constantly renew our efforts to be the low cost provider of the highest quality services in order to win and re-win our customers’ business.

Loyalty is a good thing, and Team Fishel is privileged to have so many long-standing customer relationships. However, loyalty today can only exist in a lowest-cost environment.

In closing, I’d like to highlight just one of the areas of growth that emerged from our recent strategic planning. Under the initiative to “develop expertise in program management and project management skills,” Team Fishel has created the Managed Network Services Group under the direction of new Vice President, Mark Coppa. Mark has been charged with defining and documenting Team Fishel’s ability to provide network construction and program management services for adds, moves and changes in outside plant environments. Here’s what this new group can offer:

• Local governmental agency representation;

• Feasibility studies, construction cost and duration estimates;

• Physical network assets analysis for mergers and acquisitions (due diligence);

• Project engineering;

• Right-of-Way; and

• Permitting and as-builts.

Together, Teammates, we are working at a time of great promise in our industry. We’re counting on you to help us keep growing and making a profit.