Judging Process
The Spirit of the Entrepreneur Judging Process: The Difficult Task of Selecting Award Recipients
>> MEET THE 2010 JUDGESThe foundation of any awards program lies in the strength of its judging process. From the very beginning, the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship sought to ensure the integrity of the Spirit Awards program by establishing an independent judging process - a panel of judges would select the finalists and award recipients without participation or input from the presenting sponsors of the event.
To maintain that independence, the judges are selected each year based on their integrity, professionalism, reputation as Inland Empire business leaders, and their overall support of entrepreneurship in the community. In addition, former award recipients from the Spirit Awards program are asked to join the judging panel to lend their special insight and experience.
Once the nomination period closes, all nomination packages are organized and forwarded to the judging panel for review. Before the judging session, each judge receives a binder containing comprehensive information on each nominee. The judges then independently review and grade each nominee, evaluating them on areas such as history, innovation, financial and growth results, success, and future plans. The judges then convene for a half-day meeting where they discuss the nominees in detail and ultimately select the finalists and award recipients, which are kept confidential from all but the judges until the night of the event.