April 19, 2006 - CARMEL, Ind – J.D. Byrider Systems Inc. today announced management changes required by the death of James F. DeVoe, the founder, president, CEO, and board chairman of the company. DeVoe and his son-in-law, Steele Gudal, were killed in a March 23 plane crash in Florida.

DeVoe’s son, James F. DeVoe Jr., current president of company stores and a member of the board of directors since the company’s inception, will take the helm as chief executive officer.

“We lost a great leader in my father, but his legacy and the strong franchise ‘family’ he has built will live on through us,” said DeVoe, who in 1992 earned a business management degree from Indiana University School of Business, Bloomington, in addition to his automotive marketing degree from the Northwood Institute in Midland, Michigan.

“Dad told me just a week before his tragic death how very proud he was of the company’s management and staff. Now is the time for our management team to faithfully carry on my father’s business with the compassion and visionary leadership he exhibited throughout his life.”

“At both company and franchise stores, we will continue serving our customers with dignity and respect, just as Jim taught us to do,” said Steven E. Wedding, newly appointed president of franchising. “Our current 94 percent customer satisfaction rating is a resounding tribute to the success of the business model he created and then nurtured for more than 25 years.”

In addition to his role as president of franchising, Wedding will continue to also serve as chief financial officer. Since 2003, he has held the dual positions of CFO and executive vice president of franchise operations. He joined the company as controller in 1991, and has served as vice president of both finance and franchise operations. He is a certified public accountant with an MBA from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and an undergraduate degree from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.

Two other changes were announced. Brent T. Newman will become the president of company stores, and Randy L. Fields the chief operating officer of company stores.

Newman, who joined the company in 1991, was chief operating officer since 2004 after serving as zone manager of Indiana. He is a graduate of Bowling Green State University. Fields, formerly a vice president, has been with the company since 2000. He had previously served as managing partner, district manager, and zone manager of Ohio.

In a private letter to the staff and franchisees, the younger DeVoe said the company is moving forward with all operational goals, objectives and strategies. No new management or ownership of the company is planned.

“This company is on very stable ground,” DeVoe said. He said his father “loved the whole company, from associates to franchisees, and he was so proud of what we have all accomplished.”

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For details, please contact Sanda Pecina at 202-367-1622 or specina@akerpartners.com.

J.D. Byrider

Headquartered in Carmel, outside Indianapolis, J.D. Byrider was founded in 1989. Its mission is to serve customers with special financing needs who are routinely ignored by other dealers, and to ensure that they receive the same quality service in every J.D. Byrider dealership. Seventeen years and some 550,000 vehicles later, daily customer-satisfaction monitoring by each dealership shows an average 94 percent satisfaction rating. There are 123 franchisee- and company-owned J.D. Byrider dealerships in 28 states. More than 5,000 people—many of them repeat customers or referrals—trust Byrider with their business every month. For more, visit www.jdbyrider.com

View Company Website: http://www.jdbyrider.com