oe Epley is a guy who has worn many hats over his life -- Green Beret, television journalist,
  public relations executive, change agent and now, novelist. He has canoed Arctic wilderness rivers, hiked the Australian outback and helped restore homes destroyed by hurricanes.

     For nearly 40 years, Joe led Epley Associates, a successful public relations firm in Charlotte, N.C., and achieved international recognition for his leadership in the field. He was president of the Public Relations Society of America, and at various times, head of its prestigious College of Fellows, Counselors Academy, and the PRSA Foundation.

     He was a co-founder and global chair of the Worldcom Public Relations Group, the world’s largest consortium of independent public relations firms. In addition to lecturing at universities and before professional groups throughout the world, he helped introduce the PR profession to Russia in the waning days of the Soviet Union. During his career, Joe held leadership roles in many organizations. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of The Marketing Alliance, a publicly traded life insurance brokerage firm that serves independent agents nationwide, and the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

     Among Joe’s honors is the Gold Anvil, the highest award in the public relations profession for lifetime achievement. In addition to his election to the University of North Carolina’s Journalism School Public Relations Hall of Fame and the alumni hall of fame for the Defense Information School, he has been awarded of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina’s highest award for noteworthy citizens.

     After selling his business in Charlotte in 2005, Joe retired with his wife to the wooded hills near Tryon, N.C. where he continues public service work in addition to researching and writing about the American Revolutionary War. He remains active as a public relations consultant and as an advisor for international public relations studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.