ST. LOUIS, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Douglas H. Yaeger, chairman, president and CEO of The Laclede Group, Inc. has been named the Chair of the Board of Directors for United Way of Greater St. Louis. For more than 30 years, Laclede has been actively involved with the United Way. Yaeger has been a staunch supporter of the charity. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090116/AQF521) "I'm pleased and honored to be named the board chair for the United Way of Greater St. Louis," said Douglas H. Yaeger. "It's a nationally acclaimed organization that positively impacts the lives of many of the region's residents, making our community a better place to live and work. While these are challenging times, I have the greatest confidence in the people of the St. Louis region, and I look forward to helping our United Way to continue to successfully address the needs of our community." For the past nine years, Yaeger has chaired United Way's Campaign Representative Recruitment Committee; recruiting and overseeing the efforts of the team. In addition to numerous employee-based fundraising events, Laclede has hosted a United Way benefit barbeque in downtown St. Louis for the past five years and took part in the 2008 United Way Battle of the Corporate Bands. "Doug is a great asset to United Way and to this community," said Gary Dollar, president and CEO of United Way of Greater St. Louis. "As a volunteer driven organization, Doug's leadership skills and commitment are exactly what we need in our board chair. Doug is a leader who will make a difference for our community and the organization, and we look forward to working closely with Doug in his new role of chairing the board of United Way." Douglas H. Yaeger joined Laclede in 1990 as Vice President -- Planning after spending nearly 20 years in the interstate gas pipeline industry (including service as Executive Vice President of Mississippi River Transmission Corporation, Laclede's principal pipeline supplier, and Executive Vice President of Arkla Energy Marketing Company). He was elected Laclede's Senior Vice President -- Operations, Gas Supply and Technical Services in 1992, a Senior Vice President in 1994, and Executive Vice President -- Operations and Marketing in 1995. In 1997, he was elected President and Chief Operating Officer and joined the Company's Board of Directors. He was elected Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board in January 1999. A native of St. Louis (Webster Groves), Yaeger holds an M.B.A. degree from Saint Louis University (1976) and a B.S. degree in marketing from Miami University of Ohio (1971). In 1992, he completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School. Yaeger serves on the Board of Directors of the American Gas Association. He is the President and serves on the Board of the Missouri Energy Development Association. He is on the Board and is past Chair of the Southern Gas Association. He serves on the Boards of Barnes-Jewish Hospital, First Banks, Inc., Greater St. Louis, Inc., Innovate St. Louis, the Municipal Theatre Association of St. Louis (Treasurer), the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis, the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association, and the St. Louis Science Center Board of Commissioners (Secretary). He is immediate past President of Civic Progress. The Laclede Group, Inc. is a public utility holding company, with several subsidiaries, including Laclede Gas Company, which provides natural gas service to approximately 630,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in the city of St. Louis and ten other counties in Eastern Missouri, and Laclede Energy Resources, Inc., a natural gas commodity service provider located in St. Louis Missouri. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090116/AQF521 http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: The Laclede Group, Inc. CONTACT: Robert N. Arrol of The Laclede Group, Inc., +1-314-342-0654

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