Sure Storage USA is pleased to announce the addition of another seasoned self-storage professional to its executive team.  Greg Call has 30 years of experience in the self-storage sector.  Since 1981 Mr. Call has been involved in brokerage, design, construction and management of more than 1,000 self-storage projects encompassing over 75 million square feet of rentable space and more than 625,000 individual storage units.  Since 2001 Greg has served as Founder and CEO of Self Storage Works, the self-storage industry’s premier consulting services provider currently offering management and consulting services to 24 facilities throughout California, Hawaii and Nevada.

From 1981-2001 Mr. Call was President of The Call Company, a self-storage management, brokerage and design firm  that has managed numerous properties throughout the Western United States.  In addition, the Company has advised more than 50 owners on development of new facilities throughout the country.  Greg Call is an aggressive revenue manager who uses simple supply and demand dynamics to drive profits as well as a creative marketer who outsells other operators by allowing a facility’s market to dictate rates and revenue increases rather than engaging in price wars with competitors.  Mr. Call has published numerous articles on management and operational performance in the self-storage industry.

As we continue to grow we see constant and reassuring signs of economic improvement in our industry. Thank you for your continued support and interest as we continue on this amazing journey.

The most exciting event of the last two weeks has been the addition of two accomplished professionals to our team.  Both bring a wealth of financial experience to the Company and we are excited to introduce them to you today. Lance Kintz joins the Sure Storage USA team as our new Chief Financial Officer.  Lance has 25 years of private and public accounting experience with a diverse industry background for start-up through Fortune 500 companies.  Since 2001 Lance has served as President of SageTree Consulting, a change management firm focused on strategic, high performance, value, and activity based financial and operational analysis and solutions for firms ranging in size from $1MM to over $120 million in sales.  Previously Lance was CFO for Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casinos and Ski Apache (IMG), a tribal owned entertainment facility in Mescalero, NM with 2007 revenue of $130 million and over 1,400 employees.  In his role, Lance oversaw SEC reporting, improved investor and lender relations and increased EBITDA by 70%.  Lance has also served as Controller/Finance Director for the Arizona Republic Newspaper, a Gannett Corp. publication that is the nation’s 13th largest daily newspaper with $500 million in annual sales where he was responsible for implementing financial and operational initiatives to streamline the organization’s operations.

Also joining our team in the role of Director of Capital Markets is Steven Burgoyne.  Steven has over 20 years of experience in commercial real estate finance, investment sales and asset management.  He has an extensive background in client development as well as sourcing opportunities with private money, equity, mezzanine, life insurance companies, conduits and banking institutions.  From 2007 to 2009 Steven was Senior Vice President of Trinan Commercial Finance, a regional capital advisory firm where he was responsible for the development of the company’s private money division.  Steven has also served as Vice President for Merchants Funding, LLC, a division of Merchants Mortgage & Trust Corporation.  In his role, he was responsible for developing the commercial division for this private money lender producing $50 million in annual loans.  In addition, Steven has held positions with GMAC Commercial, Pacific Southwest and US Homes.

Our team also enjoyed a successful presence at the 2010 Inside Self Storage World Expo in Las Vegas on March 1-3.  Our booth was a popular stop for sellers who wanted to learn why 2010 was the time to sell and why Sure Storage USA was the group to sell to.  We continue to foster the many contacts we made from this event and are confident they will provide us with some excellent purchase opportunities.

Thank you for sharing in our success.

The dust has settled and we are comfortably settled in our new offices.  The amazing deal the Company was able to negotiate is reflective of the market we are in today.  Sure Storage USA was able to secure class “A” Scottsdale Airpark space that is 1/10th of the price it was 3 years ago.  We now have the correct office space at a remarkable value.  The Company is finding several self-storage owners who are having to make the same type of deals we found with our office space.  While the self-storage industry has fared much better than all other commercial real estate groups, several owners are in the same situation as their counterparts in other less successful areas of the commercial market.  Many of these owners ventured outside their core business and became involved in other real estate ventures.  Those investments are now greatly exasperating their resources and many have turned to their only profitable assets, their self-storage facilities, to find help.  Unfortunately for them, they are selling their profitable self-storage assets to raise cash to solve their other real estate investments that have not performed as planned.

This is positive news for Sure Storage USA and the growth opportunities for the Company are greater than ever.  It is fairly safe to say that we will never again have this opportunity to roll up self-storage assets that we have today.  We will never again in our lifetime see a market unravel like it has over the past 2 years.  Sure Storage USA is the right Company at the right time with the right financial opportunity to be successful.  There have been two significant rollups in the last 10 years and both did so during the peak of the market and consequently they significantly overpaid for their assets.  Simply Storage is one of these operators who has now lost a substantial number of its assets back to its lenders and is on the verge of collapse.  The other operator is U-Store-It, which has been able to secure ½ billion dollars to replace old debt and rescue itself.  It is extremely impressive how U-Store-It was able to overcome its extremely over leveraged position and still raise ½ billion dollars in today’s market.  The capital markets like the self-storage industry and they understand that U-Store-It will be in a much better position when the market corrects and when runaway inflation hits us in 3 – 3.5 years.

All of us continue to race to the winners circle at Sure Storage USA.  The Company has been blessed with a tremendous opportunity and our team continues to seize it every day. Thank you  for joining in the fun with us.

Since our last update Sure Storage USA has continued to capitalize on our growth opportunities.  We have new purchase contracts out on additional properties in Las Vegas and Denver as well as a new letter of intent out on a phenomenal opportunity in Houston.  The market continues to play in our favor!

As I mentioned previously, Sure Storage USA will be exhibiting at this year’s Inside Self Storage World Expo. Our team is excited to have so many potential sellers at the show as a captive audience to share our story with.  Our message will be simple….2010 is the year to sell!  We believe that our message will resound clearly with the large number of operators who enjoyed the easy money of 2005-2007 who must now find solutions to deal with their maturing loans.  Sure Storage USA is offering solutions to today’s challenges.  While a portion of our team will be sharing that message with anyone who will listen, the remainder of the group will be participating in the industry’s foremost educational program that is tailored to today’s self-storage professionals. It will be an exciting time and we look forward to sharing our successes with you.

Here we grow again!  We continue to add properties to our pipeline and our team is currently analyzing properties in Tucson, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and Central California in addition to those that I have shared with you previously.

Sure Storage USA will be exhibiting at this year’s Inside Self Storage World Expo on March 1-3 in Las Vegas.  If you’ll be in Las Vegas, please be sure to visit us at booth 731 on the show floor.  As always, our team appreciates your interest and support in the happenings of the Company.  We are a disciplined group who is determined to assemble a best-in-class portfolio of properties that create ever increasing value for the benefit of our investors, strategic partners and team

Happy New Year!  I am thrilled that the “Cease Fire” has been lifted, the holidays are over, and we can get back to work. I must confess that December was without a doubt the most productive month in the company’s history. I was on a whirlwind tour with visits to New York City, Salt Lake, Denver, San Diego, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. That pace shows no signs of relenting during the month of January.  We are building this company and like any good builder we have to go to the opportunities and make them happen.

SSUSA, Inc. has found and made so many special opportunities. The reception we have received and the wealth of good solid people that we are working with is overwhelming. We remain focused on our 10 guiding principles and continue to add properties to our pipeline each week.

I have repeatedly stated that now is the time to strike, and strike we are. We have 3.5 years left in our four year plan. You have heard me say time and again that inflation will be upon us by 2013.  SSUSA, Inc. is positioning itself to take advantage of higher inflationary rents and occupancies, thus creating a higher value and greater performance for our assets.  While the rest of the country remains focused on the ongoing economic meltdown, a large portion of the smart money is preparing for the inflation problem. I know we are, but for us it is not a problem it is an opportunity and a great one at that.

I cannot begin to tell all of you how exciting the opportunities are out there. Because many sellers have lost sight of the basics over the past several years, we are able to find some great properties and will grow them to their full potential. We know our basics and we have every intention of sticking to them. We appreciate your help and look forward to the upcoming quarter with great excitement.

As our first full year of operations comes to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to present a brief recap of our successes.  The last year has been a dynamic year of growth, change and possibilities that have been realized many times over.  We grew in size, stature, and strength.  Our team has solidified and we have established processes to reflect our vision, mission, and philosophy of doing business.  Sure Storage USA has grown in several impactful ways.

Sure Storage USA dedicated itself this year to building a high impact business brand identity that will allow us to consistently develop a consumer vision at both the corporate and property level.  We have pledged to our customers that they can consistently count on us for best-in-class self-storage facilities that offer the safety and security they desire complimented by outstanding customer service.

Our team grew this year as we added team members with an exceptional depth of experience in all aspects of business.  We created positions in marketing, administration and finance and will add additional team members in the first quarter of the New Year.

As always I thank you for your never ending support during this past year.  We continue to strive to build an organization that is driven by our vision and is focused on following the guiding principles that will help us fulfill that vision.  It is my hope that you and your families enjoy all of the joys of the season.

It is truly amazing how exciting the world of self-storage has become! We continue to focus our acquisitions in targeted major metropolitan areas in the Western and Southwestern United States that offer the greatest opportunity for above average demographic growth.

The outpouring of support from each of you has been both unbelievable and inspiring.  I want to thank each of you who have personally contributed to our successes thus far.  We have assembled a first class team that is dedicated to high standards of quality, outstanding customer service, and operating efficiencies that will allow us to maximize performance for customers, team members and investors.

Our market timing is perfect.  We have strong lending partners and the best investment partners in the world.  We are committed to taking full advantage of this market and the opportunities that it holds.  We are excited!  Thank you for joining us on this truly exciting ride and keep a close eye on us as we climb to the top.