Ernst & Young announces Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2013 finalists in the Central Midwest Region

ST. LOUIS, April 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ernst & Young LLP today announced the finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2013 Award in the Central Midwest region. The awards program recognizes high-growth entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. These 23 finalist companies were selected by a panel of independent judges. Award winners will be announced at a special gala event on June 20, 2013, at the Sheraton Hotel in Overland Park, Kansas.

The Central Midwest region includes companies based in Missouri and Kansas. Collectively, this year's finalists created more than 5,000 jobs in the past three years, providing 42,611 jobs at the end of 2012. These companies also generated more than $4 billion of revenue in 2012 and grew their company's employment by 12% and their revenues by 24% between 2010 and 2012.

This year's finalists are:

• Aegion Corporation – J. Joseph Burgess (St. Louis, Missouri)
• ARC Physical Therapy + – Matthew Condon (Overland Park, Kansas)
• Artur Express – Tomasz Tokarczyk and Artur Wagrodzki (St. Louis, Missouri)
• Cambridge Engineering Inc. – John Kramer, Jr. (Chesterfield, Missouri)
• Coolfire Media LLC/Originals/Solutions – Jeffrey Keane (St. Louis, Missouri)
• Executive AirShare Corp. – Robert Taylor (Kansas City, Missouri)
• Gallus BioPharmaceuticals. – Mark Bamforth (St. Louis, Missouri)
• GL Group Inc – Gary Jaffe (St. Louis, Missouri)
• Jack Cooper Holdings – Tony Michael Riggs (Kansas City, Missouri)
• Juggle, LLC. – Stephanie Leffler and Ryan Noble (Swansea, Illinois)
• NPC International – James Schwartz (Overland Park, Kansas)
• Pivot Employment Platform. – Cary Daniel (Overland Park, Kansas)
• Sioux Chief Manufacturing – Joseph Ismert (Peculiar, Missouri)
• Specialty Fertilizer Products, LLC – Dr. John Sanders (Leawood, Kansas)
• Sporting Club – Robb Heineman (Kansas City, Missouri)
• Suhor Industries. – Joseph Suhor, III (Overland Park, Kansas)
• Switch: Liberate Your Brand – Mike O'Neil, Kevin Quigley and John Nickel (St. Louis, Missouri)
• Technology Group Solutions – Lenora Payne (Lenexa, Kansas)
• Technology Partners – Lisa Nichols (Chesterfield, Missouri)
• Terracon – David Gaboury (Olathe, Kansas)
• TradeWind Energy – Rob Freeman, Matt Gilhousen and Geoff Coventry (Lenexa, Kansas)
• Trinity Products Inc – Robert Griggs (O'Fallon, Missouri)
• UnitedLex – Daniel Reed (Overland Park, Kansas)

Now in its 27th year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Program has expanded globally to recognize entrepreneurs in over 140 cities and in more than 50 countries throughout the world.  Regional award winners go on to compete at the national level. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the National Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall Award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 16, 2013. The awards are the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum^®, the nation's most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored by SAP America and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

In the Central Midwest region, local sponsors include: Enterprise Bank and Trust, Smart Business, Lockton Companies, Armstrong Teasdale, Stinson Morrison Hecker, and CommonGround.

Contact information

To purchase tickets for the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards gala on June 20, contact Nikki Thompson of Ernst & Young at + 1 314 290 1232 or [email protected]. Tickets are $200 per person or $1,400 for eight tickets. For more information about the program, please visit www.ey.com/us/eoy/cm.

About Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year^®

Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award recognizes the significant contributions of entrepreneurs who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement.

About Ernst & Young LLP's Strategic Growth Markets practice

Ernst & Young LLP's Strategic Growth Markets (SGM) practice guides leading high-growth companies. Our multidisciplinary team of elite professionals provides perspective and advice to help our clients accelerate market leadership. SGM delivers assurance, tax, transactions and advisory services to thousands of companies spanning all industries. Ernst & Young is the undisputed leader in taking companies public, advising key government agencies on the issues impacting high-growth companies and convening the experts who shape the business climate. For more information, please visit us at ey.com/us/strategicgrowthmarkets, or follow news on Twitter at EY_Growth.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 167,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential.

For more information, please visit ey.com.

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This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a client-serving member firm of Ernst Young Global Limited operating in the US.

SOURCE Ernst & Young LLP