Ernst & Young Announces Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2010 Finalists

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Ernst & Young Announces Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2010 Finalists

Monday, May 17, 2010 (0 Comments)
Posted by: Courtney Story

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DENVER, CO, 11 May 2010 – Ernst & Young LLP is pleased to announce the finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® award in the Rocky Mountain region. This group of outstanding entrepreneurs was selected by an independent judging panel made up of regional business, academic and community leaders. The winners will be revealed at a gala event on June 24, 2010 at the Grand Hyatt.

"Entrepreneurship is especially vital as our nation recovers from recession,” said Jim Wilson, Ernst & Young LLP Entrepreneur Of The Year Program Director for the Rocky Mountain region. "These finalists create jobs in our area, encouraging healthy growth, development and innovation in the local economy.”

The Rocky Mountain region finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2010 are:

Ralph W. Christie, Jr., P.E., Chairman, President and CEO, Merrick & Company
Lawrence Davis, CEO & Founder, Advanced Assembly
Robert Dineen, President, Rocky Mountain Natural Meats, Inc.
Larry DiPasquale, CEO & Managing Partner, Epicurean Culinary Group
Paul Ford, CEO , NetQuote
Alan Gillan, Vice President, Coolerado Corporation
John Griffith, President, Alpine Waste & Recycling
Jeff Hermanson, CEO , Larimer Associates, Hermanson Inc.
Blake Jones, Co-Founder, President & CEO, Namasté Solar
Rick Jory, President & CEO, Sandhill Scientific, Inc.
John P. Lovett, CEO , Droplet Measurement Technologies
Jack McClurg, CEO , HealthTrans
Anita Padilla-Fitzgerald, Founder, President and CEO, Megastar Financial Corp.
Robert Pfeiffer, CEO & President, Luca Technologies Inc.
Kevin Reddy, CEO & Chairman, Noodles & Company
Monty Sharma, CEO and President, Atkins Nutritionals, Inc.
Emily B. Spencer, President & CEO, Premier Medical Corporation
Trevor Tice, CEO , Core Power Yoga, LLC

The Entrepreneur Of The Year® program honors entrepreneurs regionally in June, leading up to the national awards in November. Additionally, venture-backed companies that win an Entrepreneur Of The Year® award regionally are also eligible for the Venture Capital Award of Excellence on a national level. The overall national US winner then moves on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year title in June.

This year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program celebrates its 24th anniversary. The program has expanded to recognize business leaders in over 135 cities in 50 countries throughout the world. Awards are given to entrepreneurs who demonstrate extraordinary success in the areas of innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Entrepreneurs are nominated and evaluated by those in each region, including local business, academic and community leaders. All regional honorees are invited to the national Entrepreneur Of The Year® gala, hosted by Jay Leno, on November 13, 2010 in Palm Springs, California. The gala is the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum®, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. For more information on the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, please visit www.ey.com/us/strategicgrowthforum.

Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year awards are pleased to have the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and SAP America as national sponsors. In the Rocky Mountain Region local sponsors include Faegre & Benson, Clifton Gunderson, Denver Business Journal and JohnstonWells Public Relations.

Contact information To make reservations for the Entrepreneur Of The Year awards gala on June 24, 2010, contact Courtney Story of Ernst & Young at 720-931-4411 or courtney.story@ey.com by June 17th.

Tickets are $195 per person. For more information about the program, please visit www.ey.com/us/eoy.

About Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year®
Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year® is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The award makes a difference through the unique way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 135 cities in 50 countries.

About Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 144,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential. For more information, please visit www.ey.com. Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young LLP is a client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited located in the U.S.