Contact: Public Relations
(863) 680-4118

Williams Companies chairman speaks
at FSC's Cockroft Forum

LAKELAND, Fla. (Feb. 27, 2002) - Keith E. Bailey, chairman of the Williams Companies, Inc. of Tulsa, Okla., will deliver the address for the William B. Cockroft Forum on Free Enterprise to be held March 13 at Florida Southern College. Bailey will address community business and civic leaders at 12:30 p.m. in the Alumni Center of the Charles T. Thrift Building.

Bailey arrives in Lakeland on March 12. He will attend a student/faculty dinner at 6:30 p.m. and present an informal talk to approximately 75 business and economics faculty, students, members and advisors of Sigma Delta Pi business and ODK scholastic honorary fraternities, and college senior staff. On March 13, before the forum address, Bailey will give informal talks in two classrooms, visiting Professor Lynn Clements' Advanced Accounting class at 9:05 a.m., and Dr. Carl Brown's Macroeconomic Theory class at 10:15 a.m.

Bailey graduated from the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (now the University of Missouri) with a mechanical engineering degree. His career with Williams began in 1973 when he became assistant to the vice president of operations at Williams Pipe Line Company, a cornerstone of the current Williams Companies. He was named president of Williams in January 1992 and became chief executive officer in 1994. He was the first CEO who was not a member of the Williams family. In a planned move, Bailey gave up the CEO position in January and will retain the chair until the May shareholders meeting, when he is expected to announce his retirement.

Bailey has served as a leader in his community. He is a former campaign chair and board chair of the Tulsa Area United Way. He served two terms as a member of United Way of America's Board of Governors and held the position of chairman in 1995-96. Bailey also served as chairman of the board of trustees at the University of Tulsa and the University of Missouri - Rolla. Bailey has been on the boards of numerous industry associations and community organizations including the National Alliance of Business. He was inducted in the Tulsa Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma City University Business Hall of Honor in 1999.

The Williams Companies is a multibillion-dollar energy and high-technology company that began when brothers Dave and Miller Williams started laying sidewalks in 1908. Graduating to pipeline construction a few years later, the company is now one of the nation's largest natural gas transporters. In 1986, the company began running fiber-optic cable through decommissioned pipelines, eventually building the most advanced fiber-optic network in the country. Williams collaborated with Duke Energy in 2001 to form Gulfstream Natural Gas, which is currently laying the pipeline across the Gulf of Mexico from Mobile, Ala. to Port Manatee, Fla. The pipeline, the first new natural gas transportation system to serve Florida in over 40 years, will provide 1.1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to south and central Florida utilities.

Involvement with the community is a priority for Williams, which supports many educational programs. In 2000, the company contributed more than $5.4 million to educational programs at all levels. The company received the Spirit of America award from United Way in 1998 and in 2001 raised $32 million, setting a second consecutive record for giving more to United Way than anyone.

The William B. Cockroft Forum for Free Enterprise, located in Nashville, Tenn. since 1985, promotes exchanges between prominent business and industry leaders and members of the academic world, fielding questions from professors and students about free enterprise. William B. Cockroft, now deceased, was a retired dentist who became interested in the free enterprise system after retiring and subsequently founded United Inns Corporation. Florida Southern College has regularly been granted William B. Cockroft Free Enterprise gifts based on the college's involvement and promotion of free enterprise concepts.

MEDIA ADVISORY: Please contact Shari Szabo at (863) 680-6234 if you are interested in attending the luncheon or classes at which Bailey will speak.

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