ONTARIO, CALIF., (November 20, 2013) – A sellout crowd of 610 business and community leaders gathered on November 19 to celebrate the 11th annual Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards, an event recognizing the leadership, innovation and business acumen of entrepreneurs.
The black-tie event, held at the Ontario Convention Center, was themed "The Art of Entrepreneurship" and featured entertainment from Brian Olsen, whose "Art in Action" painting of various famous figures during the evening reinforced the creativity and innovation necessary to be a successful entrepreneur.
“Each year we have the privilege of recognizing the best entrepreneurs the Inland Empire region has to offer,” said Dr. Mike Stull, founding organizer of the event and director of Cal State San Bernardino’s Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship. “The number of unique companies and inspiring success stories is amazing.”
This year’s award recipients, chosen from 26 finalists and over 160 nominees, include:
•General Entrepreneur: Gary and Sally Myers, BMW Management, Inc., Temecula
•Corporate Entrepreneur: Phil Kurtz, Wetmore Tool and Engineering Co., Chino
•Manufacturing Entrepreneur: Donna Pursell, Prestige Mold Inc., Rancho Cucamonga
•Service-Based Entrepreneur: Dan Hill, Mach One Air Charters Inc., Chino
•Small Enterprise: Joan Nguyen, MeriEducation, Riverside
•Social Entrepreneur: Terrance Stone, Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academies, San Bernardino
•Technology Entrepreneur: Kevin Mahaffy and Eric Schmidt, Exquadrum, Inc., Adelanto
•Emerging Entrepreneur: Robert Kunesh, Sactec Solar Inc., Palm Springs
•Family Business: Jae, Robert and Sue Boyd, Boyd Specialties Manufacturing, Colton
The event also featured the "Best of Best" award, presented to Gary and Sally Myers of BMW Management, Inc. The award was conceived by event sponsor Best Best & Krieger LLP (BB&K) and the event’s presenter the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship (IECE) at Cal State San Bernardino in 2012, to recognize the “best” entrepreneur from among each of the award recipients.
As part of the event festivities, the Garner Holt Student Fast Pitch Competition was held for five future entrepreneurs to deliver a 90-second pitch about their up-and-coming venture idea to the audience and were critiqued on their overall preparation, poise and professional presentation. The top three pitches were recognized and the top student, Christine Law, walked away with a $4,000 prize. The fast pitch, which involves students from Cal State San Bernardino, is sponsored by local entrepreneur Garner Holt of San Bernardino. Holt’s company, Garner Holt Productions, is the world’s leading manufacturer of Animatronics & Animatronic Figures.
The Spirit of the Entrepreneur event was presented by the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship at California State University San Bernardino and sponsored by a wide range of local organizations including Inland Empire magazine, Best Best & Krieger LLP; Los Angeles News Group; Bank of America; Business Alliance; City of Ontario; Southern California CEO Business Magazine; QuickCaption; Varner & Brandt LLP; UPS; Riverside County Economic Development Agency; CDC Small Business Finance; City of Riverside; Vistage; and Wells Fargo.
About the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship
Located on the campus of Cal State San Bernardino, the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship (IECE) was recognized by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) as having the top specialty entrepreneurship program in the US for 2010. IECE has also been recognized for its excellence by Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review, achieving a ranking of fourth in the nation among graduate entrepreneurship in 2006.
IECE offers a wide range of programs and services including academic programs that lead to business degrees in Entrepreneurship for undergraduate and graduate students as well as delivering experiential learning and student support programs such as the Fast Pitch Competition. In the local community, IECE offers existing and aspiring entrepreneurs a wide array of business advisory and mentoring services, student internship and consulting resources, and entrepreneurial training programs that help them achieve greater levels of success in their business ventures. For more information about IECE, visit www.entre.csusb.edu.
