AMERICAN RICE, INC.
411 N. Sam Houston Parkway E.
Suite 600
Houston, Texas 77060
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
TO BE HELD OCTOBER 30, 1997
To the Shareholders of American Rice, Inc.:
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of American
Rice, Inc. ("ARI" or the "Company") will be held at the offices of the
Company, 411 N. Sam Houston Parkway E., Houston, Texas 77060, on Thursday,
October 30, 1997 at 10:00 a.m., Central Standard Time, for the following
purposes:
1. To vote to elect five directors to the Board of Directors;
2. To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting or
any adjournment(s) thereof.
The Board of Directors has fixed the close of business on September 12, 1997
as the record date for determination of shareholders entitled to notice of and
vote at such meeting or any adjournment(s) thereof. Only shareholders of
record at the close of business on the said record date are entitled to notice
of, and to vote at, such meeting. The transfer books will not be closed.
The Board of Directors of the Company has fixed the number of directors at
five from the date of the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of ARI. The Board of
Directors may increase the number of directors up to seven at any time after
the date of the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of ARI and may fill such
vacancies created by any such increase in the numbers of directors, all in
accordance with the by-laws of the Company. Any directors appointed by the
Board of Directors to fill any vacancies created by an increase in the number
of directors will stand for election by the Shareholders at the 1998 Annual
Meeting of Shareholders of the Company. It is anticipated that the Board of
Directors will increase the number of directors to seven some time after the
Annual Meeting of Shareholders of ARI, however no candidates for such position
have been identified by the Board of Directors of the Company at this time.
If you are unable to attend the meeting, you may vote by proxy. The enclosed
proxy is provided for shareholders who cannot attend the meeting but desire
their stock voted. Your proxy will be returned to you if you are present at
the meeting and request a return of your proxy.
TO INSURE YOUR REPRESENTATION AT THE MEETING, PLEASE SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THE
ENCLOSED PROXY AT YOUR EARLIEST CONVENIENCE. THE ENCLOSED PREPAID RETURN
ENVELOPE MAY BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE.
By Order of the Board of Directors,
Houston, Texas Richard N. McCombs
October 10, 1997 Secretary
<PAGE>
[American Rice, Inc. Letterhead]
October 20, 1997
To: Shareholders of American Rice, Inc.
This is to inform you there is a typographical error in the "Notice of Annual
Meeting of Shareholders" of American Rice, Inc. recently mailed to you.
The notice states the annual meeting is to be held on Tuesday, October 30th,
1997. The day of the week in this notice is incorrect.
The meeting will be held on Thursday, October 30th.
A corrected Notice is printed on the reverse side of this page.
Sincerely,
AMERICAN RICE INC.
Joseph E. Westover
Vice President
