Don Nickles

A Senator from Oklahoma; born in Ponca City, Kay County, Okla., December 6, 1948; attended the public schools; graduated, Oklahoma State University in Stillwater 1971; served in the National Guard 1970-1976; businessman; member, Oklahoma State senate 1979-1980; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1980; reelected in 1986, 1992 and 1998 and served from January 3, 1981, to January 3, 2005; chair, National Republican Senatorial Committee (One Hundred First Congress), Republican Policy Committee (One Hundred Second to One Hundred Fourth Congresses), Committee on the Budget (One Hundred Eighth Congress); Republican whip (1996-2003); was not a candidate for reelection in 2004. Don Nickles has been a member of our Board of Directors since January 2005. Senator Nickles is the founder and President of The Nickles Group, a consulting and business venture firm in Washington D.C. Senator Nickles was elected to represent Oklahoma in the United States Senate from 1980 to 2005 where he held numerous leadership positions, including Assistant Republican Leader from 1996 to 2003 and Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee from 2003 to 2005. Senator Nickles also served on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Finance Committee. Prior to his service in the U.S. Senate, Senator Nickles served in the Oklahoma State Senate from 1979 to 1980 and worked for Nickles Machine Corporation in Ponca City, Oklahoma becoming Vice President and General Manager. Senator Nickles is also a director of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO), an independent oil refiner headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, Fortress International Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIGI), a company based in Columbia, Maryland which provides specialized security services, and Washington Mutual Investors Fund. Senator Nickles served in the National Guard from 1970 to 1976 and graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1971. A Senator from Oklahoma; born in Ponca City, Kay County, Okla., December 6, 1948; attended the public schools; graduated, Oklahoma State University in Stillwater 1971; served in the National Guard 1970-1976; businessman; member, Oklahoma State senate 1979-1980; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1980; reelected in 1986, 1992 and 1998 and served from January 3, 1981, to January 3, 2005; chair, National Republican Senatorial Committee (One Hundred First Congress), Republican Policy Committee (One Hundred Second to One Hundred Fourth Congresses), Committee on the Budget (One Hundred Eighth Congress); Republican whip (1996-2003); was not a candidate for reelection in 2004. Senator Don Nickles is Chairman & CEO of the Nickles Group, LLC, which he founded in 2005. Senator Nickles supervises the firm's government relations and consulting practices, and oversees the management of business development and client issues. Immediately prior to founding the Nickles Group, Senator Nickles served the state of Oklahoma and the country for 24 years in the United States Senate. Nickles was a key member of the Senate Republican Leadership for more than a decade, serving as Chairman of the Republican Senatorial Committee, Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee and as the Assistant Republican Leader. In his tenure as United States Senator, Nickles built a legacy of advancing free enterprise causes, from natural gas deregulation and repeal of the windfall profits tax in the 1980s, to repeal of onerous ergonomics regulation and the fight against federalized health care during the Clinton administration. He was the author of the Congressional Review Act and the Child Citizenship Act, and the principal sponsor of the President's economic growth package in 2003 which cut capital gains and corporate dividend taxes to 15%. Nickles was Chairman of the influential Senate Budget Committee during his last two years in the Senate, and was a senior member of both the Senate Finance Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.