On a sadder note, I must report the death of one of our senior management team. In early August, Dan Williamson, along with his wife and youngest son, was killed when their private aircraft crashed in southwestern Michigan. You will find a memorial page dedicated to this fine business executive elsewhere in the report. For my part, I had the pleasure of knowing and working with Dan for 20 years. He was a personal friend and he will be missed.

During 2002, our stock appreciated 18.4%, while the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 22.1% and 15.1%, respectively. The year 2003 promises to be another great opportunity for Brown & Brown. I want to personally thank all of our 3,400-plus employees for a job well done in 2002. 2003 is before us – let’s take advantage of every opportunity to “run up the score.”

J. Hyatt Brown, CPCU, CLU
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer