Northern California Power Agency

Ben Reyes counsels the firm's municipal and special district clients in the areas of energy, construction and procurement law, information technology and municipal governance. He chairs the firm's Public Contract and Construction Practice Group, and is a member of the Public Power and Telecom Practice Group. He is the City Attorney for the City of Pinole, and serves as counsel to over 10 cities and special districts. Ben is also the Assistant General Counsel for the Northern California Power Agency and the Stege Sanitary District. Ben has subject matter expertise in public contract and procurement law and has litigated several cases involving major public works projects. Ben is well-versed in competitive bidding, prequalification and claims resolution. He has written and revised contract specifications for several public agency clients. Ben also represents public agency clients in high-technology, software and information system procurement projects. Prior to joining Meyers Nave, Ben served as general counsel and secretary of Utility.com, a former internet-based energy and utility service provider. There, he helped to raise over $22 million in capital investments and formed an international subsidiary based in Europe. He also managed the regulatory affairs of the company's energy, telecommunication and broadband services in 45 states. As chief counsel, Ben directed all legal activity and corporate transactions of the company. Prior to Utility.com, Ben served as in-house counsel at the East Bay Municipal Utility District, where he represented the board and senior management on a wide variety of legal and governmental matters. Ben served also as a deputy city attorney for the City of San Jose where he litigated matters involving code enforcement and represented the City's police and public works departments in major tort and contract claims. Ben is an active member of the Filipino Bar Association of Northern California. He sits as a judge on the McCullum Youth Court Project and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Alameda Free Library Foundation. Ben received his undergraduate degree with honors from the University of California at Berkeley and his J.D. degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law. He teaches trial advocacy skills at Stanford Law School and at USF School of Law.

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Mr. Buchholz is one of our founders. He has served as a Director and as Chairman of the Board since August 1991; Chief Executive Officer from December 2001 until August 2002 and from 1984 until July 1994; President from 1984 until August 1991; and Chairman of the Board of SWS Securities, Inc., our principal subsidiary (SWS Securities), from August 1993 to May 1996. Mr. Buchholz has been associated with Southwest Securities in various executive capacities since its inception in 1972. Mr. Buchholz currently serves on the board of directors of U.S. Home Systems, Inc., a home remodeling and specialty home improvement company. He is a past director of the Securities Industry Association (SIA), past Chairman of the Executive Committee of the South Central District of the SIA, past member of the Boards of Governors of the NYSE and the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), and past President and Director of the Texas Stock and Bond Dealers Association.

Ed Webman is a third-generation pharmacist born and raised in Orlando, FL. He began his pharmacy career as a teenager working in a family-owned pharmacy in Orlando. He then attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, graduating with a BS in Pharmacy in 1983. Ed worked as a chain pharmacist and later for an independent pharmacy in southwest Florida. During this time, he served as a consultant pharmacist and assisted with the implementation of the company's pharmacy computer system. This experience led him to his work with QS/1 Data Systems. Ed worked with QS/1 and was responsible for sales, installation and training with pharmacies throughout Florida. In his years with QS/1, Ed installed over 250 QS/1 systems in independent, hospital and a variety of specialty niche pharmacies. In 1987, Ed returned to Webster Drugs, his family's business in Orlando, expanded and grew the business substantially, then bought a second store. In 1997, he sold his two pharmacies to Palm Beach Pharmacy, which later became Fedco Drugs, and accepted a position as an operating partner with that company. With Fedco, Ed served as Sr. Vice President and the Director of Pharmacy, targeting niche markets by developing specialties in the existing pharmacies that included compounding, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, pediatrics, hospice and oncology. He also directed the company's acquisition and divestiture program until the company was sold in 2001. In 2002, Ed started Central Florida Pharmacy/Advanced Medical, a specialty pharmacy and specialty DME supplier. The pharmacy was an outpatient pharmacy inside the MD Anderson Cancer Center-Orlando and the DME business was a mail-order diabetes supplier. He grew the businesses from the ground up, sold them both in 2007. Ed lives in Orlando with his wife and two teenage sons. He is active in his community, having served as a director for a local hospice and a senior center. Additionally, he volunteers in a variety of youth and community related activities. He is a long time member of the Florida Pharmacy Association and NCPA. Ed's presence on the Buy-Sell team adds additional breadth and experience in a number of areas including specialty pharmacy, compounding, and DME.

Irv Sitkoff is a 1954 graduate of the USC School of Pharmacy. The Class of 1954 was the first to graduate with the degree of Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) Irv has been a community pharmacist and pharmacy owner for 40 years. He recently sold his pharmacy but continues to practice at the same site under the new ownership. His professional activities and awards include CLAPA Pharmacist of the year, CPhA Bowl of Hygeia recipient, service on various committees of CPhA, APO Director, Blue Cross Oversite Committee, member LA-Care TAC committee, adjunct professor, USC School of Pharmacy. He is a member of CLAPA, ACA, APhA, CPhA, NCPA, QSAD and USC Associates. Irv has been and continues to be very active in community affairs. He is past President and current Treasurer of the Florence Firestone chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Enterprise Community Committee; member of the Empowerment Zone Oversite Committee and Model Cities program.

Raymond E. Wooldridge has served as a director of Westwood since its inception in December 2001. He has served as a director of Westwood Trust since 2000. He is a director of CEC Entertainment, Inc., a Dallas-based NYSE company that operates a chain of pizza and children's entertainment restaurants, D. A. Davidson & Company, Inc., an investment firm located in the Pacific Northwest. From 1986 to 1999, he was a director of SWS; from 1996 to 1999, he served as the Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Executive Committee of SWS; from 1993 to 1996, he served as Chief Executive Officer of SWS; and from 1986 to 1993, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of SWS. He is a past Chairman of the National Securities Clearing Corporation, a national clearing agency registered with the SEC and past Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the National Association of Securities Dealers.

Stephanie was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta at Miami University. She is currently an active member of APhA-ASP, GPhA, and NCPA. Her achievements include certification in Immunization Delivery, Diabetes Management, ACLS, BLS, and PALS.