Finalists for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2010 Awards in the Pacific Northwest

[EthicsPoint's David Childers named a finalist!]

Ernst & Young LLP is pleased to announce the finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) award in the Pacific Northwest. This group of outstanding entrepreneurs was selected by an independent judging panel made up of regional business, academic and community leaders. The award recipients will be revealed at a gala event on June 18, 2010, at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel.

"Entrepreneurship is especially vital as our nation recovers from recession," said Tim Tasker, Ernst & Young LLP Entrepreneur Of The Year Program Director for the Pacific Northwest. "These finalists create jobs in our area, encouraging healthy growth, development and innovation in the local economy."

The Pacific Northwest finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2010 are:

-- Pamala Temple, A Place for Mom

-- Ryo Kubota, M.D., Ph.D., Acucela Inc.

-- Douglas W. Brown, All Star Directories

-- Ronald C. Seubert, Applied Precision, Inc.

-- Jeremy Lewis, Big Fish Games, Inc.

-- David Giuliani, Clarisonic

-- Chris Martin, CleanScapes

-- David R. Childers, CIPP, EthicsPoint

-- Tim Welsh, Garco Construction

-- Dan Price, Gravity Payments

-- John Rubino, GreenRubino

-- Nelson Ludlow, Ph.D., Intellicheck Mobilisa

-- Rajeev Agarwal, MAQ Software

-- Neal Keny-Guyer, Mercy Corps

-- Ryan Keith Wuerch, Motricity

-- Dan B. Madsen, One Eighty/Leisure Care

-- Mike Pickett, Onvia

-- Thomas J. Clement, Pathway Medical Technologies, Inc.

-- Mary-Lou A. Misrahy, Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company

-- Tim Jenkins and Darran Littlefield, Point B, Inc.

-- Tim O'Leary, R2C Group

-- Richard J. Steves, Jr., Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door Inc.

-- Randall H. Talbot, Symetra Financial Corp.

-- Hector Raphael Rivas, Jr., Thriftbooks, LLC

-- Greg Rankich, Xtreme Consulting Group

The Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) program honors entrepreneurs regionally in June, leading up to the national awards in November. Additionally, venture-backed companies that receive an Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) award regionally are also eligible for the Venture Capital Award of Excellence on a national level. The overall national U.S. award recipient then moves on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year title in June.

This year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program celebrates its 24th anniversary. The program has expanded to recognize business leaders in over 135 cities in 50 countries throughout the world. Awards are given to entrepreneurs who demonstrate extraordinary success in the areas of innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Entrepreneurs are nominated and evaluated by those in each region, including local business, academic and community leaders.

All regional honorees are invited to the national Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) gala, hosted by Jay Leno, on November 13, 2010, in Palm Springs, Calif. The gala is the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum(R), the nation's most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. For more information on the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, please visit www.ey.com/us/strategicgrowthforum.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year awards are pleased to have SAP and the Kauffman Foundation as national sponsors.

In the Pacific Northwest, sponsors include The Big Picture Film & Video Arts Inc, DLA Piper, Seattle Business, Union Bank, Scherzer International and The Summit Group.

Contact information

To make reservations for the Entrepreneur Of The Year awards gala on June 18, 2010, contact Karin Wingfors of Ernst & Young at +1 206-654-7650 or karin.wingfors@ey.com by June 8, 2010. Tickets are $175 per person. For more information about the program, please visit www.ey.com/us/eoy.

About Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year

Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The award makes a difference through the unique way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 135 cities in 50 countries.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 144,000 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 www.ey.com.

Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young LLP is a client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited located in the U.S.