Chamber of Commerce announces awards at luncheon

 No comments  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

 digg it!
 Facebook
 del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

By the Lincoln Journal Star

Marc LeBaron, chairman and chief executive officer of Lincoln Industries, was given the Burnham Yates Citizenship Award at a Lincoln Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday.

LeBaron has steered Lincoln Industries into its current state of prosperity, with expansions of its physical plant and workforce. The  company was recently recognized as one of America’s best medium sized companies to work for.

LeBaron also has taken an active interest in his community by serving on the Nebraska Wesleyan University and BryanLGH Board of Directors.  And he has been a leader in Lincoln’s 2015 Vision initiative and is a Lincoln Chamber of Commerce board member and past chairman.

The chamber also gave out eight other awards to individuals and businesses Thursday as part of its 13th annual Celebrate Business Luncheon at The Cornhusker.

Joe Hampton of Hampton Enterprises was given the The Roger T. Larson Community Builder Award, which is bestowed each year on someone whose proven leadership and influence through public service has shaped the Lincoln community.

Hampton Enterprises has built multiple buildings in the Lincoln area, and   Hampton has been active in the community. He has served as a member of the City Council, the Home Builders Association of Lincoln., the Lincoln Independent Business Association, the United States Chamber of Commerce Small Business Committee, and the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce.

M.E. Group, Inc., an engineering consulting firm, received the Environmentally Conscious Business Award for its recently formed green division.  Its mission is to facilitate and promote environmentally conscious behaviors to various corporations, real estate developers, and institutions.  Today, the Green Services Division is one of the country's premier Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consulting firms, the chamber said. 

TenDot Corporate Travel was named the Small Business of the Year.   Brothers Jeff and Derrick Eells founded the company in 2005 in their living room.  TenDot has enjoyed at least a 70 percent increase in revenue each year since 2005, the chamber said. 

The 2008 Entrepreneurial Spirit Award winner is Agile Sports Technologies, Inc. for its creative approach and development of technologies that have changed the face of sports playbooks.  Agile Sports was founded just two years ago and gave college and professional sports teams a new way to study and comprehend data.  The company has worked with organizations such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the New York Jets.

Assurity Life Insurance Co. won this year’s Cornerstone Award,  presented to a business whose entrepreneurship  and skillful endeavor has added to the economic base of Lincoln.

In addition to employing more than 450 people and planning a new headquarters in the Antelope Valley area, Assurity contributes more than $250,000 annually to a wide range of community organizations.

The International Quilt Study Center and Museum is this year’s winner of the Tourism Development Award.  The center is dedicated to the research, preservation, and display of important quilts from various cultures.  The center was founded in 1997 and today holds the world’s largest collection of quilts.  It had more than 10,000 visitors in the first three months of operation.

The Outstanding Minority Business for 2008 was Tidball Productions for its home-based business which primarily does photography and publishing for the lifestyle magazine Lincoln Today.  Sriyani Tidball and her husband founded their business in 1989. 

Trude Schomer is the 2008 recipient of the Chamber’s Outstanding Women-Owned Business of the Year Award.  Schomer started Trude’s Dog Motel in 1963 to board dogs for new residents moving to the area or locals on vacation.