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Richard M. DeMarco – Director, President & CEO

Mr. DeMarco has been a leader in the New Jersey business community for over 40 years. He is experienced in corporate management and has an extensive background in marketing and sales. Mr. DeMarco's background has been highlighted with many successful business ventures such as publisher of the Clifton News Journal, a weekly publication (now Dateline News). Mr. DeMarco is a retired Colonel in the United States Army and former paratrooper having earned numerous service ribbons including the Meritorious Service Metal with Oak Leaf Cluster. Mr. DeMarco was also a candidate for The United States Congress. Mr. DeMarco has served as a Director of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and was a founding Director and Treasurer of the Allegro School for autistic children. He has also served as National Director and Chairman for Governmental Affairs for The United States Jaycees. He is a Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow. Mr. DeMarco is a graduate of The United States Army Command and General Staff College as well as The Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

Gregory M. Ensign – Director, Vice President and Secretary

Mr. Ensign was a corporate executive and attorney from the Cleveland, OH area and now lives in Charleston, SC. Most recently, he worked for Kirkwood Industries from 1986 to 2003, a company that manufactures electrical motor components for the automotive, aerospace, power tool, household appliance and industrial motor industries. He was recruited by the President/CEO to fill a newly created position that combined administration with the General Counsel function to support planned organizational growth. Mr. Ensign played a pivotal role in restructuring corporate operations and expanding the company from $60 million to $180 million and was the number two ranking executive with the title of Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel. Prior to Kirkwood Industries, Mr. Ensign worked for the legal firm Sindell, Sindell, Rubenstein, Einbund & Pavlik from 1978 to 1986, first as an associate, then four years later, was elevated to partner. Mr. Ensign also worked for the Ohio Department of Mental Health & Retardation as a manager of the legal department, eventually serving as Director and Chief Counsel, where he aided in defending multiple class action lawsuits filed against the mental health and retardation facilities. He participated in the writing of Ohio’s legislation for the mental health patients’ bill of rights. Mr. Ensign has been admitted to the South Carolina Bar. Mr. Ensign received his BA from Ohio Wesleyan University and his Juris Doctor from Capital University Law School in Columbus, OH.

Joseph F. Bristow, Ph.D. – Director, Acting Treasurer

Dr. Bristow, a pivotal member of our operation, served as the Chemical Engineer for ChitinWorks America, LLC, where he was responsible for the design and operation of the chitosan production plant. Dr. Bristow was also responsible for laboratory analysis of the chitosan to determine the effectiveness of the processing steps, wastewater treatment and safety. Dr. Bristow helped to develop low-cost solutions to certain problems inherent in the production of chitosan from blue crab shells. In the laboratory, Dr. Bristow established protocols for the analysis of chitosan properties, process solution concentrations and wastewater characteristics. Prior to his tenure with ChitinWorks, Dr. Bristow held a post-doctoral position at the University of Maryland, where he researched methods for producing chitosan.

Dr. Bristow received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kentucky specializing in polymer engineering. Dr. Bristow's work has been published in journals and has been presented at regional and national conferences. He received his BS degree in Engineering at the University of Maryland.

Royce E. Freebourn - Director

Royce E. Freebourn is the CEO of Ambassador Health Care, Inc., Martus Health Care Management, Inc., Grace Care, Inc. and Texas Health Care Consulting, Inc. Ambassador Health Care (AHC) specializes in management, financial, clinical and program development services that should prove useful in the planning, development, organization and implementation of SC Shrimp Processing & Biotechnologies, Inc.’s Business Plan. With over twenty-five years of experience working in the long term care community, Roy offers proven revenue and development skills.

Prior to starting AHC, Roy worked as Director of Reimbursement and Accounts Receivable for Community Care of America (CCA) in Naples, Florida. Roy founded and operated various entities such as Rehab Ambassadors of America and Medical Supply of America which brought substantial revenue enhancement to CCA and increased Medicare rates by 19% PPD. At Meritcare, Inc. in Pittsburgh, PA, as Vice President of Ancillary Services, Roy certified multiple facilities into the Medicare program and created specialized medical units. Some of the specialized medical units completed in Roy’s career include concierge-type private pay units; advanced wound trauma units; weanable vent units; AIDS units; cardiac rehab program; Alzheimer care program; gero-psych units; adult day-care programs; child day-care programs; outpatient therapy clinic and wellness centers. His experience also extends to cost reporting, negotiations with HMO/insurance providers, the establishments of sticker-less ancillary charge systems (Profile Billing) and the reclamation of bad debt. Roy has also performed as a regional vice president and nursing home administrator in various facilities as well as psychiatric nurse III/QMRP at a 204 bed MH/MR facility.

Roy received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Alliance College and his degree in Nursing from the Clarion State University of PA. He has served on the PHCA Board of Directors in PA and for the Payment for Services Committee in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia. A past Vice-President of the Warren, PA Rotary Club and Health and Welfare Council, Roy co-founded the Monroeville Health & Welfare Council. Roy is very active in his church life and has served in many capacities.

Roy is owner of Rehab Ambassadors of Texas, Inc., Provident Medical Supply, Inc., Ambassador Medical Supply of Texas, Inc., Ambassador Asset Management, LLC, Ambassador Realty, LLC, Fort Worth Realty, LLC and Ambassador Lawn Service; 50% owner of Martus Health Care Management, Grace Care Inc, Mineola Realty, LLC, Mineola Health Care, LLC; and also a minority stock-owner of Health Choice, Inc. and AgraTech International.

Andrew Steinberg - Director

Mr. Steinberg is the Managing Principal of the ECS Group, which provides CAD, CAFM and related services to organizations throughout the United States. Mr. Steinberg has over 20 years experience working with computerized drafting, design and engineering technologies and has co-authored articles on the application of those technologies. As a member of the International Facility Managers Association and the Computer Applications Council, Mr. Steinberg co-chaired IFMA's study on computer aided facility management technology. Mr. Steinberg was a guest speaker on CAD/CAFM technology at IFMA's Annual World Workplace conference. He has a BA from the College of William and Mary.

Bryan Crabtree - Director

Mr. Crabtree is the President and CEO of Dean-Kelby Realty, LLC, a franchise of Weichert, Realtors with four offices located in and around Charleston, SC. He is a graduate of the Weichert Management Academy. He is also President and Owner of Kelvak Holdings, LLC, a property management company, and President and Partner of investment firm B-SEA, LLC. He is a member of the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. Prior to entering into real estate, Mr. Crabtree was involved in radio communications. While studying Marketing and Mass Communications at Austen Peay State University and the University of Memphis, he worked as a producer for Clear Channel Communications in Nashville, TN, and then moved to Barnstable Communications in Memphis, TN as a production director, where he won the coveted Memphis Area Radio Stations Award for Best Production in 1997. He continues to be involved with radio through the production of a real estate show on WTMA Radio in Charleston.

Industry Advisors

Birgir T. Helgason

Mr. Helgason, another critical member of our team, served as the Plant Manager/Lead Engineer for Chitin Works America, LLC, where he was responsible for the design, construction and operation of their chitosan factory. ChitinWorks, along with the University of Maryland and the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, won the Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award for 2000 from the Baltimore Engineering Society. Prior to his time at ChitinWorks, Mr. Helgason served as the Chief Engineer for Vector Microwave Research as well as Seismic Explorations International. The Board of Directors of Marine Services, Ltd., elected Mr. Helgason as the Manager of Marine Services, where he was given full authority to manage the marine assets of the company.

Mr. Helgason was the owner/operator of Hamma's International where he worked extensively with food processing plants on areas of design, engineering, fabrication and installation of equipment used in the production of food products. At Coldwater Seafood Corp, Mr. Helgason was the lead engineer for the design and fabrication of food processing systems. Mr. Helgason was also Plant Manager for Silderverksidja Siguardsonar and Machine Engineer for Velsmidjian Hedinn, Ltd., in his native Iceland. Mr. Helgason attended the Technical Institute for Journeyman Engine Fitters and received his Bachelor of Science at the Marine Engineering School, both in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Roy Noble, Jr.

Roy E. Noble, Jr., one of the original founders of AgraTech, is President and CEO of NEMA, Inc., an Energy Service Company serving businesses and industries both nationally and internationally in the supply and utilization of energy. His clients include many of the largest chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers worldwide and some of the largest hotel chains. He is also Senior Partner of Noble Properties, LLC based in Charleston, SC, purchasing and selling both commercial and industrial real estate. Mr. Noble is a retired Major from the United States Army and the United States Army Reserves, attended Command and General Staff College and has a BS in Business Administration. Mr. Noble served on the Group of Energy Technologies as a Director (Le GET 8 and 11) for Rhone-Poulenc, Lyon, France.

Rudolph A. de Tiege

Mr. de Tiege brings over twenty-five years of extensive financial, operational and manufacturing experience from a broad range of industries using his many talents of organization, strategic planning and product development while implementing and executing corporate programs and systems. His experience has been with the oldest national supermarket chain in North America, the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea company, Inc., as the divisional controller for the Southern Region with a $500M budget, as general manager and business manager for a national beverage distribution and manufacturing company and as general manager/controller for a seafood processor that pioneered many unique products and packaging techniques that proved to be innovating to the industry.

Joel Bumgardner, Ph.D.

Dr. Joel Bumgardner is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Memphis. His research has focused primarily on metals and metal alloys as dental implant materials, and his work has been published in a variety of peer-reviewed journals and presented at professional conferences. He has also authored several book chapters.

Recently, he has explored the use of chitosan as a biomaterial. Dr. Bumgardner and his colleagues have been awarded a grant to study chitosan’s use in biomedical, biosensor and nanotechnology applications. He also has a grant application pending to study chitosan as a biobased implant coating. His work with chitosan has been published in the Journal of Biomaterials Science: Polymer Edition, and he has co-authored a chapter in Biopolymer Methods in Tissue Engineering on chitosan’s use as a scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering. His work on chitosan has been presented at a variety of conferences, including the 7th World Biomaterials Congress in Sydney, Australia in May 2004.

Dr. Bumgardner collaborated with Dr. Joseph Bristow to obtain chitosan from shrimp shells for use in his chitosan studies.

Dr. Bumgardner earned a BS degree in Biology at Florida State University, and earned a BS in Materials Engineering, a MS in Biomedical Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Alabama Birmingham.

Bruno R. Stockinger, DDS

Dr. Stockinger maintains a private practice in Hackensack, NJ, providing all phases of general dentistry and anesthesia. In addition, his office has a strong focus on prosthetic and implant dentistry as well as oral and maxillofacial reconstruction. Following CDT Board certification in dental technology, he earned his DDS degree from Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery and then went on to a hospital-based General Practice Residency at Hackensack Medical Center where he is now a Clinical Attending dentist.