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Chamber Names 2010 Small Business Award Recipients The second annual Chamber Small Business Awards took place on Thursday, March 11 at The Centre. The Chamber Small Business Awards celebrate small businesses and the contributions they make to our communities and economy. There were over 90 nominations this year and a committee of independent judges narrowed the field to five nominees per category. Five finalists from each category were recognized and one recipient in each category was presented with the award at The Small Business Awards ceremony. 2010 Give Back Award: Just Rennie's LLC Just Rennie’s Catering began in September 2003 when Marla Rennie started the business on her own. In its first year, promoted only by word of mouth, the company offered light lunches of sandwiches, salads, pasta and desserts. Doug and Marla bought a building at 100 SE Fourth Street in downtown Evansville, Indiana, and hired interior designer Cinda Vote to transform it into a Tuscan wine room-bistro. The unique setting accommodates groups up to 48. Catering services can also be provided at Just Rennie’s clients’ own locations. Marla and Doug’s businesses continue to expand and thrive due to the couple’s personal dedication to unsurpassed quality, service and attention to detail. In 2009, Just Rennie’s donated to the following not-for-profits: Cancer Society, Heart Association, Holly’s House, March of Dimes, Race for the Cure, Substance Abuse, Aids Foundation. Various Church Organizations, Various Local School Organizations, SWIRCA, Evansville Museum, Koch’s Family Museum – CMOE, Reitz Home, United Way. South Sector for the Police, Gilda’s Club, University of Evansville, Deaconess Golf Classic, St. Mary’s Cornet Ball and many more. The finalists for the 2010 Give Back Award were: 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year Award: Tom and Lisa Slade, Alphagraphics Founded in 1993 as a total start up operation, AlphaGraphics has grown to be a leading provider of print related products to the Evansville and Tri-State Region over the past 17 years. The company was founded with four employees including the Slades and today employs 17 full time staff. In an extremely competitive industry, AlphaGraphics has flourished due to the competency and longevity of a dynamic group of employees. The Slades believe teamwork and core competency of their staff is the single most important element to their business. The loyalty and development of their corporate clients over the years is testimony to the importance placed on delivering a quality product in a timely and efficient manner. AlphaGraphics has earned the respect of clients and the community over the past 17 years as they strive to bring printing technologies, customer service and community involvement to a level which sets them apart from their competition. AlphaGraphics currently operates out of two locations, their main office on Vogel Road and a production facility on Temple Avenue where they produce large The finalists for the 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year
Award were: 2010 Non-Profit of the Year Award: Tri-State Food Bank Located in Evansville, Indiana, the Tri-State Food Bank (TSFB) impacts the community in many ways. The Food Bank provides safe food to hundreds of feeding charities serving local women, men, and children in the 33-county Tri-State service area. Last year, the Tri-State Foodbank provided over six million pounds of food to over 200 feeding programs including food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters serving the homeless, victims of domestic violence, and families and individuals in need. An estimated 114,200 different people receive food from the food bank annually. In just the southern Indiana counties, the TSFB provided over 2.6 million pounds of food to help people needing assistance. Partnering with schools and after-school programs, the Tri-State Food Bank provides nutritious weekend meals to nearly 1800 kids through our Weekend Back Pack-Food for Kids program. Too many kids rely on the free school lunch as their primary meal and do not have adequate food over the weekend. Kids Cafe, a nutritional meal program began in 2003. It operates year round, in partnership with Media Ministries Dream Center located in Evansville. The Kids Café program serves healthy meals to local “at risk” children. The Tri-State Food Bank provides nutritious food to prepare the meals, nutrition education and primary program support. In the spring of 2009, Tri-State Food Bank launched on our first “Kids Crop”, a children’s community garden project. The garden, located in the Tri-State Food Bank is a team effort between the children, staff members, and experienced volunteers, including Master Gardens. This program objective is to teach growing, harvesting, cooking, and marketing skills to children. The program is set up to become practically self-sustaining for many years. The finalists for the 2010 Non-Profit of the Year
Award were: 2010 Small Business of the Year Award: Information Technology Architects Information Technology Architects is an IT consulting firm in Evansville in business since 1996 with over 300 years of combined IT experience in systems integration, computer, and network support services. During an economic downturn ITA continues to grow increasing their employees by 233% and number of clients by 900%. ITA has two divisions, System Integration and Business Solutions, ITA’s System Integration Division has 100’s of global clients which includes NASA, Pratt & Whitney, Deaconess and St Mary’s Hospitals. Specializing in the health care arena, ITA’s focus in 2010 will be a Hosted Integration Solution for Rural Hospitals and Clinics. ITA started the local division of the company by creating the Business Solutions Division in 2007. Business Solutions bring a whole new and affordable solutions to tri-state businesses. ITA takes a proactive approach at IT by doing a FREE network evaluation. ITA’s goal is to give local businesses guidance and support when it comes to IT; not just fixing broken stuff but making sure their infrastructure is stable thus allowing them to grow with IT that fits their dreams and budget. ITA prides themselves by providing solutions to fit the needs of each client. ITA does not partner with hardware or software vendors. This allows ITA to be their client’s advocate knowing they don’t promote any one vendor. ITA prides themselves on building relationships with their clients and by being there for the long term. The finalists for the 2010 Small Business of the Year
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