Commercial Paper Dealer Agreement

1.

Offers, Sales and Resales of Notes.

1.1

While (i) the Issuer has and shall have no obligation to sell the Notes to the Dealer or to permit the Dealer to arrange any sale of the Notes for the account of the Issuer, and (ii) the Dealer has and shall have no obligation to purchase the Notes from the Issuer or to arrange any sale of the Notes for the account of the Issuer, the parties hereto agree that in any case where the Dealer purchases Notes from the Issuer, or arranges for the sale of Notes by the Issuer, such Notes will be purchased or sold by the Dealer in reliance on the representations, warranties, covenants and agreements of the Issuer contained herein or made pursuant hereto and on the terms and conditions and in the manner provided herein.

1.2

So long as this Agreement shall remain in effect, and in addition to the limitations contained in Section 1.7 hereof, the Issuer shall not, without the consent of the Dealer, offer, solicit or accept offers to purchase, or sell, any Notes except in transactions with one or more dealers which may from time to time after the date hereof become dealers with respect to the Notes by executing with the Issuer one or more agreements which contain provisions substantially identical to those contained in Section 1 of this Agreement, of which the Issuer hereby undertakes to provide the Dealer prompt notice. In no event shall the Issuer offer, solicit or accept offers to purchase, or sell, any Notes directly on its own behalf in transactions with persons other than broker-dealers as specifically permitted in this Section 1.2.

1.3

The Notes shall be in a minimum denomination of $250,000 or integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof, will bear such interest rates, if interest bearing, or will be sold at such discount from their face amounts, as shall be agreed upon by the Dealer and the Issuer, shall have a maturity not exceeding 397 days from the date of issuance and may have such terms as are specified in Exhibit C hereto or the Private Placement Memorandum. The Notes shall not contain any provision for extension, renewal or automatic “rollover.”

1.4

The authentication and issuance of, and payment for, the Notes shall be effected in accordance with the Issuing and Paying Agency Agreement, and the Notes shall be either individual physical certificates or book-entry notes evidenced by one or more master notes (each, a “Master Note”) registered in the name of The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee, in the form or forms annexed to the Issuing and Paying Agency Agreement.

1.5

If the Issuer and the Dealer shall agree on the terms of the purchase of any Note by the Dealer or the sale of any Note arranged by the Dealer (including, but not limited to, agreement with respect to the date of issue, purchase price, principal amount, maturity and interest rate or interest rate index and margin (in the case of interest-bearing Notes) or discount thereof (in the case of Notes issued on a discount basis), and appropriate compensation for the Dealer’s services hereunder) pursuant to this Agreement, the Issuer shall cause such Note to be issued and delivered in accordance with the terms of the Issuing and Paying Agency Agreement and payment for such Note shall be made by the purchaser thereof, either directly or through the Dealer, to the Issuing and Paying Agent, for the account of the Issuer. Except as otherwise agreed, in the event that the Dealer is acting as an agent of the Issuer and a purchaser shall either fail to accept delivery of or make payment for a Note on the date fixed for settlement, the Dealer shall promptly notify the Issuer, and if the Dealer has theretofore paid the Issuer for the Note, the Issuer will promptly return such funds to the Dealer against its return of the Note to the Issuer, in the case of a certificated Note, and upon notice of such failure in the case of a book-entry Note. If such failure occurred for any reason other than default by the Dealer, the Issuer shall reimburse the Dealer on an equitable basis for the Dealer’s loss of the use of such funds for the period such funds were credited to the Issuer’s account.

1.6

All offers and sales of the Notes by the Issuer shall be effected pursuant to the exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act provided by Section 4(2) thereof, which exempts transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering. The Dealer and the Issuer hereby establish and agree to observe the following procedures in connection with offers, sales and subsequent resales or other transfers of the Notes:

(a)

Offers and sales of the Notes by or through the Dealer shall be made by the Dealer only to: (i) investors reasonably believed by the Dealer to be Qualified Institutional Buyers, Institutional Accredited Investors or Sophisticated Individual Accredited Investors and (ii) non-bank fiduciaries or agents that will be purchasing Notes for one or more accounts, each of which is reasonably believed by the Dealer to be an Institutional Accredited Investor or Sophisticated Individual Accredited Investor.

(b)

Resales and other transfers of the Notes by the holders thereof shall be made only in accordance with the restrictions in the legend described in clause (e) below.

(c)

No general solicitation or general advertising shall be used in connection with the offering of the Notes. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, without the prior written approval of the Dealer, which shall not be unreasonably withheld, the Issuer shall not issue any press release or place or publish any “tombstone” or other advertisement relating to the Notes.

(d)

No sale of Notes to any one purchaser shall be for less than $250,000 principal or face amount, and no Note shall be issued in a smaller principal or face amount. If the purchaser is a non-bank fiduciary acting on behalf of others, each person for whom such purchaser is acting must purchase at least $250,000 principal or face amount of Notes.

(e)

Offers and sales of the Notes by the Issuer through the Dealer acting as agent for the Issuer shall be made in accordance with Rule 506 under the Securities Act, and shall be subject to the restrictions described in the legend appearing on Exhibit A hereto. A legend substantially to the effect of such Exhibit A shall appear as part of the Private Placement Memorandum used in connection with offers and sales of Notes hereunder, as well as on each individual certificate representing a Note and each Master Note representing book-entry Notes offered and sold pursuant to this Agreement.

(f)

The Dealer shall furnish or shall have furnished to each purchaser of Notes for which it has acted as the Dealer a copy of the then-current Private Placement Memorandum unless such purchaser has previously received a copy of the Private Placement Memorandum as then in effect. The Private Placement Memorandum shall expressly state that any person to whom Notes are offered shall have an opportunity to ask questions of, and receive information from, the Issuer and the Dealer and shall provide the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the persons from whom information regarding the Issuer may be obtained.

(g)

The Issuer agrees, for the benefit of the Dealer and each of the holders and prospective purchasers from time to time of the Notes that, if at any time the Issuer shall not be subject to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, the Issuer will furnish, upon request and at its expense, to the Dealer and to holders and prospective purchasers of Notes information required by Rule 144A(d)(4)(i) in compliance with Rule 144A(d).

(h)

In the event that any Note offered or to be offered by the Dealer would be ineligible for resale under Rule 144A, the Issuer shall immediately notify the Dealer (by telephone, confirmed in writing) of such fact and shall promptly prepare and deliver to the Dealer an amendment or supplement to the Private Placement Memorandum describing the Notes that are ineligible, the reason for such ineligibility and any other relevant information relating thereto.

(i)

In the event that the Issuer issues commercial paper in the United States market in reliance upon, and in compliance with, the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(3) of the Securities Act, the Issuer agrees that (a) the proceeds from the sale of the Notes will be segregated from the proceeds of the sale of any such commercial paper by being placed in a separate account; (b) the Issuer will institute appropriate corporate procedures to ensure that the offers and sales of notes issued by the Issuer pursuant to the Section 3(a)(3) exemption are not integrated with offerings and sales of Notes hereunder; and (c) the Issuer will comply with each of the requirements of Section 3(a)(3) of the Securities Act in selling commercial paper or other short-term debt securities other than the Notes in the United States. The

Dealer agrees with the Issuer not to offer or sell any Notes in a manner that might call into question the availability of the private offering exemption contained in Section 4(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 144A thereunder, it being agreed that the foregoing procedures do not call into question the availability of such exemption.

1.7

The Issuer hereby represents and warrants to the Dealer, in connection with offers, sales and resales of Notes, as follows:

(a)

The Issuer hereby confirms to the Dealer that (except as permitted by Section 1.6(i)) within the preceding six months neither the Issuer nor any person other than the Dealer or the other dealers referred to in Section 1.2 hereof acting on behalf of the Issuer has offered or sold any Notes, or any substantially similar security of the Issuer (including, without limitation, medium-term notes issued by the Issuer), to, or solicited offers to buy any such security from, any person other than the Dealer or the other dealers referred to in Section 1.2 hereof. The Issuer also agrees that (except as permitted by Section 1.6(i)), as long as the Notes are being offered for sale by the Dealer and the other dealers referred to in Section 1.2 hereof as contemplated hereby and until at least six months after the offer of Notes hereunder has been terminated, neither the Issuer nor any person other than the Dealer or the other dealers referred to in Section 1.2 hereof (except as contemplated by Section 1.2 hereof) will offer the Notes or any substantially similar security of the Issuer for sale to, or solicit offers to buy any such security from, any person other than the Dealer or the other dealers referred to in Section 1.2 hereof, it being understood that such agreement is made with a view to bringing the offer and sale of the Notes within the exemption provided by Section 4(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 506 thereunder and shall survive any termination of this Agreement. The Issuer hereby represents and warrants that it has not taken or omitted to take, and will not take or omit to take, any action that would cause the offering and sale of Notes hereunder to be integrated with any other offering of securities, whether such offering is made by the Issuer or some other party or parties, under circumstances that would cause the offering and sale of the Notes by the Issuer to fail to be exempt under Section 4(2) of the Securities Act.

(b)

The Issuer represents and agrees that the proceeds of the sale of the Notes are not currently contemplated to be used for the purpose of buying, carrying or trading securities within the meaning of Regulation T and the interpretations thereunder by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. In the event that the Issuer determines to use such proceeds for the purpose of buying, carrying or trading securities, whether in connection with an acquisition of another company or otherwise, the Issuer shall give the Dealer at least two business days’ prior written notice to that effect. The Issuer shall also give the Dealer prompt notice of the actual date that it commences to purchase securities with the proceeds of the Notes. Thereafter, in the event that the Dealer purchases Notes as principal and does not resell such Notes on the day of such purchase, to the extent necessary to comply with Regulation T and the interpretations thereunder, the Dealer will sell such Notes either (i) only to offerees it reasonably believes to be Qualified Institutional Buyers or to Qualified Institutional Buyers it reasonably believes are acting for other Qualified Institutional Buyers, in each case in accordance with Rule 144A or (ii) in a manner which would not cause a violation of Regulation T and the interpretations thereunder.

2.

Representations and Warranties of Issuer.

2.1

The Issuer is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation and has all the requisite power and authority to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under the Notes, this Agreement and the Issuing and Paying Agency Agreement.

2.2

This Agreement and the Issuing and Paying Agency Agreement have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Issuer and constitute legal, valid and binding obligations of the Issuer enforceable against the Issuer in accordance with their terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, and subject, as to enforceability, to general principles of equity (regardless of whether enforcement is sought in a proceeding in equity or at law).

2.3

The Notes have been duly authorized, and when issued and delivered as provided in the Issuing and Paying Agency Agreement, will be duly and validly issued and will constitute legal, valid and binding obligations of the Issuer enforceable against the Issuer in accordance with their terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, and subject, as to enforceability, to general principles of equity (regardless of whether enforcement is sought in a proceeding in equity or at law).

2.4

Assuming compliance by the Dealer with the procedures applicable to it set forth in Section 1 hereof, the offer and sale of the Notes in the manner contemplated hereby do not require registration of the Notes under the Securities Act, pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(2) thereof, and no indenture in respect of the Notes is required to be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended.

2.5

The Notes will rank at least pari passu with all other unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness of the Issuer.

2.6

Assuming compliance by the Dealer with the procedures applicable to it set forth in Section 1 hereof, no consent or action of, or filing or registration with, any governmental or public regulatory body or authority, including the SEC, is required to authorize, or is otherwise required in connection with the execution, delivery or performance of, this Agreement, the Notes or the Issuing and Paying Agency Agreement, except as may be required by the securities or Blue Sky laws of the various states in connection with the offer and sale of the Notes.

2.7

Neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the Issuing and Paying Agency Agreement, nor the issuance of the Notes in accordance with the Issuing and Paying Agency Agreement, nor the fulfillment of or compliance with the terms and provisions hereof or thereof by the Issuer, will (i) result in the creation or imposition of any mortgage, lien, charge or encumbrance of any nature whatsoever upon any of the properties or assets of the Issuer, or (ii) violate or result in a breach or a default under any of the terms of the Issuer’s charter documents or by-laws, any contract or instrument to which the Issuer is a party or by which it

or its property is bound, or any law or regulation, or any order, writ, injunction or decree of any court or government instrumentality, to which the Issuer is subject or by which it or its property is bound, which breach or default could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the financial condition of the Issuer and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or the ability of the Issuer to perform its obligations under this Agreement, the Notes or the Issuing and Paying Agency Agreement.

2.8

All of the agreements or indentures listed as exhibits in exhibit number 10.1 through 10.23 to the Issuer’s Annual Report of Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 are all of the contracts required to be so filed.

2.9

Except as disclosed in the Company Information, there is no litigation or governmental proceeding pending, or to the knowledge of the Issuer threatened, against or affecting the Issuer or any of its subsidiaries which might reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse change in the financial condition of the Issuer and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or the ability of the Issuer to perform its obligations under this Agreement, the Notes or the Issuing and Paying Agency Agreement.

2.10

The Issuer is not an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

2.11

Neither the Private Placement Memorandum nor the Company Information contains any untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

2.12

Each (a) issuance of Notes by the Issuer hereunder and (b) amendment or supplement of the Private Placement Memorandum shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Issuer to the Dealer, as of the date thereof, that, both before and after giving effect to such issuance and after giving effect to such amendment or supplement, (i) the representations and warranties given by the Issuer set forth in this Section 2 remain true and correct on and as of such date as if made on and as of such date, (ii) in the case of an issuance of Notes, the Notes being issued on such date have been duly and validly issued and constitute legal, valid and binding obligations of the Issuer, enforceable against the Issuer in accordance with their terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and subject, as to enforceability, to general principles of equity (regardless of whether enforcement is sought in a proceeding in equity or at law) and (iii) in the case of an issuance of Notes, since the date of the most recent Private Placement Memorandum, there has been no material adverse change in the financial condition of the Issuer and its subsidiaries taken as a whole which has not been disclosed to the Dealer in writing.

3.

Covenants and Agreements of Issuer.

3.1

The Issuer will give the Dealer prompt notice (but in any event prior to any subsequent issuance of Notes hereunder) of any amendment to, modification of or waiver with respect to, the Notes or the Issuing and Paying Agency Agreement, including a complete copy of any such amendment, modification or waiver.

3.2

The Issuer shall, whenever there shall occur any change in the financial condition of the Issuer and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or any development or occurrence in relation to the Issuer that would have a material adverse effect on the holders of the Notes or potential holders of the Notes (including any downgrading or receipt of any notice of intended downgrading in the rating accorded any of the Issuer’s securities by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization which has published a rating of the Notes), promptly, and in any event prior to any subsequent issuance of Notes hereunder, notify the Dealer (by telephone, confirmed in writing) of such change, development or occurrence.

3.3

The Issuer shall from time to time furnish to the Dealer such information as the Dealer may reasonably request, which information is either prepared by or on behalf of the Issuer or its subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business or is otherwise available to the Borrower or its subsidiaries without unreasonable e burden or expense, regarding (i) the Issuer’s operations and financial condition, (ii) the due authorization and execution of the Notes and (iii) the Issuer’s ability to pay the Notes as they mature.

3.4

The Issuer will take all such action as the Dealer may reasonably request to ensure that each offer and each sale of the Notes will comply with any applicable state Blue Sky laws; provided, however, that the Issuer shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process or to qualify as a foreign corporation in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so subject.

3.5

The Issuer will not be in default of any of its obligations hereunder, under the Notes or under the Issuing and Paying Agency Agreement, at any time that any of the Notes are outstanding.

3.6

The Issuer shall not issue Notes hereunder until the Dealer shall have received (a) an opinion of counsel to the Issuer, addressed to the Dealer, reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Dealer, (b) a copy of the executed Issuing and Paying Agency Agreement as then in effect, (c) a copy of resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors of the Issuer, reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Dealer and certified by the Secretary or similar officer of the Issuer, authorizing execution and delivery by the Issuer of this Agreement, the Issuing and Paying Agency Agreement and the Notes and consummation by the Issuer of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, (d) prior to the issuance of any book-entry Notes represented by a master note registered in the name of DTC or its nominee, a copy of the executed Letter of Representations among the Issuer, the Issuing and Paying Agent and DTC and of the executed master note, (e) prior to the issuance of any Notes in physical form, a copy of such form (unless attached to this Agreement or the Issuing and Paying Agency Agreement) and (f) such other certificates, opinions, letters and documents as the Dealer shall have reasonably requested.

4.

Disclosure.

4.1

The Private Placement Memorandum and its contents (other than the Dealer Information) shall be the sole responsibility of the Issuer. The Private Placement Memorandum shall contain a statement expressly offering an opportunity for each prospective purchaser to ask questions of, and receive answers from, the Issuer concerning the offering of Notes and to obtain relevant additional information which the Issuer possesses or can acquire without unreasonable effort or expense.

4.2

The Issuer agrees to promptly furnish the Dealer the Company Information as it becomes available.

4.3

(a) The Issuer further agrees to notify the Dealer promptly upon the occurrence of any event relating to or affecting the Issuer that would cause the Company Information then in existence to include an untrue statement of a material fact or to omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements contained therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Issuer shall have no obligation to so notify the Dealer if (i) the Issuer has temporarily suspended offers and sales of the Notes and has given the Dealer written notice of such suspension, and (ii) there are no Notes outstanding. In the event that the Issuer wishes to resume offers and sales of the Notes, it shall (i) give the Dealer notice thereof, and (ii) either (x) confirm that the then current Private Placement Memorandum and Company Information do not violate the representation contained in Section 2.11 of this Agreement, or (y) if the representation contained in Section 2.11 cannot be made, provide to the Dealer an updated Private Placement Memorandum that will permit the representation to be made. The Dealer agrees that, upon such notification, all solicitations and sales of Notes shall be suspended.

5.

Indemnification and Contribution.

5.1

The Issuer will indemnify and hold harmless the Dealer, each individual, corporation, partnership, trust, association or other entity controlling the Dealer, any affiliate of the Dealer or any such controlling entity and their respective directors, officers, employees, partners, incorporators, shareholders, servants, trustees and agents (hereinafter the “Indemnitees”) against any and all liabilities, penalties, suits, causes of action, losses, damages, claims, costs and expenses (including, without limitation, fees and disbursements of counsel) or judgments of whatever kind or nature (each a “Claim”), imposed upon, incurred by or asserted against the Indemnitees arising out of or based upon (i) any allegation that the Private Placement Memorandum, the Company Information or any information provided by the Issuer to the Dealer included (as of any relevant time) or includes an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted (as of any relevant time) or omits to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading or (ii) arising out of or based upon the breach by the Issuer of any agreement, covenant or representation made in or pursuant to this Agreement. This indemnification shall not apply to the extent that the Claim arises out of or is based upon Dealer Information or that the Claim is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted from an Indemnitee’s gross negligence or willful misconduct.

5.2

Provisions relating to claims made for indemnification under this Section 5 are set forth on Exhibit B to this Agreement.

5.3

In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in circumstances in which the indemnification provided for in this Section 5 is held to be unavailable or insufficient to hold harmless the Indemnitees, although applicable in accordance with the terms of this Section 5, the Issuer shall contribute to the aggregate costs incurred by the Dealer in connection with any Claim in the proportion of the respective economic interests of the Issuer and the Dealer; provided, however, that such contribution by the Issuer shall be in an amount such that the aggregate costs incurred by the Dealer do not exceed the aggregate of the commissions and fees earned by the Dealer hereunder with respect to the issue or issues of Notes to which such Claim relates. The respective economic interests shall be calculated by reference to the aggregate proceeds to the Issuer of the Notes issued hereunder and the aggregate commissions and fees earned by the Dealer hereunder.

6.

Definitions.

6.1

“Claim” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.1.

6.2

“Company Information” at any given time shall mean the Private Placement Memorandum (other than the Dealer Information) together with, to the extent applicable, (i) the Issuer’s most

recent report on Form