We are pleased to announce that we have reached a preliminary agreement with the City of Houston 

April 20, 2007

Dear Friends and Supporters of the Center Serving Retarded Persons with Mental Retardation:

We are pleased to announce that we have reached a preliminary agreement with the City of Houston that will enable the Center to stay at our West Dallas Location for many years to come.

Under the agreement, the Foundation for the Retarded will purchase the land and leases from the City for a price of $6.0 million. The City will also help provide the financing for the purchase. The transaction will be structured to resolve any and all disputes between the Center and the City regarding the legal status of our leases, and will allow the Center to continue operating from this location indefinitely. The closing of the transaction is subject to approval by the City Council of Houston and the Boards of the Center and the Foundation, and is further subject to negotiating mutually agreeable definitive documentation.

The entire approval process is expected to take approximately 90 days, meaning that we hope to have the transaction completed by mid-summer.

The Foundation’s ownership of the land will enable many exciting future possibilities for the Center. First, it secures our right to occupy the Center’s current campus indefinitely, removing uncertainty regarding our future. Second, it allows us to raise money to improve our facilities, and possibly even modify and expand our campus to meet our communities’ needs for the foreseeable future. The Center and Foundation Boards will work closely with Eva and her staff to identify these opportunities, and plan for the Center’s new future.

While certain risks come with having a large mortgage, we believe we have a good structure to help mitigate these risks, and further believe the long-term benefits and certainty of land ownership outweigh these manageable risks.

We want to acknowledge the support of the City in general, and Mayor White specifically, in working with us to reach a fair resolution to our earlier disagreements. Our situation involved complicated legal, financial, and civil service issues, and Mayor White personally oversaw and led the City’s resolution efforts with the Center.

Every cloud has a silver lining, and our disagreement with the City has been no different. As uncertainty grew regarding the Center’s future, the level of public support has been overwhelming. Over the past several weeks, we have had more than 10,000 people petition on behalf of the Center, over 300 people personally visited City Hall to demonstrate and speak in support of the Center, and we are told that the Mayor and our Council members received hundreds of emails and letters. Family members, residents, donors, members of the media, and even our neighbors in Houston who are not directly involved with the Center, . . .all came to our support. We are deeply grateful for everyone’s support, and hope that you will find a way to help us plot and participate in the Center’s future.

We are also extremely grateful for the early support of U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who helped put our situation on the front burner, both locally and nationally.

Although we still have a lot of work ahead, we would like to pay special thanks to the law firm of Baker Botts. When they became aware of our situation, they immediately contacted the Center and volunteered their services, free of charge. We were extremely grateful for their unsolicited offer, and subsequently have received far more support than we ever could have imagined. Over the past several weeks, we have been advised on a nearly full time basis (24/7) by four of the firm’s senior partners, incorporating various areas of legal expertise. Special early thanks to Joe Cialone, Irv Terrell, Marley Lott, Jennifer Smith, and to their managing partner, Mr. Walt Smith, who personally committed his firm’s "full resources," and then saw his firm over-deliver on this commitment. While there is still much work ahead, thanks to everyone at Baker Botts for their counsel and dedication in support of the Center.

We have also benefited from pro-bono advice from Bracewell & Giuliani and Vinson & Elkins on the legal front, and from Alex Howard of Howard, Frazier, Barker, Elliott, Inc., Gerald Teel of Gerald A. Teel, Inc., and Del Kendall, of Real Estate Research Corporation, as our strong team of real estate advisors and valuation consultants, and Ed Davis, Eric Herrera and others at FrogDog Communications, and JJ Lassberg and Tracey Lee Wallace of True Light Resources. Like Harris Masterson and Leopold Meyer, two of our founding volunteers, and literally thousands of volunteers since them, we couldn’t have overcome our recent hurdles without the dedication and expertise of these critical volunteers.

The next several months will be busy working with the City to conclude the transaction, but we are optimistic it will get done. In the meantime, please be thinking of ways we can continue to improve the Center. The Center was built on the ideas, dedication and commitments of countless community volunteers. With your continued assistance, we can build the Center to new heights.

On behalf of our residents, clients, Board Members and staff, thanks for your continued support and assistance.

With much appreciation,

Jack Manning Eva Aguirre

Chairman, Lease Task Force Executive Director, Center

Wayne Johnson David Baldwin

President, Center Board of Governors President, Foundation Board of Governors