Acadian Ambulance Service Inc.

Employees honored with the first annual Bernard A. Goldhirsch Courage Award from INC Magazine

Acadian Ambulance Service commanded a major share of the limelight at the 24 th Annual Inc. 500 Conference and Awards Ceremonies in Savannah, Georgia. Chairman & CEO, Richard Zuschlag, was honored as the Honorable Mention for the Inc. Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year Award, while all the employee-owners of the ambulance service were honored with the first annual Bernard A. Goldhirsch Courage Award. Zuschlag, (center) holding the Courage Award, is pictured with Dan Houston, (left) senior vice president, Principal Financial Group and John Koten, CEO and editor-in-chief of Inc. Magazine.

Contact: Keith Simon, VP of Marketing, 1.80.259.3333, 291.3347, ksimon@acadian.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 4, 2006

Savannah, Ga. --Acadian Ambulance Service commanded a major share of the limelight at the 24 th Annual Inc. 500 Conference and Awards Ceremonies this past weekend in Savannah, Georgia. The company's chairman and CEO, Richard Zuschlag, was honored as the Honorable Mention for the Inc. Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year Award, while all the employee-owners of the ambulance service were honored with the first annual Bernard A. Goldhirsch Courage Award.

The Goldhirsch Courage Award, named for the late founder of Inc. Magazine, the sponsor of the conference, is designed to recognize entrepreneurs who have overcome particularly daunting obstacles, bounced back from particularly difficult setbacks, and persevered. John Koten, CEO and editor-in-chief of Inc. Magazine, the only major business magazine edited exclusively for CEOs of growing companies, said the men and women of Acadian Ambulance Service were selected for the award because of their outstanding efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

The selection of Zuschlag as honorable mention for Entrepreneur of the Year was based primarily on his leadership role during the company's nationally recognized response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In addition to the tribute paid him at the Inc. 500 Conference, he was featured in a special edition of Inc. Magazine, which described his long hours of tireless guidance of the company's rescue efforts during the hurricanes.

Zuschlag, also a presenter at the conference, expressed his deep appreciation for the personal honor, and for the selection of the men and women of Acadian for the Courage Award.

“I have always known that Acadian Ambulance Service was blessed with people of courage and compassion,” he told the large gathering. “Until Katrina struck and the New Orleans levees failed -- until Hurricane Rita came roaring in on the heels of Katrina -- I had never realized the full extent of those special qualities. As they responded to the greatest natural disaster in this nation's history, I saw clearly the towering height of their courage and the incredible depth of their compassion.

“In the worst of situations, they were at their very best. They took bold leaps into uncharted territory -- where they dealt with huge challenges and frightening risks by exercising every skill of their profession, and thinking far, far out of the box.

In the most terrifying circumstances, they never backed away. As long as people were hurting, or in harm's way, they pushed forward. They stayed the course even though many of them had lost their own treasured belongings in the catastrophe. Their only concern was for the people who so desperately needed their remarkable expertise,” he said.

The honors paid Zuschlag and the Acadian Ambulance team were not the first from Inc. Magazine. The company also holds the coveted Inc. Magazine/MCI National Technology Leadership Award, given annually for outstanding use of technology in providing customer service.

The Inc. 500 Conference and Awards Ceremony is considered the nation's preeminent event for entrepreneurs. According to Koten, it “is at the center of the dialogue that identifies and celebrates the role of entrepreneurs and innovators as a crucial source of economic strength for the U.S. and the world.”