Press Releases

For Immediate Release
Date: June 17, 2004
Contact: Liz Lloyd, Marketing Communications Manager
Phone: 800.871.8909 ext. 109

Northeast Ohio Entrepreneurs Named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2004 Award Recipients

Cleveland, Ohio – June 17, 2004 – Professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP announced last night the recipients of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2004 Awards at a gala event. The event, held at the Inter-Continental Hotel, marks the end of an intensive search to identify and recognize outstanding entrepreneurs in the area.

The Northeast Ohio Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award recipients are:

• Business Services Entrepreneur Of The Year: Timothy D. Eippert, President, MC Sign Company
While attending college full time, Timothy Eippert sought out and found an opportunity with a local sign company and talked the owner into letting him sell for the company. He successfully worked with large firms while running his business out of his college apartment. The valuable experience Tim gained as a sign salesperson proved helpful when he bought his own company, MC Sign, in 1994. MC Sign was a traditional sign service and neon company, with two people serving a local market. He had a vision for the company and was undeterred by MC Sign’s lack of national name recognition and a serious lack of capital. Eippert’s personal determination and ambitious business strategy ultimately grew MC Sign into a national sign manufacturing, installation, service, and project management organization—a success he’s quick to attribute to his team, and prepared to build upon for the future.

• Services Entrepreneur Of The Year: Michael Burke, President and CEO, TREK Diagnostic Systems
With a proven entrepreneurial record and more than 30 years of health care industry experience, Michael Burke is successfully leveraging his skills and knowledge to shape the future of TREK Diagnostic Systems, a global manufacturer and distributor of automated systems and consumable products for the microbiology diagnostic laboratory. Under his leadership, the company has grown to 160 employees on three continents, and maintained a nearly 20% growth rate. TREK's flagship products are well known and well respected in the microbiology and health care industries. Recently, the VersaTREK Automated Microbial Detection System was selected as a winner in the 2004 Medical Design Excellence Awards, the premier awards program for the medical technology community. Burke’s commitment also extends to the Northeast Ohio community, having moved the company’s headquarters to a new, state-of-the-art facility within the greater Cleveland area. He also has built close working relationships with local hospital networks such as the Cleveland Clinic, University and Metro Health Hospitals.

• Retail Entrepreneur Of The Year: Fady Chamoun, CEO, Aladdin ’s Eatery Systems
Fady Chamoun emigrated from Lebanon to the United States in 1972 with $10 in his pocket and a dream in his heart. While completing his engineering degree, he worked full time at Little Caesars to pay for his education. He climbed the corporate ladder working in franchise sales and management, as well as equipment and product purchasing. When he left Little Caesars, he owned 40 franchises, and had become a true restauranteur. Chamoun’s concept for Aladdin’s started with his wish to marry Lebanese dishes with the growing health-conscious movement to create a unique, healthy, delicious menu offered at a moderate cost in a friendly, comfortable environment. He liquidated his pizza franchises, and walked away with only $10,000, but with a lot of knowledge and self-confidence. Today, Aladdin’s is a successful and growing American/Lebanese restaurant chain with 17 locations nationwide.

• Consumer Products Entrepreneur Of The Year: Gerald E. Henn, President, HENN
Gerald Henn’s vision of owning and operating his own handcrafting company was conceptualized long before the doors of HENN—a handcrafting, direct sales company—opened in 1982. Like his ancestors before him, Henn sought to renew and preserve the time-honored skills and authentic handcrafting techniques that gave sustenance to his family and their homestead for over 200 years. It was upon this homestead that he became a fifth generation proprietor, building his business from the ground up and bringing back to life his heritage of handcrafted baskets, pottery, wrought iron, and candles. To facilitate his vision, Henn extensively researched the crafting techniques and wares of early America. This enabled HENN to preserve and perfect authentic handcrafting techniques, and ensure the highest product quality standards. More than 20 years later, the company continues to prosper and grow, while Henn stays grounded in his belief of tradition and the “American Dream.”

• Distribution and Manufacturing Entrepreneur Of The Year: A. Ray Dalton, President, PartsSource
How do you define entrepreneurial enthusiasm? For anyone who knows A. Ray Dalton, the answer is Ray. His natural leadership, history of success, and intense style have made him a leading innovator in clinical engineering circles for years. A graduate of Chapman University, Ray started as an x-ray technician before ultimately rising to hospital administrator and entrepreneur at large. In 2001, he founded PartsSource, a leader in managing the inventory of high-quality medical equipment and parts consigned by charitable organizations and healthcare providers. His goal was to provide a single-source solution to parts procurement technicians who were forced to wade through thousands of small, local, and niche firms to find a replacement part that was less costly than going directly to the original equipment manufacturer. Today, PartsSource has grown to a run rate of more than $15 million annually, and has doubled in size over the past two years.

• Networking and Communications Entrepreneur Of The Year: Robert D. Kerscher, President and CEO, Lexi-Comp, Inc.
In 1978, Robert Kerscher established Lexi-Comp to create custom reference books for clinical hospital laboratories. Since then, he has led an ever-expanding group of talented individuals in growing the business. Lexi-Comp has become a leader in providing clinical content at the point-of-care, and has evolved into a major medical reference and custom publisher with a suite of products available on many platforms. Kerscher is preparing to transition leadership of the company to the next generation at a time when business continues to grow. Lexi-Comp was recently chosen to develop the Iraqi National Formulary—a critical element in rebuilding Iraq’s medical infrastructure.

• Information Technology Entrepreneur Of The Year: Dr. Jeffrey A. Green, President and CEO, DATATRAK International, Inc.
Dr. Jeffrey A. Green left a 10-year academic career in clinical pharmacology to found two companies focused on accelerating the clinical development process. Collaborative Clinical Research was a research network of 550 locations that performed clinical trials, and DATATRAK was the proposed information platform that was to link these locations together with integrated database capabilities. DATATRAK provides software and hosting for the collection of clinical data. It was intended to be an information “railroad” of integrated databases, able to transmit clinical trial data electronically rather than using three-ringed binders of NCR paper. This was an innovative concept in 1995—a time before the word “Internet” was common to society. DATATRAK has continued its steady growth and weathered some difficult times. Green has discovered that DATATRAK’s biggest challenge is to change human behavior from the common use of paper, to accepting the advantages of technology—a challenge he is committed to overcoming.

• Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year: Randy W. Skiles, President and CEO, Shared PET Imaging, LLC
Quality and innovation have been the guiding values behind Randy Skiles’ successful leadership as President and CEO of Shared PET Imaging, a provider of Positron Emission Tomography, or PET, scanning in mobile environments. It began with his passion to help people and drive technological advancements in imaging modalities. When Medicare began approving PET scans for reimbursement, Skiles seized the opportunity to move forward and help push the frontier of nuclear medicine. Shared PET was founded in 1999, and for months he worked alone to build the business. He purchased his first mobile PET in 2000, and shortly thereafter brought in his first employee. Today, Shared PET has multiple routes in the Midwest, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. The company participates in nationwide, sole-source relationships to supply PET scanning services to leading hospital group purchasing organizations and integrated health networks. Skiles’ work has established him as an innovator and leader in the imaging field.

• Microsoft’s Realizing Business Potential Entrepreneur Of The Year: Charles Rotuno, President and CEO, OEConnection
As a seasoned executive leader, Charles Rotuno’s vision and guidance have been instrumental in the success of OEConnection. Under his direction, this four-year-old provider of technology solutions for automakers, their affiliated dealers, and others in the automotive parts marketplace became profitable in less than 2 years. This achievement has made OEC the only successful and surviving internet-based b2b business in the OE replacement parts industry. In addition, over 11,000 customers have adopted one or more of OEC’s solutions since 2001, with a greater than 90% positive customer satisfaction rating and a 99% renewal rate. Rotuno’s role as chief visionary and risk-taker has guided the company to achieve considerable market and financial success. He has been selected as one of Crain’s Cleveland Businesses “40 Under 40” executives and for the third consecutive year is an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year nominee. In addition, OEC has been named Forbes.com’s “Best of the Web ” for the last three years.

“Entrepreneur Of The Year award winners embrace the entrepreneurial spirit and determination necessary to achieve success,” said Todd A. Trehan, Entrepreneur Of The Year Program Director and Director of Entrepreneurial Services for the Northeast Ohio office of Ernst & Young. “Ernst & Young is proud of its history recognizing and supporting these outstanding leaders and their companies.”

The Northeast Ohio award winners are now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2004 national program. Winners in several national categories, as well as the overall national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California, in November 2004. The overall national Entrepreneur Of The Year award winner is then considered for the world event held in Monte Carlo.

The independent panel of judges, which selected Northeast Ohio’s award recipients, consisted of:

• Thomas Sullivan, Chairman, RPM International, Inc.
• Sandra Stark, Director, Entrepreneurship, College of Business Administration, Baldwin-Wallace College
• Michael Feuer, CEO, Max-Ventures LLC
• Louis Joseph, President & CEO, The Brewer-Garrett Company
• Christopher Coburn, Executive Director, CCF Innovations and Chief Operating Officer, NovaMedics, Inc., Cleveland Clinic Foundation
• David Zagore, Partner, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey

The Entrepreneur Of The Year Award program was created and is produced by professional services firm Ernst & Young and sponsored in Northeast Ohio by Marsh, Inc., the Ohio Department of Development, Bowne, Smart Business magazine, Roetzel & Andress and Stout Risius Ross, Inc. Recipients of the Entrepreneur Of The Year award become lifetime members of the Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall of Fame.

About The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards Program
The Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program was created and is produced by professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP. As the first award of its kind, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic and growing businesses. The program honors entrepreneurs through regional, national and global award programs in over 100 cities and 35 countries.

About Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to restoring the public’s trust in professional services firms and in the quality of financial reporting. Its 103,000 people in more than 140 countries around the globe pursue the highest levels of integrity, quality, and professionalism to provide clients with solutions based on financial, transactional, and risk-management knowledge in Ernst & Young's core services of audit, tax, and transaction services. Ernst & Young practices also provide legal services in those parts of the world where permitted. Further information about Ernst & Young and its approach to a variety of business issues can be found at www.ey.com/perspectives. Ernst & Young refers to all the members of the global Ernst & Young organization.