[5] American Electronics Association Changing Name To AeA; Reflects "Robust Growth & Dynamism" Of Organization's Unique Council Structure.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 23, 2000

Responding to the substantial growth in its membership and keeping pace with the New Economy, the American Electronics Association announced today that it is changing its name to the more succinct "AeA."

AeA, the nation's largest high-tech trade association, also said that it is adopting a new tagline, "Advancing the Business of Technology," to highlight the organization's "unique leadership and the unrivaled vitality of its member companies in shaping the New Economy."

AeA said that these changes will be implemented over a 12-month period, to be finalized by October 2001, allowing time "to inform the press and affording reporters and editors ample time to adjust to the changes."

According to AeA, the name change resulted from a rigorous process that assessed the organization's identity. Over 600 interviews and four focus groups were held with members and prospects selected to be representative of the high-tech industry. The chief finding: Most in the industry already referred to the organization not by its full name but by its simple acronym.

"The simple beauty of adopting `AeA' as our new name is that it is a seemingly small step that also powerfully mirrors the big, positive developments occurring in our association and industry," said AeA's President and CEO William T. Archey.

E. Michael Thoben, Chairman and CEO of Interlink Electronics, Inc., in Camarillo, and current Cahirman of the AeA Los Angeles/Santa Barbara Council noted that AeA's membership has grown 25 percent in the past year, from less than 2,800 to more than 3,500 member companies today. "The tremendous growth has also been reflected at the local level where the Los Angeles/Santa Barbara Council added more than 30 new members in the same time frame."

He concluded, "The robust growth and dynamism of AeA nationally in no small measure parallels the changes in and from our industry. The high-tech industry has changed the very fabric of the American economy, creating an unprecedented period of rapid growth free of significant inflation - a New Economy indeed. And the continued rapid development of e-commerce and the Internet virtually ensure strong future growth and industry vigor. As a leader should, AeA will continue to embody the characteristics behind this success."