Farmer Family Affirms Commitment
to Continue as Major Stockholders
TORRANCE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 14,
2005--Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ:FARM) announced the appointment of Carol
Farmer Waite, 58, to its Board of Directors. She is daughter of Roy F.
Farmer and sister of Roy E. Farmer, both of whom served as CEO and
Chairman. Her appointment at a special Board meeting on Thursday fills a
vacancy created with the passing of Roy E. Farmer.
"Carol will bring to the Board her
life-long enthusiasm for this Company. She has been involved with Farmer
Brothers her entire adult life as a past employee and longtime stockholder.
We know she will be an effective Board member and are confident that she
will do an outstanding job advocating our family's long-term commitment to
creating stockholder value and a stable workplace," said Richard Farmer,
Ph.D., her brother.
Ms. Farmer Waite earned a B.A. degree and
teaching credential at California State University, Long Beach. She taught
at Cox Elementary School in the Fountain Valley School District for 33 years
until her retirement last year. She continues as a school volunteer and
substitute teacher. She joined other family members in working for Farmer
Brothers in the early 1970s, starting in the Equipment Control Department.
Her son, Jonathan, is an employee at Farmer Brothers.
"Our family is unanimous in our commitment
to this Company. We've suffered a huge personal loss but we'd like to assure
the Company's employees, customers and stockholders that it is our wish for
Farmer Brothers Coffee to continue the legacy of my grandfather, father and
brother. Farmer Brothers is too big a part of our lives for us to change
that," said Ms. Farmer Waite.
Farmer Bros. Co. is an institutional coffee
roaster that sells a variety of coffee and allied products to the food
service industry. The Company's signature trucks and vans bearing the
"Consistently Good" logo are seen throughout Farmer Brothers' 28-state
service area. Farmer Brothers has paid a dividend for 51 consecutive years,
increased the dividend in each of the last seven consecutive years, and its
stock price has grown on a split-adjusted basis from $1.80 a share in 1980.