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Knoxville, TN (PRWEB) May 04, 2012 The Knoxville Chamber recognized the best of the best in businessat the eighth annual Pinnacle Awards gala held on May 4, 2012 atthe Knoxville Convention Center. The event was presented byBB&T and honored recipients in nine categories. The categoriesrecognize the range of businesses that make up the thrivingKnoxville economy, and honor contributions to business enterpriseand the greater community. The winners are as follows: Innovator Award, sponsored by Pershing Yoakley & AssociatesGiven to a business that has developed a new technology, innovativeproduct or service, or applied a business system or service in aninnovative way. Finalists were Agile Technologies, Aqua-Chem, andCadre5. The winner is Aqua-Chem. From developing portable waterpurification systems that delivered water to American forces duringWorld War II to cutting edge sustainable technology that willenable industrial plants to recycle up to 90 percent of wastewater,Aqua-Chem has spent 83 years establishing itself as a global leaderin water technologies. Initially based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, thecompany relocated to Knoxville in 1989 to take advantage of askilled, flexible workforce in an expanding area of the countrywith excellent transportation access. Small Business Excellence Award, presented by BB&T Honors asmall business with 50 or fewer employees that has consistentlygrown its workforce and revenue and overcome obstacles includingaccess to capital, operational efficiency, control of expenses,customer loyalty, and distribution. The finalists were AllOccasions Party Rentals, M Force Staffing, and ManagementSolutions, LLC. The winner in this category is All Occasions Party Rentals. Withthe goal of providing clients with a unique event experience everyevent, every time, the company has established itself as the areaspremier party rental company. Its diverse inventory enables thecompany to accommodate everything from high-end parties, weddings,and large festivals, to small gatherings at someones house. Thecompany experienced its most profitable year in 2011, and in March2012 launched a new sister-company, All Conference & ExpoServices, and secured the contract with the Knoxville ConventionCenter to operate as the preferred contractor for tradeshowservices. Impact Award, sponsored by Aqua-Chem Presented to a business thatdisplays a commitment to making East Tennessee a better place tolive through the development and support of a community or program.This years finalists were Grace Construction, Green Mountain CoffeeRoasters, and PetSafe. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters was presented the award. Inthree-and-a-half short years, the company and its employees havemade monumental gifts of money and time to the Knoxville area. TheBrewing a Better World grant program has contributed $350,000 tolocal organizations and plans to infuse another $830,000 during2012. Through its CAFE Program, which stands for Community Actionfor Employees, Green Mountain encourages employees to volunteer ata non-profit or school by providing 52 paid hours each year forsuch activities. This program has generated 21,000 volunteer hoursby employees in the Knoxville area. Minority-Owned Business Excellence Award, sponsored by CovenantHealth Presented to a minority business that has producedoutstanding business results and growth and overcome the obstaclesof race or sex. Finalists were Always Moore Janitorial Service,ComputerWorks, and Mannys Catering. Always Moore Janitorial won this years award. The company is acommercial and residential janitorial service located in Oak Ridgethat provides methodical, detailed, and professional cleaningservices. Always Moore was started in 2008 by Delnise Moore, a 2012graduate of Innovation Valleys mentor/protégé program.The companys revenue tripled in the first two years of operation,doubled in the third year, and tripled again this past year. Woman-Owned Business Excellence Award, sponsored by LBMC Given toan outstanding East Tennessee woman-owned company that isindependently owned, operated, and controlled by a female. Thewinner is selected based on a demonstrated ability to compete in anon-diverse field. The finalists were Ackermann PR, Elizabeth EasonArchitecture, LLC, and The Trust Company. The winner is The Trust Company. Founded in 1987 with just threeemployees The Trust Company is the oldest independent trust companyheadquartered in Tennessee. Now, as it celebrates its 25thanniversary, the company has 54 employees and manages assets ofapproximately 1.6 billion dollars. The Greater Knoxville BusinessJournals Book of Lists ranks it as the largest woman-ownedfinancial services company in the area. It offers its clients afull-range of services that include investment management; personaltrust; estate administration; retirement plan services; IRAs; andfinancial, estate and generational planning. Business Excellence Awards Awarded to a company headquartered inEast Tennessee or a company with significant presence in EastTennessee that has shown remarkable profitability, growth, andstability. Nominees must be recognized regionally, nationally,and/or internationally in their respective business sector andshould have made significant investments in facilities andemployees. Two awards are presented, one company with 51-150employees company-wide and one company with 151+ employees Finalists for the Mid-Sized Business Excellence Award wereConsolidated Products, Inc., Power Systems, Inc., and Strata-G,LLC. The 2012 winner is Consolidated Products. As technologies haveevolved over the years, so has the company. It offers customersflexographic labels, and a full spectrum of services and solutionsincluding dome labels, digital printing, laser die cutting, thermaltransfer, and Radio Frequency Identification just to name a few.Its IDentiTRAK Technologies division specializes in providingturnkey RFID and warehouse management solutions. The company is anindustry leader in lean manufacturing and provides products andservices worldwide. The finalists for the Large Business Excellence Award, which waspresented by Cherokee Distributing, included 21st MortgageCorporation, Cellular Sales, and Jewelry Television. The winner isCellular Sales. Founded in 1993 by University of Tennesseegraduates Dane and Meg Scism, the company is the nations largestVerizon premium wireless retailer. During each of the last fouryears the company has been named one of the nations fastestgrowing, privately owned retailers by Inc. magazine. A three-yeargrowth rate of 193 percent has Cellular Sales ranked on the Inc.5000 as the 75th fastest growing retailer. The growth is only goingto continue as the company plans to open 150 stores in 2012,increasing its total number to well over 600 stores nationally. Young Entrepreneur Award, sponsored by UT-Battelle Presented to aprofessional forty or younger who is on track to be one oftomorrows top business and community leaders. 2012 finalists forthe award were Parker Frost, founder of Gigmark, Chris McAdoo,owner of Best Behavior Creative Club, and Jonathan Williams,founder of Accord Federal Services. The winner is Parker Frost. Frost started the custom softwaresolutions company that produces a patented Interactive Flash Drivetechnology in 2008. The IFD technology provides a cost-effective,cutting-edge marketing tool for companies with its three-prongedapproach. It provides a branded physical media, it offers brandedinteractive software, and it includes a content management systemand user analytics allowing clients to update and edit theirmessage on an ongoing basis. Gigmarks client list includes suchestablished nationally brands as Ford, NASCAR, and General Motors. James A. Haslam, II Leadership Award, sponsored by PrestigeCleaners Awarded to a longtime business leader who exhibitsstrength in character, resolve, commitment to our community, andexemplary success in business. Larry Martin is the 2012 honoree. He spent 36 years with FirstTennessee starting his career as a branch manager in Memphis andretired in 2006 as the Chief Operating Officer for First TennesseeFinancial Services where he oversaw all the Tennessee regional bankmarkets; merchant services processing; Hickory Venture Capital;Synaxis Group; and the commercial, corporate, and middle marketdivisions of the bank. His career brought him to Knoxville in 1987as the regional president of the bank and he never left. Hiscommunity service included leadership roles on the boards of theCovenant Health System, Family Investment Foundation, EastTennessee Foundation, Partnership for Neighborhood Improvement, theHistoric Tennessee Theatre Foundation, the Boy Scouts, LeadershipKnoxville, and the Knoxville Chamber. Upon retiring, he joinedMayor Bill Haslams administration as the senior director of financeand deputy to the Mayor, a role he maintained after Mayor Haslambecame Governor Haslam, during the interim tenure of Mayor DanielBrown. This past November, Mayor Madeline Rogero asked him to leadthe transition team for her administration. The Pinnacle Business Awards is one of Knoxvilles marquee annualevents and over 550 businesspeople attend the annual celebrationsponsored by BB&T. This year, attendees were treated to anexciting evening marked by a reception and silent auction,sponsored by WSI Oak Ridge, followed by dinner and awardspresentation emceed by Robin Wilhoit of WBIR-TV. Additional sponsors included EnergySolutions, the Greater KnoxvilleBusiness Journal, Bluegill Creative, Bandit Lites and SoundVentures. Media sponsors included the Greater Knoxville BusinessJournal and Knoxville News Sentinel. About the Knoxville Chamber The Knoxville Chamber is the regions leading business organizationwith more than 2,000 members that employ more than 276,000individuals. More than 80 percent of Chamber members are smallbusinesses with 50 or fewer employees. It fulfills its mission ofDriving Regional Economic Prosperity by recruiting new businessesand supporting existing companies, and serves as the lead economicdevelopment agency in the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley.The organization has an active government advocacy program andsupports pro-business policies. Members receive marketing,networking, professional development benefits, and many othercost-effective services. For more information visit . Read the full story at releases/2012/5/prweb9474829.htm . The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Yag Laser Hair Removal Machine , 808nm Diode Laser Hair Removal, and more. For more , please visit IPL Hair Removal Machine today!
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