Who are the top entrepreneurs in the Washington, DC area? Ernst & Young recently announced the winners for the Ernst &Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award in Greater Washington. The group of entrepreneurs — eight in all — were selected by an independent judging panel made up of regional business, academic and community leaders, and their names were revealed at a recent gala event at the Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner.

“We heartily congratulate this year’s winners on their success,” said Rene Salas, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Program Director for Greater Washington. “The Entrepreneur Of The Year award recognizes all of the hard work, ingenuity and care these leaders have put into building and improving their businesses and communities. This group of winners is truly remarkable for all that they have accomplished.”

The Greater Washington winners for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2008 are: Jim Abdo of ABDO Development, Magid M. Abraham, Ph.D. and Gian M. Fulgoni of comScore, Inc., Tom Adams of Rosetta Stone, David G. Bostwick, MD, of Bostwick Laboratories, Inc., Seth Goldman of Honest Tea, Ron Packard of K12 Inc., and Dennis Ratner of Ratner Companies.

This year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program celebrates its 22nd anniversary. The program has expanded through the years to recognize business leaders in over 135 cities in 50 countries throughout the world, including right here in Washington, DC. Regional award winners will be eligible for consideration in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2008 national program.

In addition to announcing several industry winners, a special Master Entrepreneur Award was presented to Ted Leonsis in recognition of his entrepreneurial endeavors and impact on the Greater Washington area. AOL Founder and former Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award winner Steve Case presented Ted with the honor.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards Banquet is one of the world’s most prestigious awards for entrepreneurs. A year-long event, it’s the only entrepreneurial awards program that takes place on six continents, in over 50 countries and in more than 135 cities. This year’s event is being held on Thursday, June 19th at the Ritz-Carlton, Tyson’s Corner. Rene Salas, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Program Director for Greater Washington, offers the details on this must-see awards banquet.

Tell us about the upcoming Entrepreneur Of The Year event.

Rene Salas: The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards Banquet is one of the world’s most prestigious awards for entrepreneurs. This year it’s being held on Thursday, June 19th at the Ritz-Carlton, Tyson’s Corner. The program celebrates entrepreneurs who are building — and successfully growing — dynamic and innovative businesses. The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Program is a year-long and world-wide event; the only entrepreneurial awards program that takes place on six continents, in over 50 countries and in more than 135 cities.

Entrepreneurs compete regionally and the winners go on to the national event held in Palm Springs hosted by Jay Leno. From there, one overall winner is selected to represent the United States at the World event in Monte Carlo.

Who should attend and why? Where can you buy tickets?

Rene Salas: The Greater Washington Awards Banquet event attracts over 800 regional business executives and is a premier opportunity to network with C-level executives of high growth companies. Tickets can be purchased online at http://response.ey.com/?EOY_regForm. These tickets are reserved on a first-come
first-serve basis, as this black tie banquet sells out every year. The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards Banquet is a high energy, exciting event and offers attendees a great opportunity to network with hard to reach C-level executives.

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