NOTE 7 - Stock Repurchase Program



The Company’s Stock Repurchase Program was announced on January 17, 2007.  At initiation, the program’s terms specified that up to 1,000,000 shares of its common stock could be purchased during the subsequent twelve months. Subsequently, the Board has amended the program a number of times to both extend its term and increase the maximum number of shares which could be repurchased.  The program allowed for a maximum repurchase of up to 3,000,000 shares through the period ending December 31, 2016.  The Company did not extend the Stock Repurchase Program, and as a result it terminated as of December 31, 2016.  From the program’s onset through December 31, 2016, the total number of shares repurchased by the Company was 2,183,704 with an average price paid per share of $3.57 and a total cost of treasury stock of $7,806,605.   The Stock Repurchase Program authorized purchases in privately negotiated transactions as well as in the open market.  In October 2008, the Company's Board of Directors authorized repurchases in private transactions under the Stock Repurchase Program of shares issued under the Company's equity compensation plans to directors, employees and other service providers at the market price on the effective date of the repurchase request. Total repurchases under this provision were limited to an aggregate of 450,000 shares per calendar year and to a maximum of 50,000 shares annually per individual. There were no repurchases of any kind under the program for the three months ended December 31, 2016 or 2015.