The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was signed into law in July 2002 in reaction to several well-publicized corporate scandals which came to light in 2001. Management and the board of First Mid Bancshares, Inc. hold themselves to the highest standards of ethical behavior. That is the way we have always operated throughout our long history, and this has helped us through many trying economic times in the past. High standards of ethical behavior on the part of corporate officers together with pro-active oversight by the board and audit committee should be at the top of every organization's list of objectives. We believe that many of the features of Sarbanes-Oxley are long overdue and should have been in place in the past.