FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brady Porche
Phone: (800) 460-4242
Fax: (225) 751-9993
E-mail: brady@bicalliance.com

Inspirational new book highlights the “ultimate adventure” of entrepreneurship

The BIC Alliance, the Baton Rouge, La.-based publisher of Business and Industry Connection (BIC) magazine, recently announced the release of “Energy Entrepreneurs, Vol. 1,” a collection of inspiring stories about individuals who own and operate 20 successful energy-related service companies. The book was written by BIC Alliance CEO & Founder Earl Heard and Brady Porche, editor for BIC Publishing and associate editor for BIC magazine.

The individuals featured took many different paths to peace, happiness and success. Many worked alongside their fathers, mothers and other family members in their youth and early adulthood before becoming leaders in their industries. Some earned advanced degrees from prestigious American universities. Others rose from poverty to achieve success beyond their wildest dreams. All, however, share a common bond — the desire to “work hard and assume risk in order to be successful, benevolent and, above all, happy,” according to Heard’s introduction.

“‘Energy Entrepreneurs’ is more than just a collection of great personal stories,” Heard said. “The men and women we’ve featured have shared their firsthand knowledge of what makes a person successful, just as though it were a guide for budding entrepreneurs and managers. Even if you don’t aspire to own a business, the lessons shared in the book still apply. With so many unique perspectives, we feel this book is one-of-a-kind.”

The entrepreneurs include:

• A former high school basketball coach who took the helm of his late father’s company after just a few years on the job.
• A man who went from conducting his first business in the middle of a junkyard to winning an Entrepreneur of the Year award.
• A man who was reared in poverty by his widowed mother during the Great Depression and went on to found one of the Southeast’s largest maintenance and specialty contracting companies.

BIC Publishing is now offering a special package for those who wish to order the
new book in conjunction with its first book, “It’s What We Do Together That Counts: The BIC Alliance Story.” The latter, published in 2005, is Earl Heard’s personal testimony of the role that faith, hard work and perseverance play in achieving greater peace, happiness and success in life. Hardcover copies of both books can be purchased for $50. Individual prices for each book are as follows:

• Hardcover: $30 plus shipping and handling.
• Paperback: $20 plus shipping and handling.

A portion of the book’s proceeds will be donated to charitable organizations providing aid to victims of the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Founded by Heard in 1984, the BIC Alliance is a strategic marketing firm that connects buyers and sellers in business and industry through advertising campaigns, sales and marketing consultation, trade show and conference networking, and more. BIC magazine is the nation’s largest multi-industry, multidepartmental publication,featuring news and commentary on the petrochemical, construction, power generation, pulp and paper, and chemical industries 10 times per year.

For more information on ordering “Energy Entrepreneurs, Vol. 1” or “It’s What We Do Together That Counts: The BIC Alliance Story,” please contact Brady Porche at (800) 460-4242, send e-mail to brady@bicalliance.com or visit www.bicpublishing.com.