InnoVision Awards announces 2013 finalists
This is one of my favorite times of the year. The dog days of summer (and this year, the rains) are wrapping up and we are awaiting the crisp and cooler days ahead; football season is underway, and baseball playoffs begin by month’s end. Most of all, I am looking forward to attending the annual InnoVision Awards Dinner, which is only weeks away. Typically, the advisory board is informed by the judges’ committee of the finalists immediately after Labor Day, and we have the occasion to celebrate the finalists and ultimate award winners by mid-November.
While our year begins anew every December, the season is definitely heightened from early September until the last guest departs the TD Center at the end of the awards ceremony. Video clips are taken and produced to highlight the finalists’ innovations; synopses of the finalists’ entries are written for the event’s program; details are finalized; and ticket sales ratchet up to a whole new level.
For 15 years, the InnoVision Awards have become the mark of distinction for outstanding leadership, innovation and technological excellence. As the only awards program of its kind, the InnoVision Awards distinguish businesses, individuals and educators who set new standards for innovation in finding, developing and retaining profitable business. The annual awards dinner is the perfect opportunity to celebrate our state’s innovators and highlight their accomplishments.
Doug Kim, chairman of the InnoVision Awards Program, is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2013 InnoVision Awards:
- Community Service Award sponsored by McNair Law Firm P.A.: Momentum Bike Clubs; Network Controls & Electric Inc.; and Taylors Free Medical Clinic.
- Innovation in Education Award sponsored by Techtronic Industries North America, Inc.: Clemson University Dept. of Bioengineering; SimuMed LLC; and VU Room LLC.
- Small Enterprise Award sponsored by SCRA Technology: Sabai Technology; Southern Measurement Company; and Tarian Orthotics LLC.
- Sustainability Award sponsored by Sealed Air Corporation: Sage Automotive Interiors and Sensor ElectronicTechnology Inc.
- Technology Application Award sponsored by Immedion LLC: 3D Systems; Milliken & Company; Selah Genomics Inc.; and Techtronic Industries Inc.
- Technology Development Award (sponsorship is available): Sealed Air Corporation; Sealevel Systems Inc.; Sensor Electronic Technology Inc.; VidiStar LLC; and Wolff Industries Inc.
- The Young Innovator Award sponsored by Michelin North America is named in honor of Dr. Ibrahim Janajreh. The advisory board is pleased to recognize The Pickens County Career and Technology Center led by Henry Hutto, mechatronic instructor; and Buck Brown and Westview Middle School in Greenwood.
The highest honor awarded by the InnoVision advisory board and judges’ panel is the Dr. Charles Townes Individual Achievement Award sponsored by A.T. Locke. The award honors an individual who exhibits a commitment to the advancement of technology and the community through his or her technology-oriented contributions. Such contributions may be business, civic or educational in nature and must benefit the state of South Carolina. The candidate selected is not announced until the conclusion of the evening’s program.
“The InnoVision Awards Program is well established and always very competitive,” says Kim. “This year was especially competitive with a record number of applications received for the 2013 awards categories. It is quite an accomplishment to place as a finalist, and on behalf of the advisory board, I applaud and congratulate all the businesses and institutions for their outstanding contributions to innovation in the state of South Carolina.”
The annual Awards Dinner will be held at the TD Center in Greenville on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. Ecovative’s CEO Eben Bayer is the keynote speaker for this year’s event. Ecovative supports approaches for creating social and economic systems that amplify scarcity into abundance, just as living things do in nature. Ecovative is committed to working with industry and consumers to rid the world of toxic, unsustainable materials. A material science company, Ecovative is developing a new class of home-compostable bioplastics based on mycelium, a living organism.
The reception begins at 5:30 p.m., and dinner is served at 6:30 p.m. Sponsorships, tables and individual tickets are now available for purchase. Contact Kathy Ham or phone 864-552-9345 to reserve your tickets to learn firsthand about the newest innovations being developed within our state.
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About the InnoVision Awards Program:
The InnoVision Awards Program, founded by Deloitte in 1999 and presented by McNair Law Firm P.A., is South Carolina’s premier organization dedicated to the advancement of technology in the state through communication, education and recognition of the spirit of innovation and technological progress.
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[/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_2third_end id=”” class=”” style=””]Martha Winebarger is principal of [en-gage] solutions, founded to help small to medium sized businesses focus on communications and brand management. [en-gage] solutions is the communications and marketing sponsor for the InnoVision Awards.[/ezcol_2third_end]
