San Bernardino, CA - The Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship (IECE) at Cal State San Bernardino announced the semi-finalists for the 2022 Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards program. Chosen from a field of over 200 nominees, the 33 semi-finalists will attend a judging reception on September 29th where they will meet and interact with the event judges. Immediately following the reception, the judges will convene, deliberate and select the finalists, whose names will be unveiled on September 30th. The finalists for the event will compete for the 2022 Spirit of the Entrepreneur award at the 20th annual black-tie gala on November 17th at the Riverside Convention Center in Riverside.
THE 2022 INLAND EMPIRE ENTREPRENEURIAL SEMI-FINALISTS INCLUDE:
- A&G Infusion Nursing Services, Angelica Maria Gonzalez - Moreno Valley>
- American Fire Glass, Matt Doll - Lake Elsinore>
- Cali Auto Glass, Ambar Martinez - Victorville>
- Caravanserai Project, Mihai Patru - Palm Springs>
- Chino Commercial Bank, Dann Bowman/Melba Buenafe-Rey - Chino>
- Elite Tax Partners, Nicole Albrecht - Temecula>
- Elizabeth's Insurance Services, Inc., Elizabeth Rodriguez - Moreno Valley>
- Finish the Book Publishing, Susie Schaefer - Menifee>
- Forefront Construction Services / Winv Inc., Todd Wohrman - Corona>
- Freeway Trucks and Vans Inc., John B Palmieri - Corona>
- Goldamity Insurance Services Inc., Elvia J. Rodriguez - Grand Terrace>
- HRBC Insurance, Henry Romero - Riverside>
- Hybrid Packaging and Label Inc, Brian Zimmerman - Colton>
- Koury Engineering& Testing, Inc., Michele Shams - Chino>
- Made2nspire Inc., Misty Danielle Kerrigan - Temecula>
- Modern Pro Solutions, Bobby Tetsch - Chino>
- Mountain View Services, Inc., Eric L. Goodman - Redlands>
- NextGen Flight Academy Inc, Brandon Martini - Riverside>
- Phenix Technology, Inc., Angel Sanchez, Jr. - Riverside>
- Precision Material Handling Inc, Robert G Ybarra - Banning >
- Quality Marble & Granite, Evan Cohen - Ontario>
- Qwiktarp Inc., Michael Jones - Palm Springs>
- Reliable Source, Inc., Ronald Stockwell - Fontana>
- Renewing Hope Family Counseling Center, Inc., Cassondra Marie Rose - Murrieta>
- RISCO, Incorporated, Joseph & Lisa Frainee - Beaumont>
- Roses Say, Rose Study - Chino Hills>
- Ruff & Ready Moving, John Ruff - Temecula>
- SGH Architects, Inc., Michael Stephens, AIA, NCARB and Scott Griffith, AIA - Redlands>
- SignFastic, Grace Bays - Ontario>
- StarNav LLC, Joshua Morales - Riverside>
- The Ollie World, Hindi Zeidman - Rancho Cucamonga>
- Things They Love, LLC, Victoria Chediak - Riverside>
- Xtelligent, Michael Lim - Ontario>
JUDGING RECEPTION is Sponsored by Roorda, Piquet & Bessee, Inc.
Spirit Awards Event Features
Commencing at 5:00 p.m. on November 17th, attendees will experience either a Gala, VIP or Preview reception, stellar event entertainment, awards presentations, and an exclusive after party! Ticket sales will be starting soon!
The Best of the Best award. Sponsored by Best, Best & Krieger, LLP The top entrepreneur from among the evenings award recipients that best exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit will take home the 2022 Best of the Best award. In addition, the outstanding female entrepreneur from this year’s group of finalists will take home the Mary Anne Fox Top Female Entrepreneur Award.
The Mary Anne Fox Top Female Entrepreneur Award The outstanding female entrepreneur from among the finalists will be recognized with the Mary Anne Fox Top Female Entrepreneur Award.
The Garner Holt Student Fast Pitch CompetitionWitness 90-second business pitches from competing student finalists. Audience members cast their votes for the best business idea through a live voting poll to determine which students will walk away with the top cash prizes.
Entertainment Upcoming entertainment guest stars are always an anticipated reveal during the gala. Past events have included top flight entertainment such as: Rock Legend Eddie Money, Ekenah Claudin-Transcending Box, and Gregory Adamson- Facing the Music Performance Artistry.
VIP Reception Sponsored by City National Bank an RBC Company
A portion of the proceeds from the Spirit of the Entrepreneur event benefit the Spirit of the Entrepreneur Scholarship established by Dr. Mike Stull, Director of Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship at California State University, San Bernardino. The scholarship is awarded to vetted and deserving entrepreneurship students from CSUSB's School of Entrepreneurship, in order to assist them in achieving their degree.
EVENT SPONSORS
The Spirit of the Entrepreneur event is presented by the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship (IECE) and the Jack H. Brown College of Business & Public Administration at California State University San Bernardino and sponsored by a wide range of local organizations including:
- PLATINUM SPONSORS Best Best & Krieger LLP, Southern California News Group, Inland Empire Magazine, Inland Empire Business Journal and Group 1 Productions
- GOLD SPONSORS Varner & Brandt LLP, San Bernardino County EDA, US Bank, Wilson Ivanova CPAs, Union Bank, Desmond & Louis, and Riverside County EDA
- SILVER SPONSORS Pacific Premier Bank, City of Ontario, Inland Empire Community Foundation, and Pepsi
- JUDGING RECEPTION SPONSOR Roorda, Piquet & Bessee, Inc.
- VIP RECEPTION SPONSOR - City National Bank, An RBC Company
- PREVIEW RECEPTION SPONSOR - Bank of America
- AFTER PARTY SPONSOR - Roark Financial