Dear friends,

Welcome to our June/July 2007 issue of BIC — your Business & Industry Connection.

Over the past few months, I have had the opportunity to personally meet and visit with hundreds of amazing business and industrial folks from around the globe. As I look back over the thousands of people we’ve met and written about in BIC over the past 23 years, and more recently in our books, one thing that stands out loud and clear is that teamwork and a strong work ethic begin at home. No matter how excited people are when we talk about business, the most successful folks seem to become even more excited when we ask them about their family and off-the-job activities.

Recently, during the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), more than 900 people attended the Oilfield Christian Fellowship breakfast where we heard an inspiring presentation from Karl Kurz, COO of Anadarko Petroleum. Not only did he give us an inspiring presentation about what’s going on in the energy business, but he also talked about his days as a Boy Scout and his role as a spouse, a father and a Christian role model both on and off the job.

On that same visit to Texas, I had some great visits with dozens of BIC Alliance partners and readers who are part of the BIC Alliance team that helps share a positive message not only across America but also around the world. Once, I wrote that TEAM means Together Everyone Accomplishes More, and that there are no big I’s and little u’s in the word TEAM. BIC magazine is an example of that concept at work — together with our teammates in industry, the BIC Alliance produces the publication, which then reaches 100,000 readers, whom we also consider our partners.

Recently, we completed our second book through BIC Publishing. “Energy Entrepreneurs, Vol. 1” includes 20 inspirational stories about successful energy entrepreneurs across America. Several of the stories were about second and third generations, spouses working together, and family members who joined their parents to carry the business into the next generation. Once again, one message was loud and clear — folks seem to achieve greater peace, happiness and success when they have a strong team supporting them off the job.

These teams aren’t just made up of family members and friends. They are also the teams we are a part of at church and through our community service and charitable endeavors. The old saying that givers get means a lot more than receiving recognition and financial success. It includes the pure joy and peace that comes from giving to others less fortunate and helping others take a step upward on the ladder of success.

I know these things personally and learned these lessons the hard way. I titled my first book “It’s What We Do Together That Counts” because true teamwork and working together for the betterment of all is what has made BIC America’s No. 1 multi-industry magazine. Because we so strongly believe that teamwork and success begin at home and in our community service, we always allocate space in BIC to share what our readers are doing to make the world a better place both on the job and off.

Recently, I watched history being made in the NBA when Golden State, a No. 8 seed, defeated Dallas, a No. 1 seed. The reason was simple — better teamwork, better coordination and better fan support. At BIC Alliance, we believe in the same formula, and we thank you for being part of our team.

In this issue of BIC, Bruce Smith, chairman, president and CEO of Tesoro Corp., also emphasizes teamwork and effective communication in addressing our energy future. Refinery Manager Rich Bedell talks about the expansion of Marathon’s Garyville, La., plant — another true team effort.

This issue also includes features on meeting work force and industrial training demands, safety both on the job and off, pipeline operator qualification, leak detection and repair, and more.

After you’ve read this issue, we hope that you will share it with your other teammates. An example of this is Chanen Negrette of ECONOVA, who recently requested information on bulk subscriptions to BIC. Chanen sees BIC as “a staple as reading material for travel reading and in the office as well as spare time reading.”

We also invite you to be part of the BIC Alliance team by sending us your e-mails about what is going on in your company and in your community. Additionally, we welcome your suggestions for topics that you would like to contribute an article on or that you would like for us to write about in a feature in BIC or in a future book from BIC Publishing.

In our August issue, we will highlight events like the NPRA Reliability & Maintenance Conference, Independent Liquid Terminals Association Conference, and the Texas Chemical Council/Association of Chemical Industry of Texas Conference. Our deadline for sharing your news updates and company profiles is June 18.

To contact Earl, you can e-mail him at earlheard@bicalliance.com.