Cincinnati's Leading Entrepreneurs Honored at Annual Awards Banquet

The Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research at the University of Cincinnati College of Business will present the 2011 Entrepreneurial Stars on the Square Awards on Thursday, May 12, during a 5:30 p.m. reception and 6:30 p.m. dinner at McCormick & Schmick's in downtown Cincinnati.

The annual awards were established in 1999 to honor excellence for those who celebrate a lifetime of achievement in entrepreneurship to students just beginning their entrepreneurial journey. Community and faculty awards will be given in four categories – lifetime achievement, entrepreneurial excellence, emerging faculty entrepreneur and established faculty entrepreneur. “It is invigorating and energizing to gather once again to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit that lives in the many students, alumni and members of our great community,” commented Charles Matthews, PhD, executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurship. “It is inspiring to see the drive, determination, and dedication that has brought our honorees to this point in their individual and collective entrepreneurial journeys.” says Matthews.

Each year, the College of Business Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research selects leading entrepreneurs who are making an impact in the Cincinnati community and global business world. The 2011 awards will be no exception. This year, awards will be presented to:

David M. Lance, Co-Founder, Restaurant Management Inc.
Lifetime Achievement in Entrepreneurship

Edgar L. Smith, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, World Pac Paper, LLC
John P. Burns, President & General Manager, Cincinnati Bell Technology Solutions, Inc.
Lt. Colonel Jeffery E. Lay, President & Co-Founder, Talon Eight, LLC (Award Presented in November 2010)
Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence

Georg F. Weber, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, UC Winkle College of Pharmacy
Emerging Faculty Entrepreneur Achievement Award

Chong Ahn, PhD, Professor, UC College of Engineering & Applied Science
Established Faculty Entrepreneur Achievement Award

The 2011 awards program will also recognize a number of student achievements in entrepreneurship, including recognition of the student entrepreneurs participating in the Spirit of Enterprise Graduate Business Plan Competition and Small Business Institute® Case of the Year Competition. Several scholarships will be awarded to students at the ceremony.

For more information and reservations for the Entrepreneurial Stars on the Square program, please visit www.business.uc.edu/ecenter/banquet. Reservations for the program may be made online or by calling UC Conferencing at (513) 558-1810. Special rates are available for University of Cincinnati faculty, staff and students.

Event Details
What: Entrepreneurial Stars on the Square Awards
When: 5:30 PM Reception, 6:30 PM Dinner, Thursday, May 12, 2011
Where: McCormick & Schmick's in downtown Cincinnati

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The Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research at the University of Cincinnati College of Business, founded in 1997, provides a forum to educate students who seek to create jobs rather than just have one. The Center plans and coordinates a state-of-the-art entrepreneurship curriculum not only for potential entrepreneurs, but for people in the many organizations that interact with small, entrepreneurial and family owned businesses on a daily basis.