Friday, May 13, 2005

WILMINGTON—The winners of the ninth annual business awards, Enterprise@Sunrise.05, were announced Friday at a breakfast ceremony at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Categories included Established Entrepreneur, Emerging Entrepreneur, Most Innovative Entrepreneur and Young Entrepreneur. A surprise award, Entrepreneurial Spirit, was also presented.

The 2005 winners are: Established Entrepreneur of the Year - SpecialtySoft, Jeff and Jeannette King, owners; Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year - Children’s Cottage of Wilmington, Amy Smith, owner; Most Innovative Entrepreneur of the Year - Xero Products, Roy Archambault, owner; and Young Entrepreneur of the Year - Provis Media Group, Matt Summers, owner. A surprise award for Entrepreneurial Spirit was made to Wilmington International Airport for its enduring commitment to providing convenient and affordable air service to the region.

N.C. Rep. Carolyn Justice hosted the award ceremony. Steve Schitzler, director of operations for Port City Java, gave the keynote address.

Conceived of years ago as an outgrowth of the Small Business Council of the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, the awards were originally bestowed upon retail, wholesale, restaurant, franchise and construction businesses. The categories have now been expanded to include a variety of business entities that exemplify staying power, financial and employment growth, creativity and community engagement.

Hosts for this year’s event were the Coastal Entrepreneurial Council, the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business and Technology Development Center, the Small Business Coalition, UNCW’s Cameron School of Business and Wilmington Industrial Development, Inc.

Past winners have included Atlantic Quest, Castle Branch, ExpoStar Displays, McKim & Creed, Port City Java, Porta-Nails, Sound Werx Applied Technologies, Vision Software, The Wilmington Group and Wilmington Machinery.

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For more information about the winners or the awards program, please contact Allison Rankin at 910.962.7194 or e-mail rankina@uncw.edu.