populate drop list with value from a string array -

 Public Function GetListOfStates() As String()
        Try
            'remove the hardcoding, if possible
            Using vFileReader As New Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.TextFieldParser(My.Request.PhysicalApplicationPath & "App_Code\States.txt")
                Dim grecord(0) As String
                '    ReDim gStructure(0)
                grecord(0) = vbTab
                vFileReader.TextFieldType = FileIO.FieldType.Delimited
                vFileReader.HasFieldsEnclosedInQuotes = False
                vFileReader.SetDelimiters(grecord)
                Dim i As Integer = 0
                vFileReader.ReadLine() 'throw away first line it's the header
                Do While Not vFileReader.EndOfData
                    ReDim Preserve grecord(i)
                    grecord(i) = vFileReader.ReadLine
                    grecord(i) = Replace(grecord(i), vbTab, " - ")
                    i += 1
                Loop
                vFileReader.Close()
                GetListOfStates = grecord
            End Using
        Catch ex As Exception
            Throw
        End Try
    End Function