Letter of Recommendation—Nathan Lewis To Whom It May Concern:

As a former Army Officer and graduate of West Point Military Academy, I would like to give my unqualified and full recommendation for Nathan Lewis—a top 1% individual I have had the pleasure of working with and mentoring over the last several years. Most recently—over the past year and a half—I have had the privilege of being able to have Nathan Lewis work as my full-time intern. As the CEO of Almond Ace Packing—a $50M-plus almond and walnut processor—I am involved in many high level projects/responsibilities such as overseeing the operations and financials of the company, improving production efficiency, marketing and sales, new equipment/project management, corporate and business strategy, including new divisions and strategic expansion, and many other areas such as H/R, lean manufacturing, and cash management. As my responsibilities have increased, I realized that I needed a full-time intern that would be able to facilitate and help me execute these complex tasks. Even though Nathan did not have any prior experience working for an almond/walnut processor, he is a quick learner, hard worker, and was able to get projects/assigned tasks completed to my demanding satisfaction level (not an easy task). Despite a rigorous full-time college schedule, Nathan was able to hit the ground running as my team and I threw a multitude of difficult projects at him. With his busy and demanding work schedule, Nathan’s work ethic was manifest in his dedication not only to his full-time work with me, but also to the successful completion and balance of the other things he had on his plate including a full-time college course load. There have been many projects on which Nathan either took the lead or the lead supporting role that were complex and out of his field of experience. One very impressive project that Nathan was able to manage was the research and pre-implementation of our company’s nut blanching division expansion, where he single-handedly helped us determine an equipment and processing direction that is potentially one of the most efficient and innovative in the entire industry. Dedicating much of his time to researching the most economical and innovative system, he was able to seek out and construct essential solutions to the questions and concerns posed by the complex nature of the project. While I was involved in some of the final research and decision aspects of the project, Nathan was able to take a huge weight off of my shoulders and ultimately recommend and construct a proposal for the project’s implementation. As someone who is able to analyze, evaluate, and propose necessary steps for the implementation of such an intricate project (from scratch), Nathan requires very little, if any, day-to-day managing. In short, Nathan is a superstar that becomes a huge asset and key player at any organization he is part of. I saw this first hand, and frankly I had to replace him with two full-time interns—both of which, combined—do not equal Nathan’s level of intelligence, output, business maturity, or follow-through. Additionally, Nathan works both very well on his own or as part of a team because he is the epitome of both a team player and selfless leader (where/when he is in charge).

2

As I gave Nathan projects, he was able to manage himself and ensure that each task got completed even if he did not have prior knowledge about the subject matter of the project. Nathan was able to keep up with my high intensity pace of work and gain valuable insight into the world of business, accounting, finance, project management, and food manufacturing/processing. While I benefited from his excellent work, Nathan gained invaluable experience in this line of work as it encompasses every aspect of business such as marketing and sales, investments, financials, logistics, cap-ex, contracts/dealing with vendors, purchasing/contract negotiation, production/food manufacturing, and both used and new equipment design, acquisition and installation. With this insight and his work ethic, Nathan is years ahead of his colleagues and will have a significant advantage knowing how a growing corporation works internally. Indeed, during Nathan’s tenure, company revenue and net income increased substantially. Even though I am grateful for Nathan working for me over the past year and a half, it is always difficult to replace such good people. It is almost impossible to find someone with the IQ, determination, self-sufficiency, and work ethic that I have seen in Nathan. He is in the top 1% of all young men and women I have ever worked with, taught, or seen. Nathan has been able to help me not only at Almond Ace, but with other personal and professional projects as well. I can say in all certainty that Nathan will be extremely successful in whatever he pursues. I hope you have the honor and privilege of meeting this hard working and very intelligent young man. I look forward to keeping in contact with Nathan as he pursues his goals. If you have any questions or would like to hear more about Nathan Lewis, I would be more than happy to discuss my experience with him. Sincerely,

Anthony M. Mello CEO (Former) Almond Ace Packing & Ace Walnut Company “Premium Almonds & Walnuts from California’s Finest Growing Region” 1555 Warren Roa---------------d Ripon, CA 953----------------66 Office: ---------------------------- Cell: (209) 595-2054------------ E-Mail: Ao----------------------- Internet: --------------------------