Entrepreneur of the Year April 16th, 2007
|
Minneapolis, April 16, 2007 - Finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in Minnesota and Dakotas Announced
Ernst & Young LLF today announced the finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2007 award in Minnesota and the Dakotas. This year's 18 finalists were selected by an independent judging panel composed of area business, academic and civic leaders. Award winners will be announced at a gala event on Tuesday, June 19 at the Guthrie Theater.
"These finalists exemplify the outstanding business talent present in our community," said Bill Miller, Partner with the Entrepreneur Of The Year program. "We are proud to honor them as leaders who nurture economic growth, innovation and the American dream."
The Minnesota and Dakotas finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2007 award are:
- Daniel Murphy, Chairman and CEO, Alliant Techsystems, Inc.
- Dr. Bonnie Lee Baskin, CEO AppTec
- Deborah Ann Callahan, Chairman, President and Founder, Corporate Travel Solutions
- Jack Dalrymple, Chairman, Dakota Growers Pasta Company
- Michael Lacey, President and CEO, Digineer, Inc.
- Reid MacDonald, President and CEO, Faribault Foods, Inc.
- Gregory Gartner, President, Gartner Studios, Inc.
- Steve Wagenheim, President and CEO, Granite City Food & Brewery
- Melanie Ann Nelson, Chairman, President and Founder, Learning Zone Express
- Scott Bakken, President-Partner, MainTrax, LLC
- Dennis Lee, President and CEO and Tim Porth, Executive Vice President, Octane Fitness
- John Olson, CEO, OLSON
- William Jeatran, CEO, RJF Agencies, Inc.
- William Jurewicz, CEO, space150
- Archie Black, President and CEO, SPS Commerce
- Dan Rice, CEO and Founder, Strategic Fundraising, Inc.
- Gordon Ommen, President, CEO and Chairman, U.S. BioEnergy
- Dennis Doyle, CEO, Welshco, LLC
Minnesota and Dakotas award winners will be eligible for consideration for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2007 national program. Winners in several national categories, as well as the overall national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California on November 17, 2007.
The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program celebrates its 21st anniversary this year and continues to recognize the leaders and visionaries whoare creating and building world-class businesses. Awards are given to entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.
Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are pleased to have Bank of America as the national presenting sponsor, as well as SAP America and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation as national sponsors.
In Minnesota and Dakotas, the local sponsors include the law firm of Faegre & Benson and Twin Cities Business magazine.
Contact Information
To make reservations for the awards banquet on June 19, contact Kimberly Anderson of Ernst & Young at 612-371-6924 or kimberly.anderson1@ey.com by June 12. Tickets are $150 per person. For more information about the awards program, visit www.ey.com/us/eoy.
About the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards
The Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program was created and is produced by professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP. As the first award of its kind, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic and growing businesses. The program, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2006, honors entrepreneurs through regional, national and global award programs in over 125 cities and 40 countries.
About Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to enhancing the public's trust in professional services firms and in the quality of financial reporting. Its 114,000 people in 140 countries pursue the highest levels of integrity, quality, and professionalism in providing a range of sophisticated services centered on our core competencies of auditing, accounting, tax, and transactions. Further information about Ernst & Young and its approach to a variety of business issues can be found at www.ey.com/perspectives. Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, a U.K. company limited by guarantee, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited does not provide services to clients. Ernst & Young LLP is a U.S. client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.