The Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship (IECE) at Cal State San Bernardino has announced the finalists for the 2015 Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards program. Award winners will be announced on Nov. 10 at the black-tie gala at the Riverside Convention Center. Now in its 13th year, the Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards event has honored the top business leaders of the Inland region since its inception in 2003.
“We continue to be amazed at the truly unique entrepreneurial success stories in the Inland Empire,” said Mike Stull, founder of the event and director of IECE. “This year’s finalists are another group of advanced companies that represent the type of innovation and risk taking that this event celebrates.”
The program will feature awards given out in nine categories, and also presentation of the 2015 “Best of the Best” award to one of the nine (9) award recipients that best exemplifies what it means to be an entrepreneur in terms of taking risks and building a successful enterprise that creates jobs and value where none existed before.
Entrepreneurial finalists for 2015 include:
Consulting Entrepreneur
- Mary Barnett - Another Brilliant Idea, Inc., Corona
- Patti Drinville - The PLD Group Inc., Thousand Palms
- Virgal Woolfolk - VIRTEK Company, Menifee
Corporate Entrepreneur
- Kathy Griset - Cibaria International, Inc., Riverside
- David J. Greiner - Greiner Buick GMC, Victorville
- Antonio Myrell - Premier Medical Transportation, Inc., Colton
- David Hsu & Ching Liu - SolarMax Technology, Inc., Riverside
Family Business
- Bud Luppino - Bud's Tire Pros, Riverside
- Mark Peabody and Larry Peabod, Peabody Engineering & Supply, Inc., Corona
- Wesley L. Golay - Redlands Prosthetic & Orthotic Group, Inc., Redlands
General Entrepreneur
- Angela Weymar & Tony Di Guglielmo - ICON Vehicle Dynamics, LLC, Riverside
- DeAnne Stidham - LuLaRoe, Corona
- Jeff Van Dam - That Solar Guy, Murrieta
Innovator/Technology Entrepreneur
- Shahriar 'Nick' Niakan - Advanced Flow Engineering, Inc., Corona
- David Bertolini - HotelRSV, Murrieta
- Eddie Rowland - Nexbelt LLC, Rancho Cucamonga
Manufacturing Entrepreneur
- Taylor Hale - Crown Paper Converting, Inc., Ontario
- Dave Grimes - Edge Plastics Inc. / ODI Grips, Riverside
- Jack Fovell - Southwest Sign Co., Corona
Service-Based Entrepreneur
- Daniel Hallisey - Artic Mechanical, Inc., Rancho Cucamonga
- Cory Chalmers - Crime Scene Steri-Clean, LLC, Rancho Cucamonga
- Manuel Acosta - Pepe's Towing Service, Moreno Valley
Small/Emerging Enterprise
- Don Gilmartin - APRIS Fire & Water Restoration, Corona
- Nathan Greenberg - Arkside Marketing, Inc., Riverside
- Gene Sherman - Vocademy - The Makerspace, Riverside
Social Entrepreneur
- Jed Davis - HomeStrong USA, Rancho Cucamonga
- Dr. Temetry A. Lindsey - Inland Behavioral and Health Services, Inc., San Bernardino
- Damien O'Farrell - Path of Life Ministries, Riverside
- Karen DiCarlo - Santa Claus, Inc. of Greater San Bernardino, San Bernardino
The finalists and award recipients are selected by an independent panel of judges consisting of past Spirit Award recipients. The 29 finalists represent the culmination of a nomination and evaluation process that included more than 130 nominees.
Individual tickets for the Nov. 10 event are $110 per person and tables of 10 can be purchased for $1,000. Special Premier VIP experience ticket packages are also available. For more information or to make reservations, call (909) 537-3708 or visit the Spirit of the Entrepreneur event website.
Commencing at 5:30 p.m., the gala includes a cocktail reception, dinner, special entertainment guests and the awards presentation. All proceeds benefit the Spirit of the Entrepreneur Scholarship at Cal State San Bernardino.
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 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, visit the IECE website.