For Immediate Release
Prairies Finalists Announced for the Most Prestigious Business Awards in Canada
The 14th annual Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Awards name finalists
(Calgary, July 5, 2007)—Out of an impressive list of nominees, 45 outstanding Prairies region entrepreneurs who have demonstrated courage, determination and leadership have been chosen as finalists in the 2007 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards program.
“The economic landscape in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan is ripe with great entrepreneurial talent,” says Barry Munro, director of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards program for the Prairies region. “We feel privileged to be able to celebrate the successes and innovative talent from our Prairie nominees.”
The Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards have proudly honoured the innovation and relentless entrepreneurial spirit of Canada’s leading businesspeople for the past 14 years. The program considers nominees in a number of business categories before selecting finalists. The following are finalists for Entrepreneur Of The Year 2007, Prairies region:
Business-to-Business Products and Services
Peter LaceyCervus LP (John Deere, Bobcat and JCB dealership owner/operator)
Calgary, AB
www.cervuslp.com
Maria De Nardi
Mondo Foods Co. Ltd. (Broad line, specialty foods company)
Winnipeg, MB
www.mondofoods.com
Lyle Best
Quikcard Solutions Inc. (Health plan administrator and health claim software developer)
Edmonton, AB
www.quikcard.com
Louie Tolaini
TransX Group of Companies (Integrated transportation solutions provider)
Winnipeg, MB
www.transx.com
Business-to-Consumer Products and Services
Eveline CharlesEveline Charles Salons & Spas (Hair salon/day spa operator and product manufacturer)
Edmonton, AB
www.evelinecharles.com
Guy Goodwin, Dale Moran
Pizza 73 (Pizza chain with 48 locations in Western Canada)
Edmonton, AB
www.pizza73.com
Wayne Henuset
Willow Park Wines & Spirits (Fine wine and spirit retailer)
Calgary, AB
www.willowpark.net
Emerging Entrepreneur
Jeff McIntoshCanadian Global Air Ambulance (International air ambulance organization)
Winnipeg, MB
www.canadianglobalair.ca
Trent Bruce, Rick Daigle, Karen Narfason, Barry Rinehart
Concept Compression Corp. (Designs, sells, services natural gas compression packages)
Calgary, AB
www.conceptcompression.com
Dick Brown
Ferus Inc. (Produces, transports and stores industrial gases)
Calgary, AB
www.ferus.ca
Energy Producers
Pat CarlsonNorth American Oil Sands Corporation (Start-up oil sands developer)
Calgary, AB
www.naosc.com
Don Allan
Peace River Oil Inc. (Provider of crude upgrading/refining process to bitumen producers)
Red Deer, AB
www.peaceriveroil.com
Guy Turcotte
Western Oil Sands Inc. (Develops, produces and upgrades bitumen into light oil)
Calgary, AB
www.westernoilsands.com
Energy Services
John Geddes, Bill LingardFlint Energy Services Ltd. (Midstream construction and production service provider)
Calgary, AB
www.flintenergy.com
Lee Gottschlich
GLM Industries LP (Manufacturing and engineering design company)
Nisku, AB
www.glmindustries.com
Delton Campbell
Innicor Subsurface Technologies (Supplier of wellbore products and related services)
Calgary, AB
www.innicor.com
Darwin Deleeuw, Carrie Duncan, Mike Duncan
Lincoln County Oilfield Services Ltd. (Pipeline and new facility construction company)
Athabasca, AB
www.lcos.ca
Don Basnett
Pyramid Corporation (Oil field service company)
Nisku, AB
www.pyramidcorporation.com
Manufacturing
Craig McIntoshAcrylon Plastics (High-quality, low-cost plastic product manufacturer)
Winnipeg, MB
www.acrylon.com
Rob Stenson
Ag Growth Income Fund (Manufacturer of grain handling and conditioning equipment)
Winnipeg, MB
www.aggrowth.com
Sean Frisky
Ground Effects Environmental Services Inc. (Designer and manufacturer of in-site remediation equipment)
Regina, SK
www.groundeffects.org
.
Kevin Halliday
Spindle, Stairs & Railings (Manufactures/sells staircases, railings and finishing products)
Calgary, AB
www.greatstairs.com
Ted Degner, Dwayne Hunka, Donald Oborowsky
Waiward Steel Fabricators Ltd. (Steel fabrication facility)
Edmonton, AB
www.waiward.com
Media and Communications
Ross Harvey, Kim McConnellAdFarm (Agricultural marketing and communications firm)
Calgary, AB
www.adfarmonline.com
Mark Hofer
Direct Focus Marketing Communications Inc. (Marketing communications firm)
Winnipeg, MB
www.directfocus.com
Jeff Bradshaw
Zoom Communications Inc. (Full-service film and video production company)
Calgary, AB
www.zoomcom.ca
Real Estate/ Professional/ Financial Services
Larry PollockCanadian Western Bank (Federally chartered, Schedule 1 bank)
Edmonton, AB
www.cwbankgroup.com
Martin Dolemo
Dolemo Development Corporation (Diversified real estate company)
Calgary, AB
www.dolemocorp.com
Clive Oshry, Michael Oshry
Globex Foreign Exchange Corporation (Personal and corporate foreign exchange firm)
Edmonton, AB
www.globexfx.com
Barb Gamey
Payworks Inc. (Payroll services and software solutions provider)
Winnipeg, MB
www.payworks.ca
Technology
Mike Mabey, Nashir SamananiElluminate Inc. (Technology firm providing Web conferencing and e-learning)
Calgary, AB
www.elluminate.com
Mark Ryski
HeadCount Corporation (Retail traffic and customer conversion analysis provider)
Edmonton, AB
www.headcount.com
Greg Surbey
ICOM Productions Inc. (E-learning provider)
Calgary, AB
www.icomproductions.ca
John MacInnes
Print Audit (Print tracking software provider)
Calgary, AB
www.printaudit.com
Special Recognition
Camille Dow BakerCentre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (provider of education, training and technical consulting to organization that serve the poor in developing countries)
Calgary, AB
www.cawst.org
On October 11, 2007, a finalist in each business category will be presented with a regional category award during a gala celebration, with one category recipient then being awarded the title of Entrepreneur Of The Year for the Prairies region.The Prairies award recipient goes on to compete with top entrepreneurs from the Pacific, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic regions for the coveted national honour of Entrepreneur Of The Year for Canada, to be announced on November 1, 2007, in Toronto. In June 2008, Canada’s Entrepreneur Of The Year moves to the world stage, joining more than 40 country recipients participating in the international competition for the title of Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year®, and joining the ranks of this year’s winner, Canada’s own Guy Laliberté from Cirque du Soleil.
The Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards honour entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in areas such as innovation, risk taking, company development, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Submissions are reviewed by an independent judging panel, which is composed of several distinguished business leaders and previous award recipients. The judges on the Prairies region panel for 2007 are Paul Colborne, President, StarValley Oil and Gas Ltd. and TriStar Oil and Gas Ltd.; Glenn Feltham, Dean, University of Manitoba; Susan Gallacher, Vice President, DirectCash Income Fund; James Keirstead, VP Marketing, Blue Falls Manufacturing Ltd.; Arthur Mauro, Investors Group; and Allan Ross, Chief Executive Officer, Ross Smith Energy Group.
There will be a Webcast for all finalists on Tuesday July 10, 2007, at 11:30am EST. A link to this Webcast will be forwarded to finalists by July 6, 2007.
The Entrepreneur Of The Year Program was founded by Ernst & Young to celebrate great entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in areas such as company development, financial performance and risk taking. The program is nationally sponsored by Global Television Network, National Post, La Presse, RDI, Roynat Capital and SAP. As well, Prairies region sponsors are Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Calgary Herald and Red Point Media.
To learn more about the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2007 Awards, visit www.eoy.ca.
About Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to restoring 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 centred 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 ey.com/perspectives. 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 Global Limited does not provide services to clients.
