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<SEC-DOCUMENT>0000914760-10-000095.txt : 20101220
<SEC-HEADER>0000914760-10-000095.hdr.sgml : 20101220
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20100723103648
<PRIVATE-TO-PUBLIC>
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0000914760-10-000095
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	CORRESP
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
FILED AS OF DATE:		20100723

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			TOOTSIE ROLL INDUSTRIES INC
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000098677
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	SUGAR & CONFECTIONERY PRODUCTS [2060]
		IRS NUMBER:				221318955
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			VA
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		CORRESP

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		7401 S CICERO AVE
		CITY:			CHICAGO
		STATE:			IL
		ZIP:			60629
		BUSINESS PHONE:		7738383400

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		7401 S CICERO AVE
		CITY:			CHICAGO
		STATE:			IL
		ZIP:			60629

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	SWEETS CO OF AMERICA INC
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19660921
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>CORRESP
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    <title>tc0827_corjuly23.htm</title>
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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="center"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">7401 South Cicero Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60629</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; TEXT-DECORATION: underline">VIA EDGAR</font></font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Anne Nguyen Parker</font></div>

<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Branch Chief</font></div>

<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Division of Corporation Finance</font></div>

<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Securities and Exchange Commission</font></div>

<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">100 F St., N.E.</font></div>

<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Washington, D.C. 20549-0405</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Re:&#160;&#160;&#160;Comment Letter Dated</font></div>

<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;July 9, 2010 Regarding</font></div>

<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc.</font></div>

<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2009</font></div>

<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Filed March 1, 2010</font></div>

<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Definitive Proxy Statement</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;File No. 1-01361</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Dear Ms. Parker:</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">In connection with your review of the captioned filings of Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. (the &#8220;Company&#8221;), we respectfully submit the following responses to the comments in your letter of July 9, 2010.&#160;&#160;We have used the same number system and captions as reflected in your letter, and have included our response following each comment and question.</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Should you have any further comments or questions or need additional information, please correspond with the undersigned at our Chicago corporate address.&#160;&#160;Please also feel free to contact me at our Chicago headquarter office (773-838-3418).</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; TEXT-DECORATION: underline">Risk Factors, page 3</font></font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Comment No. 1:&#160;&#160;It appears that your management controls the outcome of all shareholder votes through its substantial ownership of common stock and Class B common stock.&#160;&#160;In this regard we also note that you are classified as a &#8220;controlled company&#8221; under NYSE listing standards.&#160;&#160;Please explain your basis for determining that this does not constitute a material risk that should be disclosed in this section.</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">In your response, please address the fact that outside shareholders effectively have no control over the election of directors or any other proposal submitted for a vote of shareholders.</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: -15.45pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Response: Although the Company does not believe that control by the Gordon family makes an investment in the Company&#8217;s common stock &#8220;speculative or risky&#8221; within the meaning of Regulation S-K, Item 503(c) because of the Company&#8217;s confidence that all our directors are well qualified and understand their fiduciary duties with respect to the interests of the Company&#8217;s stockholders, in future Form 10-K filings we will include the following additional risk factor substantially as follows:</font></div>

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<div style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="justify"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">The Company is a controlled company due to the common stock holdings of the Gordon family</font><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> &#8212; </font>The Gordon family&#8217;s share ownership represents a majority of the combined voting power of all classes of the Company's common stock as of December 31, 2010. As a result, the Gordon family has the power to elect the Company&#8217;s directors and approve actions requiring the approval of the shareholders of the Company.</font></div>
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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; TEXT-DECORATION: underline">Risk of dependence on large customers, page 4</font></font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Comment No. 2:&#160;&#160;We note that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has accounted for greater than 20% of your net sales in each of the last three years.&#160;&#160;We also note your disclosure that &#8220;the loss of one or more significant customers could have a material adverse effect on the Company&#8217;s business.&#8221;&#160;&#160;Please advise us whether you have any master distribution or similar contracts with Wal-Mart or any significant customer that require it to purchase, or for you to supply, specified amounts of your products.&#160;&#160;If you have such contracts, please disclose the material terms of such arrangements.&#160;&#160;In addition, please file any such agreements, or tell us why you are not required to file them pursuant to Item 601(b)(l0) of Regulation S-K.</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Response:&#160;&#160;The Company does not have any master distribution or similar contracts with Wal-Mart or any significant customer that require a customer to purchase, or the Company to supply, specified amounts of its products.</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; TEXT-DECORATION: underline">Definitive Proxy Statement Filed March 26, 2010</font></font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Comment No. 3:&#160;&#160;Please confirm in writing that you will comply with the following comments in all future filings.&#160;&#160;Provide us also with an example of the disclosure you intend to use.&#160;&#160;Please understand that after our review of your responses, we may raise additional comments.&#160;&#160;To the extent the following comments apply to disclosure in your Form 10-K, include corresponding draft revisions to that filing.</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Response:&#160;&#160;The Company will comply with the following comments in all future filings, including adding or revising disclosure substantially as indicated below as and when applicable.</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; TEXT-DECORATION: underline">Election to Directors, page 2</font></font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Comment No. 4:&#160;&#160;We note your disclosure in response to Item 401(e) of Regulation S-K, such as that Mr. Siebert &#8220;brings management expertise to the board along with finance and accounting knowledge.&#8221;&#160;&#160;You provide similar disclosure for each of the other director nominees.&#160;&#160;Please enhance your disclosure to provide the specific experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that led to the conclusion that the person should serve as a director.</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Response: The Company believes that it did discuss as to each of its directors the specific experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that actually led to the conclusion that each such person should serve as a director.&#160;&#160;Nonetheless, the Company will enhance its disclosure in future filings by revising its disclosure to add more detail as to these experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills substantially as follows:</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Melvin J. Gordon, 90, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer(1)(2)</font></div>
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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="justify"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Director since 1952; Chairman of the Board since 1962; Director and President of HDI Investment Corp., a family investment company.&#160;&#160;Mr. Gordon brings to the Board an in-depth operating knowledge of all aspects of the Company and comprehensive industry knowledge from his many years of experience in the confectionery industry, along with extensive prior experience as the Chairman and Chief Executive officer of another publicly held consumer packaged goods company.</font></div>
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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Ellen R. Gordon, 78, President and Chief Operating Officer(1)(2)</font></div>
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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="justify"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Director since 1969; President since 1978; Director and Vice-President of HDI Investment Corp., a family investment company.&#160;&#160;Mrs. Gordon also brings to the Board an in-depth knowledge of all aspects of the Company and comprehensive industry knowledge from her many years of experience in the confectionery industry.&#160;&#160;Mrs. Gordon has also served extensively on the advisory boards of several nationally recognized graduate business and medical schools and on the board of a large public company where she also chaired its audit committee.</font></div>
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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; TEXT-DECORATION: underline">Design of Executive Compensation Program to Mitigate Excessive Risk Taking, page 10</font></font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Comment No. 5:&#160;&#160;Please provide your basis for determining that no disclosure is required with respect to your non-executive officers.&#160;&#160;See Item 402(s) of Regulation S-K.</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Response: The compensation provided to our employees does not place a heavy emphasis on incentive compensation or the achievement of performance goals with high thresholds to receive payment.&#160;&#160;As is the case with executive officers, none of the non-executive officers or other employees receive stock options or other forms of equity compensation and management reserves the right to reduce potential bonus payments, including to zero, for subjective reasons in its sole discretion.&#160;&#160;A significant percentage of total employee compensation is fixed compensation.</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Comment No. 6:&#160;&#160;We note that you review your executive compensation to determine your competitiveness compared to &#8220;the market.&#8221;&#160;&#160;Please revise to indicate</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">whether the &#8220;market&#8221; you refer to is the same as the peer group that you benchmark against.&#160;&#160;In addition, while we note that you do not target any specific percentile of peer group compensation, please revise to indicate how &#8220;competitive&#8221; your executive compensation is as compared to these peer companies.</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Response:&#160;&#160;The &#8220;market" for this purpose is the same as the peer group that the board of directors evaluates from time to time with the compensation consultant.&#160;&#160;Our recent practice has been to evaluate peer group compensation practices every two years.&#160;&#160;We are unable to represent &#8220;how competitive&#8221; the executive compensation disclosed in our most recent proxy filing was compared to executive compensation disclosed by other peer group companies for fiscal year 2009.&#160;&#160;The last compensation evaluation conducted by the compensation consultant for the board of directors was in December 2008 and the intention is to have the consultant perform a similar evaluation of compensation practices later this year.&#160;&#160;Any requested statement regarding competitiveness at this time would not
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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Comment No. 7:&#160;&#160;It does not appear that you have filed the Management Incentive Plan.&#160;&#160;Please file the plan or explain your basis for omission.&#160;&#160;See Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S- K.</font></div>

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<div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"><font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">In response to the Commission&#8217;s comments, the Company hereby acknowledges that:</font></div>

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