For immediate release: Feb. 26, 2007

Matthew G. Stuller Sr., chairman and chief executive officer of Stuller Inc. in Lafayette, La., has been appointed to the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's New Orleans Branch. His term began Feb. 9, 2007, and runs through Dec. 31, 2009.

Stuller began his career as a jeweler apprentice and salesman in 1968. In 1972, he founded Stuller Inc., which has grown into North America's largest jewelry manufacturer and distributor. Stuller attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and received an honorary doctorate degree.

Stuller is a board member of the Gemological Institute of America, a member of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, and the chair of the Louisiana Economic and Workforce Development Committee.

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta branch directors provide economic information from the branch territory to the district bank's president and head office directors, who use the information in formulating monetary policy and making discount rate recommendations.

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., appoints three of the directors of the New Orleans Branch, and the Atlanta head office directors appoint four. Stuller was an Atlanta head office appointee.