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 Managing Partner Joins Montgomery Co. Board of Investment Trustees FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 15, 2008 – George S. Willie, Managing Partner of the regional accounting firm Bert Smith & Company, has accepted an appointment to the Montgomery County Board of Investment Trustees. The Board oversees more than $3 billion in investments that fund the County’s Employee Retirement Plans, including the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS), the Retirement Savings Plan (RSP), the Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP) and the Retiree Health Benefits Trust (RHBT). “It's a distinct honor to have been asked to join the Board as a member of the general public,” comments Mr. Willie, an accounting professional with nearly three decades of experience. The Board is comprised of 13 trustees, all of whom are appointed by the County Executive and confirmed by the County Council. The ERS is a defined benefit pension plan for County employees hired prior to October 1994 (except for public safety bargaining unit employees), with reported net assets of $2.7 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007. As of that date, the ERS had 5,294 active participants and 4,997 retirees and beneficiaries receiving benefits. The RSP is the County’s defined contribution plan for all non-public safety and certain public safety employees hired on or after October 1, 1994. As of June 30, 2007, the RSP had $120.6 million in net assets and 4,253 active and 711 inactive participants. The DCP is a voluntary plan that had $249.8 million in net assets and 3,940 participants at the end of the last fiscal year. The RHBT was established this year as a Section 115 Trust to provide funding for retiree health benefits for retirees and their dependents. Mr. Willie, who is both a CPA and holder of the CGFM designation, looks forward to helping the Board accomplish its mission. “As a long-time resident of the Washington, D.C. area,” he observes, “it’s rewarding to be asked to use my expertise and perspective to help one of our major local jurisdictions honor its fiduciary commitment to its employees and retirees.” Mr. Willie’s accounting career includes 28 years at Bert Smith & Co., he has been active in professional groups in a broad variety of capacities. He currently chairs the President’s Advisory Council of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), and has served as an assistant professor of accounting at both UDC and Howard University. He is heavily involved in activities aimed at enhancing the educational options and resources available to African Americans pursuing careers in accounting. He previously chaired the Minority Initiatives Committee of the American Institute of Certified Professional Accountants, and is also former head of NABA’s Division of Firms. Bert Smith & Company includes more than 70 accountants, management consultants and attorneys who serve clients in government agencies, healthcare, nonprofits, associations and education. The firm provides a full range of accounting services to commercial clients, and has provided accounting services to virtually every cabinet-level department of the U.S. Government, as well as federal government agencies and numerous cities, counties, authorities and commissions. |
   
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