For release May 17, 1996

Jack Guynn, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, has announced that eight new members have joined the Bank's Small Business, Agriculture and Labor Advisory Council.

The small business representatives are Luis Ajamil, principal, Bermello, Ajamil and Partners, Inc., an architectural and engineering firm in Miami; Peter E. Black, chief executive officer, Kliklok Corp., a packaging machinery manufacturer in Decatur, Ga.; John Harris, president, Corporate Environments, Inc., a supplier of contract office furniture in Atlanta; and LaVergne L. Turpin, owner and manager, LaVergne's TeleMessaging, a provider of a variety of telecommunications services in Alexandria, La.

Representing agriculture are Benjamin F. Burkett, owner, B&B Farms, producing vegetables, beef cattle and timber in Petal, Miss.; and Virginia Larkin Martin, vice president, The Albemarle Corp., which is engaged primarily in cotton farming in Courtland, Ala.

Michael E. Bennett, UAW MAC adviser, Saturn Corp., automotive manufacturer in Spring Hill, Tenn., and Marilyn P. Lenard, president, Florida AFL-CIO in Tallahassee, Fla., represent labor.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta established the Small Business, Agriculture and Labor Advisory Council in 1985 to foster better communication among small business, agriculture and labor, the Bank and, ultimately, the Federal Reserve System. The advisory council, which meets twice a year, consists of 15 individuals. Members serve three-year terms.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta serves the Sixth Federal Reserve District, which encompasses Alabama, Florida, Georgia and parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. As part of the nation's central banking system, the Atlanta Fed takes part in setting national monetary policy, supervises and regulates commercial banks, and provides check processing and other payments services to depository institutions and the U.S. government.

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