Training and Education Update May 10, 2000.

New FM Training Center in Southbridge, MA Moves Closer to Reality - On March 31, 2000 a lease signing ceremony for the new Department of Defense Executive Management Training Center was held in Southbridge, Massachusetts. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, in his remarks before those assembled said, "...the new Center will train personnel from all across the country who will carry out the finance and accounting missions of the Pentagon. One aspect of the program will bring the most senior civil servants here from throughout the Defense Department - to give them the kind of advanced management training that America's best corporations provide for their senior executives."

"This will be a state of the art center. It will provide training in basic financial management skills. It will teach DFAS personnel how to use advanced telecommunications and computer techniques."

These programs have already begun, on a temporary basis in Sturbridge. Since 1997, over 120 have been held and over 1800 Defense Department employees have been trained. But they needed a permanent home, and now they have one" Kennedy said.

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers on behalf of the Department of Defense (DoD) signed a multi year lease with Southbridge Associates LLC for use of space in the Southbridge Executive Management Training and Conference Center in Southbridge, Massachusetts. Under the auspices of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service and the Defense Leadership and Management Program, DoD will conduct a variety of executive development courses for senior-level employees. Some of these graduate-level courses include: Financial Accounting, Principles of Microeconomics, Statistics for Managers, and Labor and Employee Relations.

The new center will be built at the Southbridge Business Center on the site of the former American Optical Company The center will be designed as a residential conference and training facility with approximately 42,000 square feet of conference and training space, approximately 32,000 square feet of administrative office space for DoD use, and a 206-room residential facility Approximately 3000 attendees will be trained here annually DoD courses will be up to two weeks in duration. Additional training space, to include an amphitheater and multipurpose room, will be used by DoD and also be available for lease to commercial businesses, private organizations, and individuals. The center will feature state-of-the-art communication equipment that incorporates the latest innovations in fiber optic connections and systems.

Construction of the facility is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2000. Southbridge Associates LLC, the developer, expects to spend $80 million in new construction and improvements. The firm also plans to hire a commercial contractor to manage the center's operations.