BrightStar Care Founder Shelly Sun Honored as 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year

IFA Chairwoman, Franchise Industry Veteran Receives Prestigious Award from Haslam College of Business

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Nov 13, 2017, 09:03 ET

CHICAGO, Nov. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Shelly Sun, Founder and CEO of BrightStar Care, the nation's leading in-home care and medical staffing franchise, was recently awarded by her Alma Mater, the Haslam College of Business, as its distinguished 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year. As a 1992 graduate of the university, Sun was recognized at its ninth annual Alumni Awards Gala held on Friday, November 3. The annual gala benefitted the College Fund for the Haslam College of Business.

As a Knoxville, Tennessee native, Sun came to the Haslam College of Business in the late 1980s in pursuit of an accounting degree. Driven to succeed, Sun placed in the top 100 of the CPA exam within a year of graduation. Sun attributes her success at Haslam to the two internship opportunities that she was given through the accounting program. After graduating from the university, Sun spent the first decade of her career in various corporate roles within the technology, food distribution, and insurance industries as an assistant controller. Her work in health insurance drew her to property and casualty insurance, but it was a personal experience that led her to become an entrepreneur.

"As an adult, I was tasked with a challenge that many American families face – finding quality home care for a family member in need," said Sun. "When I didn't find the type of care that we needed or expected, I quickly realized there was an opportunity to provide that type of care. That experience influenced a passion to offer the best home care services in America – and to this day that is exactly what BrightStar Care does."

In 2002, Sun started BrightStar Care, a Chicago-based premium healthcare company focusing on home and medical staffing. The venture grew at a rapid rate, and in 2005, she decided to expand its reach through franchising. Fast forward 12 years and BrightStar Care has more than 300 locations nationwide and recently inked its first international master franchise agreement to expand into Canada with expectations to develop 65 BrightStar Care locations across all 10 provinces within the next five years.

About BrightStar Care
Based in Chicago, BrightStar Care is a national private duty home care and medical staffing franchise with more than 300 locations which provide medical and non-medical services to clients within their homes, as well as supplemental care staff to corporate clients. BrightStar Care franchise locations across the country employ over 2,500 registered nurses who play a unique role in overseeing the care for each individual client, a service that no other private duty home care provider offers. In addition, BrightStar Care is the only national home care franchise to receive The Joint Commission's Enterprise Champion for Quality award every year since the award's inception. In 2017, the company ranked No. 69 on Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 list and was included for the tenth consecutive year on Inc. Magazine's prestigious Inc. 5000 list. For more information on BrightStar Care please visit www.brightstarcare.com; to find out more about BrightStar Care Franchising, visit www.franchise.brightstarcare.com.

Media Contact: Julianne Stevenson, Fishman Public Relations, 847-945-1300 or [email protected]

SOURCE BrightStar Care