FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Harry Pontone Joins Jim Metzger’s Whitmore Group

Expertise Of Long-Time Funeral Services Executive To Help Guide

Casualty Insurance Underwriting For Local, National Businesses

Garden City, New York – April 5, 2011 – Jim Metzger’s The Whitmore Group, Ltd., a leading insurance services and estate planning company in the New York metropolitan area, has announced the addition of the consulting services of Harry Pontone, a long-serving executive from the funeral services industry. Mr. Pontone provides more than 60 years of business and management expertise that will support Whitmore Group’s insurance underwriting and management programs for companies in the New York area and nationwide.

A dynamic and passionate member of the funeral services sector locally and across the country, Mr. Pontone is a licensed funeral director who graduated from the New York School of Embalming. He will employ his marketing, sales and management expertise to help The Whitmore Group expand its casualty underwriting for funeral homes, other funeral-related businesses and businesses in other industries.

Mr. Pontone started his career by working for his father, Thomas, who founded the South Brooklyn Casket Company during 1931. The oldest of eight children, Harry Pontone, along with his brothers, eventually owned, operated and expanded their father’s business to include additional services such as personalization, merchandising and business planning. Mr. Pontone dedicated his entire career to providing services in the death care industry with compassion.

The Whitmore Group provides insurance products that meet the needs and concerns of clients and builds relationships that stand the test of time in a number of industries. As a full service insurance agency, one of its specialties is the placement of insurance protection for the funeral business, becoming the sector’s largest provider of commercial property and casualty insurance. The Whitmore Group’s nationwide Funeral Services Insurance Program identifies specific exposures of the industry and addresses each with proper insurance coverage.

“I like what The Whitmore Group has done and continues to do in the funeral services area,” said Mr. Pontone. “But it is more than that. They bring their expertise and personal commitment to a wide range of industries. They surround themselves with quality people who have developed specific areas of expertise in a wide range of businesses. That is why I was an early client and why I appreciate this opportunity to join the Whitmore team.”

According to Mr. Metzger, Harry Pontone is one of the most highly experienced, well-liked and deeply connected executives within his industry of expertise and across all business sectors. His advice and guidance, said Mr. Metzger, will support The Whitmore Group’s creation of new products and services that address today’s commercial insurance underwriting requirements.

“Harry is the greatest salesman I ever met,” added Mr. Metzger, who founded The Whitmore Group and serves as its chairman and CEO. “He’s been a mentor to me and, for many years as one of our earliest clients, he has believed in the insurance program we developed for the funeral industry. His marketing and client service expertise, whether for the funeral business or for any line of business, along with his commitment to ensure that people’s wishes and needs are understood and respected, have been a tremendous asset to us since we first met. His experiences will be even more valuable to us now as we continue to improve our underwriting programs and services for all business sectors locally and across the country.”

Founded during 1989 and located in Garden City, New York, The Whitmore Group, Ltd. has steadily built its business beyond insurance brokering to include benefits consulting, financial and estate planning, management and sales consulting, business development, operations review, senior management and board consulting, and commercial private lending services. Learn more at whitmoregroup.com