Good day, everyone, and welcome to The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company annual meeting. At this time, I'd like to turn the floor over to Jim Hagedorn. Sir, please go ahead. Good morning, everyone. I'm Jim Hagedorn, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. Welcome to our annual meeting of shareholders. Before we get into the business of today, I want to comment about the past year and how we're defining success in fiscal 2024. Fiscal 2023 was not easy for our company, our people, or our shareholders, and I appreciate everyone sticking with us. Your commitment and support in one of the most challenging times in our history is appreciated. This past year, we acted to maintain quarterly compliance with our leverage requirements. We aggressively took out costs. We cut thousands of jobs. We made sacrifices and tough decisions to remake the company for the future, all without touching the dividend and the things that drive our competitive advantage. These include our brands, sales force, and our retail relationships. We made real progress. We significantly paid down debt and met our free cash flow targets. We partnered with our banks to gain financial flexibility, and by fiscal year-end, we outperformed the lawn and garden category as a whole and increased our overall market share. In our Hawthorne business, we returned a positive cash flow despite the lingering downturn in the cannabis industry. Just as we reshaped Scotts Miracle-Gro for growth, we strengthened our senior leadership to align with our direction. The executive team has been revamped with experienced, younger leaders who bring fresh perspectives and new thinking. They have replaced a very tenured team that had run the business for decades. The new team members are smart, aggressive, and working more closely every day. They are the ones who will lead our company into the future. One of my most important objectives this year is to get this team fully integrated and gelling at all levels as we focus on improving profitability and shareholder returns. The team includes CFO and Chief Administrative Officer, Matt Garth, and General Counsel and Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer, Dimiter Todorov. Both of whom assumed their duties 14 months ago. COO Nate Baxter, who joined the company in May 2023, Chief Human Resource Officer and Chief Ethics Officer, Julie DeMuesy, who took on the position in October 2023, and Chris Hagedorn, Division President, overseeing Hawthorne, who is a mainstay on the team. We also continued to refresh the board with diverse skill sets and backgrounds. Board tenure was getting high, and it was time for some new voices and perspectives. In the last 18 months, we've brought on three new board members. They include former Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, currently President, University of Nevada, Reno. Edith Aviles, who has deep experience in global investor relations, capital markets, and leveraged finance. And Mark Kingdon, who has held senior executive positions and founder positions with companies in the consumer, technology, and digital spaces. As we look to 2024, I feel very optimistic. We're in a much better position and are returning to a more normal state of operating. We're investing in innovation and our brands for long-term growth. We are establishing the foundation to return to a shareholder-friendly capital allocation. This year, we're guiding to high single-digit growth in our core lawn and garden business. That growth is built on a bottoms-up plan, driven by incremental gains of share of shelf, new product listings, and expanded promotional activity, plus conservative pricing actions on key seasonal items. Our associates are working hard to execute on this plan, and we're seeing early positive results that reaffirm our outlook. Nate Baxter and his team are highly focused on enhancing our lawn and garden business, which is one of the best consumer franchises in America. With Hawthorne, our goal is to eventually separate this business from Scotts Miracle-Gro in a manner that brings value to our shareholders and helps recover our investment. We continue to engage with multiple parties to explore value-creating combinations and partnerships. Hawthorne has the best collection of brands on the legal side of the cannabis industry, with products grounded in science-based innovation. It is an essential component to building an integrated national cannabis company, which could include genetics, cultivation, and retail. There remains significant value to be captured in this business as the market matures. Our success this year will be judged on the completion of the following, which I believe we can accomplish: Improve gross margin to deliver $575 million in EBITDA, finish the two-year job of achieving $1 billion in free cash flow, pay down debt by an additional $350 million or more to get our leverage ratio into the fours. Find a solution for Hawthorne that allows us to maximize the value of this important asset in the cannabis space... We will talk more about 2024 at our first quarter earnings call on February 7th. For our meeting today, I want to welcome and thank our board of directors who are also present. Our board is comprised of the following member, members: Edith Aviles, Dave Evans, Adam Hanft, Steve Johnson, Tom Kelly, Mark Kingdon, Kate Littlefield, Nancy Mistretta, Brian Sandoval, Peter Shumlin, General John Vines, and myself. This group actively oversees me and the management team. Their experiences vary among finance, government, strategic planning, corporate leadership, advertising, consumer marketing, and the U.S. military, among others. Our shareholders are extremely fortunate to be represented by these talented and engaged directors. Moving on, we will tend to the business in our proxy statement. When finished, we'll answer questions that shareholders may have asked online. If you have a question, please post it over the next several minutes if you haven't already. If you are a shareholder who has not yet voted or a shareholder looking to change your vote, you may do so by clicking the voting button on the web portal and following the instructions. I will now turn things over to Dimiter Todorov, our General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer. Thank you, Jim. I'd like to add my welcome to the annual meeting of shareholders and introduce Aimee DeLuca, our Senior Vice President of Investor Relations, Tony Carideo from the Carideo Group, who will serve as our Inspector of Elections, and Greg Coy, Lead Client Service Partner at Deloitte & Touche, LLP, our outside independent auditor. This is the formal part of our meeting, where we address the matters that are set forth in the proxy statement sent to our shareholders. When we have finished, I'll turn the podium over back to Jim for Q&A. Only validated shareholders will be able to ask questions in the designated field on the web portal. Out of consideration for others, I ask that you please limit yourself to one question. This meeting is being recorded. However, no one attending via webcast is permitted to use any audio recording device. During the course of our discussion this morning, we may make forward-looking statements regarding the company's future performance. I want to remind everyone that actual results could differ materially from what we discuss based on a variety of risk factors. We encourage investors to familiarize themselves with those risk factors, which are spelled out in detail in our Form 10-K, which is filed with the SEC. We can now proceed with the business of our meeting. First, with regard to last year's annual meeting of shareholders, I would like the record to reflect the minutes of that meeting have been filed with the records of the company. Next, Aimee DeLuca will confirm our mailing procedures and registered shareholders. Aimee? Thank you, Dimiter. I would like to present the affidavit of Broadridge Financial Solutions, pursuant to which Broadridge has confirmed that the notice of this meeting, the proxy statement, the form of proxy, and the 2023 annual report were timely mailed to the shareholders of the company. Thanks, Aimee. The affidavit and proxy materials are directed to be filed with the records of the company. I would also like to present a list of the registered shareholders of the company's common shares as of the close of business on November 27th, 2023, the record date for this meeting. Thank you, Aimee. The list of registered shareholders is directed to be filed with the records of the company. Next, I'd like to offer a final opportunity to any shareholder who has not yet voted and who wishes to change their vote to do so by clicking on the voting button on the web portal and following the instructions there. Shareholders who have sent in proxies or voted via telephone or the Internet and do not want to change their vote do not need to take any further action. Now that everyone has had the opportunity to vote, I now declare the polls for the annual meeting closed. Mr. Carideo, please present your report regarding the number of common shares present at today's meeting. Mr. Todorov, a minimum of 51,234,720 shares, or 90.39% of the common shares outstanding, are present in person or by proxy. Thank you, Mr. Carideo. The proxies, substitutions of proxies, and ballots presented to the meeting are hereby ordered to be filed with the records of the company. According to Mr. Carideo's report, a quorum is present so that business may properly be conducted. As set forth in the Proxy Statement, the business of this meeting includes 4 proposals. Proposal number 1 is to elect four directors, each to serve for a three-year term, expiring at the annual meeting of shareholders to be held in the year 2027. Proposal number 2 is to conduct an advisory vote on the compensation of the company's named executive officers. Proposal number 3 is to ratify the audit committee's selection of Deloitte & Touche, LLP, as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024. Proposal number 4 is to approve an amendment and restatement of the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company's long-term incentive plan to increase the maximum number of common shares available for grant to participants.... Proposal number 1. Proceeding to proposal number 1, I recognize Julie DeMuesy, Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, for the purpose of nominating the four directors. Thank you, Dimiter. I hereby move that the following persons be elected as directors of the company, each to hold office until the annual meeting of shareholders to be held in the year 2027, and until their successors are duly elected and qualified, or until their earlier death, resignation, or removal. Tom Kelly, Brian Sandoval, Peter Shumlin, and John Vines. Is there a second to the motion? I second the motion. As a person appointed as an official proxy, I report that I have voted in accordance with the proxies received from shareholders. Mr. Carideo, may I have your report of the vote regarding the election of the four directors? Mr. Todorov, I report that each of the four nominees for election as a director received not less than 39.1 million votes. I hereby declare that Tom Kelly, Brian Sandoval, Peter Shumlin, and John Vines have been duly elected as directors of the company. The meeting will now proceed to consideration of proposal number two. I recognize Julie DeMuesy for the purpose of presenting the proposal. Thank you, Dimiter. I hereby move that shareholders approve on an advisory basis, the compensation of the company's named executive officers. Is there a second to the motion? I second the motion. As a person appointed as an official proxy, I report that I have voted in accordance with the proxies received from shareholders. Mr. Carideo, may I have your report of the advisory vote regarding the compensation of the company's named executive officers? Mr. Todorov, I report that not less than 43.1 million advisory votes were received for approval of the compensation of the company's named executive officers. I hereby declare that the shareholders have approved, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the company's named executive officers. The meeting will now proceed to consideration of proposal number three. I recognize Matt Garth for the purpose of presenting the proposal. Thank you, Dimiter. I hereby move that the Audit Committee selection of Deloitte & Touche, LLP, as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, be ratified. Is there a second to the motion? I second the motion. As a person appointed as an official proxy, I report that I have voted in accordance with the proxies received from shareholders. Mr. Carideo, may I have your report of the vote regarding the ratification of the Audit Committee's selection of Deloitte & Touche, LLP, as the company's independent registered public accounting firm? Mr. Todorov, I report that ratification of the Audit Committee's selection of Deloitte & Touche, LLP, as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, received not less than 50.3 million votes. I hereby declare that the Audit Committee's selection of Deloitte & Touche, LLP, as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending September thirtieth, twenty twenty-four, has been ratified. The meeting will now proceed to consideration of proposal number 4. I recognize Julie DeMuesy for the purpose of presenting the proposal. Thank you, Dimiter. I hereby move that shareholders approve an amendment and restatement of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company long-term incentive plan to increase the maximum number of common shares available for grant to participants. Is there a second to the motion? I second the motion. As a person appointed as an official proxy, I report that I have voted in accordance with the proxies received from shareholders. Mr. Carideo, may I have your report of the vote regarding the amendment and restatement of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company's long-term incentive plan? Mr. Todorov, I report that not less than 30.2 million votes were received for approval of the amendment and restatement of the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company's long-term incentive plan. I hereby declare that the shareholders have approved the amendment and restatement of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company's long-term incentive plan. Mr. Chairman, this concludes the formal business portion of our meeting. Thank you, Dimiter. Now I'd like to open things up for shareholder questions and comments. Please note, I will attempt to answer as many questions or comments as time allows, but only questions or comments that are germane to the meeting will be addressed. Any questions that are not germane to today's meeting will be addressed offline, outside this meeting, with the individual who poses such a question. Ladies and gentlemen, there have been no questions asked. Thank you very much for your continued support of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. There being no further business to come before this meeting, the 2024 annual meeting of shareholders of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is now adjourned. Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude today's presentation. We do thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.