Hotel Law Blog

Published on: July 27, 2008

Hospitality Lawyer — “Can we keep it up?” An increasingly important issue for the hotel industry!

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

27 July 2008

Hospitality Lawyer — Why we need to maintain the discipline to keep ADRs up! As hotel occupancy rates are tending to soften nationally, the data from Smith Travel Research (STR) tells us that the industry has continued to do well because average daily rates (ADRs) have continued to rise, particularly in the Top 25 markets, and in the market segments that STR calls Luxury, Upper Upscale, Upscale and Midscale without Food & Beverage.

But there is a new threat to industry profits looming on the horizon — something beyond pestilence, war, recession, and falling airline seat capacity, and this is within our own control if we will just behave rationally. Here’s the scoop from www.HotelLawBlog.com.

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Published on: July 21, 2008

Hospitality Lawyer with perspectives from the top: Insights and advice from Tom Baltimore, President of RLJ Development

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

21 July 2008

Hospitality Lawyer: What a difference a year makes! Where we’ve been and where we’re going. Practical advice and observations from Tom Baltimore. On July 17, 2008, at the NABHOOD Conference in Atlanta, the experts gave us the latest update on the Hotel Industry since NYU. (See the 5-part series at www.HotelLawBlog.com analyzing the data available at June 1, 2008 at “Quips, Quotes and Insights from the 2008 NYU hotel conference.”).

Trends continue to emerge and JMBM’s hospitality lawyers have 3 hot July updates for you on the state of the industry:

1. Jan Freitag, Vice President of Smith Travel Research (jan@smithtravelresearch.com)

2. Mark Woodworth, President of PKF Hospitality Research (mark.woodworth@pkfc.com)

3. Tom Baltimore, President of RLJ Development, LLC (www.rljcompanies.com)

You can also find the Top 10 Picks from www.HotelLawBlog.com by clicking here.

Here’s the way Thomas J. Baltimore, Jr., Vice Chairman of NABHOOD and President of RLJ Development, summed things up.

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Published on: July 19, 2008

What lies ahead in the hotel industry? Hospitality Lawyer looks at the good, the bad and the ugly . . . and something we haven’t seen in 20 years!

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

20 July 2008

Hospitality Lawyer: What lies ahead for the hotel industry? On July 17, 2008, at the NABHOOD Conference in Atlanta, the experts gave us the latest update on the Hotel Industry since NYU. (See the 5-part series at www.HotelLawBlog.com analyzing the data available at June 1, 2008 at “Quips, Quotes and Insights from the 2008 NYU hotel conference.”).

Trends continue to emerge and JMBM’s hospitality lawyers have 3 hot July updates for you on the state of the industry:

1. Jan Freitag, Vice President of Smith Travel Research (jan@smithtravelresearch.com)

2. Mark Woodworth, President of PKF Hospitality Research (mark.woodworth@pkfc.com)

3. Tom Baltimore, President of RLJ Development, LLC (www.rljcompanies.com)

You can also find the Top 10 Picks from www.HotelLawBlog.com by clicking here.

Here’s Mark Woodworth’s analysis of “What Lies Ahead,” and it is very interesting . . .

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Published on: July 19, 2008

Smith Travel’s July Update on State of the Lodging Industry from Hospitality Lawyer in Atlanta

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

19 July 2008

Hospitality Lawyer: What’s happened in the hotel industry since the NYU Hotel Investment Conference in June? The NABHOOD Conference in Atlanta was the place to be this week, as I reported in my recent blog entitled “Hospitality Attorney salutes NABHOOD”
On Thursday, July 17, 2008, the inspiration and insights continued to flow, with the latest industry data and predictions since NYU. (See the 5-part series at www.HotelLawBlog.com analyzing the data available at June 1, 2008 at “Quips, Quotes and Insights from the 2008 NYU hotel conference.”). Another month and a half are under our belts since the NYU Hotel Investment Conference, and the hospitality lawyers from JMBM have 3 hot July updates for you on the state of the industry:

1. Jan Freitag, Vice President of Smith Travel Research (jan@smithtravelresearch.com)

2. Mark Woodworth, President of PKF Hospitality Research (mark.woodworth@pkfc.com)

3. Tom Baltimore, President of RLJ Development, LLC (www.rljcompanies.com)

Here’s Jan Freitag’s Smith Travel Research July update . . .

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Published on: July 16, 2008

Hospitality Attorney salutes NABHOOD, Andy Ingraham, Mike Roberts, Hank Thomas, Mit Shah and the African American hotel community

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

16 July 2008

Hospitality lawyer in Atlanta, Georgia at the kick-off for the NABHOOD Annual Convention. If you are not yet a member, sponsor or supporter of NABHOOD — the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers — you need to check out this dynamic organization, whose members own about 325 hotels (up from just 1 in 2001). Thanks to my friend Andy Ingraham, President and Founder of NABHOOD, I am attending the Association’s 12th Annual Summit in Atlanta as a speaker and participant, and JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® is a proud sponsor of this event.

As you can tell from many postings here at www.HotelLawBlog.com, I have been attending (and hosting) hospitality conferences for many years and I can tell you that the energy, vision and skill this group is bringing to the industry is just amazing. I like to think of myself as a great networker — connecting people in the industry to get deals done. But I have met my match. No, I have to say, I have now seen the grand master in action, and I take my hat off to Andy Ingraham and what he helps NABHOOD members do. Congratulations, Andy!

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Published on: June 21, 2008

Top picks of hospitality lawyer insights in 2008 are: (1) hotel financing and hotel values in buy-sell transactions, (2) hotel management agreements, and (3) LEED & GREEN hotel development

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
21 June 2008
Hospitality Attorney’s top insights to hotel industry. As we approach the half-way mark in 2008, the hospitality lawyers in JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® thought it would be interesting to determine our readers’ “top picks” of all the articles we have posted this year. We could almost say that the top three picks are hotel financing, hotel financing and hotel financing. But here are the top three picks by “Topics” at www.HotelLawBlog.com:

(1) Hotel financing and hotel values in buy-sell transactions
(2) Hotel management agreements
(3) LEED and GREEN hotel development

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Published on: June 19, 2008

Hospitality Lawyer talks with Ambrose Collection’s Deirdre Wallace on going Green with an Existing Building

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
19 June 2008
Hospitality Lawyer on green hotel development. Here at www.HotelLawBlog.com, we have a rich library of articles on green hotel development. (Just go to the blog, search down the right hand side for “Topics” and then click on “Green Hotels.”) But as we now release the DVDs from our recent conference on green hotels — which are free to all conference attendees — we thought many of our readers would like to see the major PowerPoint presentations from our high-powered speakers, so we have published them here for your benefit. You will not want to miss this series of important presentations!

Deirdre Wallace is the Founder and President of The Ambrose Collection, a Santa Monica-based company focused on developing and managing eco-lifestyle boutique hotels. Her flagship property, The Ambrose, has won numerous awards since opening in 2003, setting a new industry standard for environmental responsibility while regularly outperforming competitors in both occupancy rate and gross revenues. Deirdre Wallace can be reached at (310) 382-2145 or deirdre@ambrosecollection.com.

In her own words, Deirdre Wallace shares with us her experience of “going green” in an already existing building.

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Published on: June 11, 2008

Hospitality Attorney with pearls from NYU, Part 5: Whither Lodging Demand, GDP and the Cost of Gasoline?

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
11 June 2008
Hospitality lawyer with pearls from the New York hospitality conference. The mood in New York was more somber in June 2008 than it has been for a long time at hotel conferences. Final attendance was about 2400 (about the same as last year) and for the first time, NYU had fewer conference delegates than the Los Angeles conference in January (3,200 at ALIS in January 2008). Many believe that attendance at these conferences is a good barometer of sentiment in the industry — send more people when times are good, and send fewer when you batten down the hatches for a storm.

I had the opportunity to listen to Randy Smith and Mark Lomanno of Smith Travel Research in two sessions this past week — one private session at the Lodging Industry’s think tank (the Lodging Industry Investment Council or LIIC) and in the general opening session at NYU. I also had the good fortune to hear the fascinating presentation made by Bjorn Hanson, principal of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (retiring effective June 30, 2008), which informed much of what I had heard from my friends at STR. My commentary includes selected slides from STR and PwC. A link to the full STR presentation can be found at the end of the article. Here is a Hospitality Attorney’s executive summary.

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Published on: June 11, 2008

Hospitality Attorney with pearls from NYU, Part 4: Chain Scales

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

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Published on: June 10, 2008

Hospitality Attorney with pearls from NYU, Part 3: What’s Weekday vs. Weekend demand tell us?

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
10 June 2008
Hospitality lawyer with pearls from the New York hospitality conference. The mood in New York was more somber in June 2008 than it has been for a long time at hotel conferences. Final attendance was about 2400 (about the same as last year) and for the first time, NYU had fewer conference delegates than the Los Angeles conference in January (3,200 at ALIS in January 2008). Many believe that attendance at these conferences is a good barometer of sentiment in the industry — send more people when times are good, and send fewer when you batten down the hatches for a storm.

CONTINUE READING →

Jim Butler

Jim Butler is recognized as one of the top hotel lawyers in the world. He devotes 100% of his practice to hospitality, representing hotel owners, developers and lenders. Jim leads JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® — a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion.
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Robert Braun

Robert Braun is a partner in JMBM's Corporate Department and a senior member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. Bob represents owners in both transactional and operational issues. He advises clients with respect to business formation, financing, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financing, joint ventures and strategic partnerships. He has represented hotel owners in the negotiation of several hundred management agreements, as well as spa management and franchise agreements. Bob also advises hotel owners regarding telecommunications, software, internet, e-commerce, data processing and outsourcing agreements. To read Bob's articles, go to www.HotelLawBlog.com and select "Management Agreements." For more information, please contact Bob Braun at 310.785.5331 or rbraun@jmbm.com.

Marta Fernandez

Marta Fernandez is a partner in JMBM's Employment and Labor Department and a senior member of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. As a management labor lawyer with more than 20 years of experience, Marta specializes in representing hospitality industry clients in all aspects of labor and employment including labor-management relations such as union prevention, collective bargaining for single as well as multi-employer bargaining units, neutrality agreements and defense of unfair labor practice charges before the NLRB. She defends employers in administrative and litigation claims, such as employee claims of sexual harassment and discrimination and counsels clients in preventative strategies such as executive training, arbitration enforcement, and policies and procedures. To read Marta's articles, go to www.HotelLawBlog.com and select "Labor & Employment." For more information, please contact Marta Fernandez at 310.201.3534 or at mfernandez@jmbm.com.

Guy Maisnik

Guy Maisnik is a partner in JMBM's Real Estate Department and a senior member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. Guy's deep and broad transactional practice includes complex real estate finance and venture capital transactions, including project finance, commercial finance, leveraged leasing and real estate acquisitions. He assists clients with development, leasing and disposition, loan portfolio acquisitions, loan and debt restructure, workouts and real estate exchanges. Go to www.HotelLawBlog.com for current information in these areas. For more information, please contact Guy Maisnik at 310.201.3588 or mgm@jmbm.com.

David Sudeck

David Sudeck is a Partner in JMBM's Real Estate Department and a senior member of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. David has significant experience in the vacation ownership arena, focusing on the formation and registration of condominiums, timeshares and fractional interest regimes. He negotiates hotel, spa and restaurant management agreements, and assists client in the development, acquisition, sale and leasing of hotels, golf courses and restaurants. For David's take on current issues in the timeshare arena, go to www.HotelLawBlog.com and click on the topic, "Timeshare." For more information, please contact David Sudeck at 310.201.3518 or dsudeck @jmbm.com.

Robert Kaplan

Robert Kaplan is a partner in JMBM's Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Restructurings Group and a senior member of the Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. Bob represents lenders, special servicers, hard money lenders, community banks, national banking associations, distressed debt investors, and equity investors, positioning them for the best possible outcome by acting expeditiously to preserve value and increase cash flow. His industry experience and his knowledge of the current capital markets -- where distressed assets often include complex deal structures and securitized loans -- allows him to bring creative and effective strategies to the table. When aggressive litigation is the best strategy, he is a vigorous and effective advocate for his clients. Bob represented the securitized lender in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed by the Clift Hotel in San Francisco, and in the subsequent negotiations and successful sale of the loan to a third party. The lender -- acting by and through GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corporation as special servicer -- was the holder of a $60 million loan secured by a Deed of Trust on the Clift Hotel. He has also served as counsel to CapMark, J.E. Robert Company, Inc., AMRESCO Management Inc. and Midland Loan Servicer in their capacity as special servicers on troubled hotel loans in CMBS pools. For more information, contact Robert Kaplan at 415.984.9673 or rkaplan@jmbm.com.

Martin Orlick

Martin Orlick is a partner in JMBM's Real Estate Department and a senior member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. Marty specializes in representing hospitality industry clients in Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and defense. He has represented more than 500 businesses in ADA issues, many of them hotels and restaurants, as well as hotel mixed-use properties. Marty is a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) and a frequent speaker on the ADA and other topics. To read Marty's articles, go to www.HotelLawBlog.comand select "ADA." For more information, please contact Marty Orlick at 415.984.9667 or morlick@jmbm.com.

Scott Brink

Scott Brink is a senior member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® and a partner in JMBM's Labor & Employment Law Department. Scott is a management labor lawyer with more than two decades of experience representing employers in all aspects of labor relations and employment law including union prevention, collective bargaining negotiations, defense of unfair labor practice charges before the NLRB, wrongful discharge litigation, individual and class action employment discrimination and wage-and-hour claims, sexual-harassment litigation, arbitrations, personnel policies, California wage and hour law, and employee discipline and discharge. An experienced trial attorney, Scott has litigated a number of high-profile and complex cases involving a wide range of labor and employment law matters. For more information, contact Scott Brink at RSB@jmbm.com or 310.785.5365.

Travis Gemoets

Travis Gemoets is an experienced trial attorney and represents management in all facets of labor and employment law, including wage/hour class actions, claims of discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, trade secrets and unfair competition, union/management relations and workplace violence. He is a member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group(r), in which capacity he negotiates union contracts and resolves labor disputes throughout the country, defends class action claims, develops strategies for the mass onboarding and separation of employees, and recommends proactive changes to employers' policies and practices in order to minimize potential liability risks. Reach him at 310.785.5387 or tgemoets@jmbm.com.

Mark S. Adams

Mark S. Adams is an experienced trial lawyer and a member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® and Chinese Investment Group™. He focuses his practice on business litigation including contracts, corporate and partnership disputes, and hospitality disputes and litigation. On behalf of hotel and resort owners, Mark has successfully litigated the termination of long-term, no-cut, hotel management agreements, franchise agreements, fiduciary duty issues, investor-owner disputes, TOT assessments, and more. He has wide-ranging trial experience in a variety of commercial disputes, including complex multi-party litigation and class actions. He has tried numerous cases in state courts, federal courts, and in domestic and international arbitrations, and is a frequent author and speaker on trial practice. Mark's trial wins have been covered by Forbes, Reuters, and other publications. He has obtained two of California's annual 50 largest jury verdicts in the same year. Mark has taken or defended nearly 1,000 depositions throughout North America, Europe and the Middle East. He has been quoted as an expert on noncompete agreements in the Wall Street Journal. For more information, contact Mark at 949. 623.7230 or markadams@jmbm.com.

Bennett Young

Bennett Young is a partner in JMBM's Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Restructurings Group and a senior member of the Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. His clients include lenders, financial institutions, secured and unsecured creditors, distressed investment funds, businesses, receivers, special servicers and creditors' committees. Ben represented the owner of a partially completed multi-billion dollar resort property in the restructuring of its finances and has represented lenders to hotels and casinos. For more information, contact Ben Young at 415.984.9626 or byoung@jmbm.com

Sheri Bonstelle

Sheri Bonstelle is a partner in JMBM's Government, Land Use, Environment and Energy Department, and a member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group®. She represents owners and developers in land use, zoning, environmental, litigation and construction matters. She manages all aspects of the entitlement process, including representing clients before local and state agencies, commissions and councils. Sheri also represents clients in a variety of land use and real estate litigation matters in state and federal courts, including cases arising under CEQA and other environmental laws. Her hotel experience includes handling the adaptive reuse of an historic office building as a luxury boutique hotel. For more information, please contact Sheri Bonstelle at 310.712.6847 or SBonstelle@jmbm.com.

Kevin McDonnell

Kevin McDonnell is a partner in JMBM's Government, Land Use, Environment and Energy Department, and a member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group®. Kevin represents developers and owners of hotels in a broad range of land use and zoning issues including entitlements, code enforcement, easements and parking requirements, as well as related Parcel Map and Tract Map subdivision issues. His hospitality experience includes hotels, condo-hotels and mixed-use projects. A registered Civil Engineer and Structural Engineer in California, and a former building official for the City of Los Angeles, Kevin brings unique experience and insight in Zoning and Building Code applications and Code Enforcement issues. For more information, please contact Kevin McDonnell at 310.201.3590 or kkm@jmbm.com.

Jamie Ogden

Jamie Ogden is a tax lawyer at Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP. He advises individuals and businesses on a range of tax planning, tax controversy and estate planning matters. Jamie’s experience includes all tax aspects with respect to the hospitality industry, including acquisitions and dispositions (including Section 1031 exchanges), financing and management agreements. He also serves as lead tax counsel on M&A transactions, financing, internal corporate restructurings and deferred compensation matters. Jamie also works frequently with litigators on the tax aspects of litigation, judgments and settlements. Jamie has extensive experience with foreign compliance matters, including each variation of the IRS amnesty programs. In addition to his experience in private practice, Jamie also brings several years of service from both state and federal government. For more information, contact Jamie at JOgden@jmbm.com or 310.201.3510.

Wei Deng

Wei Deng is General Counsel of Bosen American Capital, Inc. where in addition to his legal duties, he is responsible for sourcing, evaluating and proposing United States investment opportunities to the company. Wei was previously with JMBM, where he focused on transactional and litigation matters.

Jay Thompson

Jay Thompson has extensive experience representing private companies, business owners, family offices and investors in mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital transactions and private securities offerings. Jay serves as general counsel to many of his clients, their management, and board of directors, helping to shape and execute their business strategies, facilitate growth and liquidity, as well as to advise them on day-to-day legal and other strategic issues. He is known for his practical approach to business issues. Contact Jay at JThompson@jmbm.com or 949.623.7258

Marianne Martin

Marianne Martin has nearly fifteen years of experience advising clients on a variety of commercial, financing, bankruptcy, restructuring and M&A matters, with a particular niche dealing with distressed and/or turnaround situations. Her clients frequently include private equity and hedge funds, independent sponsors, family offices, public and private corporations, financial institutions and banks, healthcare-related companies, municipalities and venture capital funds. She has represented clients in various capacities, including as borrowers/debtors, lenders, acquirers, and agents/trustees in negotiating and documenting complex commercial transactions, out-of-court restructuring transactions and advising on purchasing considerations in secondary market debt transactions. Contact Marianne at MMartin@jmbm.com or 310.201.3531

Trevor Countryman

Trevor Countryman is an associate in the firm's Real Estate Department. He advises clients in all aspects of real estate transactions including property acquisitions and dispositions, financing, leasing, development and construction. Trevor's clients range from large funds to individual developers and opportunistic investors, engaged in deals involving office, retail, multi-family, single-family, mixed-use and hotel properties. Contact Trevor Countryman at 310.201.3546 or TCountryman@jmbm.com.

Vanessa Han

Vanessa Han is an associate in JMBM's Corporate group. Vanessa can be reached at VHan@jmbm.com or 310.785.5383

Vince Farhat

Vince Farhat is Chair of JMBM's White Collar Defense and Investigations practice. Vince has extensive jury trial experience and focuses his practice on representing companies and individuals in criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions by government enforcement agencies, as well as complex federal litigation. He also advises companies in connection with complex and sensitive internal investigations. Prior to joining JMBM, Vince served as an assistant United States attorney in the Major Frauds Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. Contact Vince Farhat at 310.785.5382 or VFarhat@jmbm.com.

Sarah G. Hartman

Sarah G. Hartman is a partner in JMBM's Litigation Group and a member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. Sarah is an experienced litigator who advises and represents clients through all aspects of litigation, from inception through trial and appeal. She advises and represents clients in the hospitality industry, including the termination of hotel management agreements and franchise agreements. Sarah also advises and represents clients on women's health technology issues, intellectual property matters, and complex commercial disputes, including breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, breach of contract, unfair competition, products liability, employment litigation, class action defense, false advertising and other complex financial disputes. Contact Sarah Hartman at 949.623.7243 or SGHartman@jmbm.com.

Michael H. Strub, Jr.

Michael H. Strub, Jr. is a partner in JMBM's Litigation Group and a member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. He is a highly skilled trial and appellate attorney who has handled high-stakes, complex commercial and business cases for 30 years including disputes arising out of hotel construction, lending, and bankruptcy. In addition, he has represented plaintiffs and defendants in business and commercial disputes in a variety of areas. Contact Michael H. Strub, Jr. at 949.623.7233 or MStrub@jmbm.com.

Ask the Hotel Lawyer™ is a quarterly column that I write for JMBM's Global Hospitality Advisor®. If you have a question you would like to submit to Ask the Hotel Lawyer™ please use the comments box below. While your question may not be of sufficient general interest for the column, I will try to respond to you individually if you leave your contact information below.
Jim Butler.

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