Whippany, New Jersey - April 9, 2004 - The National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) Board of Directors has placed NECA President Bob Anderson, Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel Ken Levy and Vice President, Treasurer and CFO Ron Cook on temporary administrative leave.  The Board took these actions after a routine audit revealed questions regarding implementation of Board compensation policies.  This action was taken on a temporary basis while an independent review is conducted. The Board has engaged an independent law firm to conduct the review. 

The auditors raised no concerns regarding NECA’s access charge pooling, universal service fund data collection responsibilities, cost accounting procedures, other regulatory or legal matters, or any of the organization’s contracts or its dealings with customers.  Further, no FCC compliance issues have been identified. 

The Board appointed NECA Board Chairman Bill Hegmann interim President and CEO. Mr. Hegmann, General Manager of Southwest Arkansas Telephone Cooperative, will supervise NECA’s operations at the company’s Whippany headquarters.