Sharon Merrill Associates Wins 2010 Bell Ringer Honors for Investor Relations Campaign and IR Thought Leadership Blog

Sharon Merrill Associates, Inc. (www.InvestorRelations.com), a nationally recognized investor relations and corporate communications strategic advisory firm, today announced that it was honored by The Publicity Club of New England with two 2010 Bell Ringer Awards for an Investor Relations Program and its recently launched blog, The Podium (http://blog.investorrelations.com). The Publicity Club of New England's Bell Ringer Awards recognize and honor excellence and achievement in the communications and public relations professions.

Sharon Merrill Associates won the 2010 Gold Bell Ringer Award in the Investor/Financial Relations category for its investor relations program for Burlington, Mass.-based CIRCOR International, Inc. (NYSE: CIR) (www.CIRCOR.com), a provider of valves and other highly engineered products and subsystems that control the flow of fluids safely and efficiently in the aerospace, energy and industrial markets. This is Sharon Merrill Associates’ sixth Bell Ringer Award in the Investor/Financial Relations Campaign category in the past seven years and its 13^th award in this category overall. Additionally, in 2004 the firm won the prestigious overall "Best in Show” Super Bell Award for its Investor Relations Program entry.

CIRCOR Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Frederic M. Burditt said, "The CIRCOR management team has partnered with Sharon Merrill Associates to strengthen our relationships with the investment community through an aggressive, results-driven investor relations program. We are very pleased that CIRCOR’s investor relations efforts have been recognized by this award.”

Sharon Merrill Associates also won the Silver Bell Ringer Award for its recently launched corporate blog, The Podium, which covers a variety of topics that affect corporate senior management, directors, investor relations and corporate communications professionals, security analysts, portfolio managers, investment bankers and others interested in driving valuation through investor relations. This is the first award for The Podium, which launched in October 2009.

"We are honored to be recognized for the excellent investor relations services that we provide for our clients as well as for our investor relations thought leadership through The Podium blog,” said Sharon Merrill Associates President & Partner Maureen Wolff-Reid. "Our experienced team of investor relations consultants is dedicated to the continued success of our clients’ IR programs, and their commitment to providing high-quality services is clearly demonstrated by this recognition from The Publicity Club of New England.”

About CIRCOR International, Inc. CIRCOR International, Inc. designs, manufactures and markets valves and other highly engineered products and subsystems that control the flow of fluids safely and efficiently in the aerospace, energy and industrial markets. With more than 9,000 customers in over 100 countries, CIRCOR has a diversified product portfolio with recognized, market-leading brands. CIRCOR’s culture, built on the CIRCOR Business System, is defined by the Company’s commitment to attracting, developing and retaining the best talent and pursuing continuous improvement in all aspects of its business and operations. The Company’s strategy includes growing organically by investing in new, differentiated products; adding value to component products; and increasing the development of mission-critical subsystems and solutions. CIRCOR also plans to leverage its strong balance sheet to acquire strategically complementary businesses. For more information, visit the Company’s investor relations web site at http://investors.circor.com.

About Sharon Merrill Associates, Inc.

Sharon Merrill Associates, Inc. has been developing results-based investor relations and corporate communications campaigns for private and public companies for nearly 25 years. All of our engagements, from investor outreach and perception audits to corporate communications and media visibility campaigns, are implemented from a strategic plan to achieve clients’ goals. The Sharon Merrill Associates senior team has significant experience in the capital markets, and we are known for our ability to become experts in our clients’ businesses. Our creative thought process and unparalleled responsive service provide clients with cutting-edge communications programs, executed by proactive, industry thought leaders.

Sharon Merrill Associates offers:

• Investor relations counsel, strategy and planning
• Strategic positioning and messaging
• Investment community targeting and non-deal road shows
• Investor perception studies
• IPO programs
• Investor presentation development
• Crisis communications
• Transactions communications
• Media relations
• Copywriting and speechwriting
• Media training
• Presentation coaching
• Executive visibility
• New media
• Social media adoption
• Event planning