Finalists announced for the Legacy Awards at the Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards 20th Anniversary event!

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., October 7, 2022 -- The Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship (IECE) at Cal State San Bernardino announced the finalists for the “Legacy Award,” a special award recognizing the top entrepreneurs of the past 20 years of the Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards program. 20 finalists were selected from the field of past award recipients, from which two (2) award recipients will be announced at the Spirit Awards 20th anniversary event on November 17 at the Riverside Convention Center in Riverside. The finalists were selected by an independent panel of judges from the expert entrepreneurship faculty of the School of Entrepreneurship and Jack H. Brown College of Business & Public Administration at CSUSB.

The 2022 Legacy Award finalists include:

• Accessory Export LLC dba Marketplace Valet, Laura Land & William Land - Riverside
• Acorn Technology Services, Mickey McGuire - Riverside
• Aleph Group Inc., Jales A. De Mello - Riverside
• Angys Angels Cleaning, Angelica Lopez - Hesperia
• BMW Management, Gary & Sally Myers - Temecula
• Boudreau Pipeline Corporation, Alan J Boudreau - Corona
• Brandini Toffee, Brandon Weimer - Rancho Mirage
• buzzbox premium cocktails, Rod Vandenbos - Indio
• Cibaria International, Inc., Kathy Griset - Riverside
• Combustion Associates, Inc. (CAI), Kusum Kavia - Corona
• Exquadrum, Inc., Kevin Mahaffy & Eric Schmidt - Victorville
• Fox Transportation, Mike Fox - Rancho Cucamonga
• Intelesys, Richard Balzer - Ontario
• Mach One Air Charters, H. Dan Hill - Chino
• Miguels Jr., Javier Vasquez - Corona
• Poindexter Consulting Group, Vikita Poindexter - Murrieta
• StratosFuel, Inc, Jonathan Palacios-Avila - San Bernardino
• The 100 Mile Club, Kara Lubin - Norco
• Valew Quality Truck Bodies , Roger Hayes - Adelanto
• Vantage LED, Chris Ma - Corona

TICKETING

Attendees can BOOK TICKETS ONLINE HERE with direct seat selection for the 2022 Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards gala event. Ticket prices for the black-tie event range from $145 to $185 each.

Spirit Awards Event Features

Commencing at 5:00 p.m. on November 17th, attendees will experience either a Gala, Preview or VIP reception, stellar event entertainment, awards presentations, and an exclusive after party! Ticket are on sale now!

Reveal of the 2022 Award Winners
Unveiling of the 2022 Spirit of the Entrepreneur Award recipients in seven (7) distinct categories.

Presentation of the Legacy Award
Recognizing the top two (2) entrepreneurs from the program’s prior award recipients from 2003 to 2021.

The Best of the Best Award, sponsored by Best, Best & Krieger, LLP
The top entrepreneur from among the evenings award recipients that best exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit will take home the 2022 Best of the Best award.

The Garner Holt Student Fast Pitch Competition

Witness 90-second business pitches from competing student finalists. Audience members cast their votes for the best business idea through a live voting poll to determine which students will walk away with the top cash prizes.

The Mary Anne Fox Top Female Entrepreneur Award

The top female entrepreneur from among the finalists that demonstrates exceptional leadership, vision and risk taking to create a unique business.

Entertainment
Upcoming entertainment guest stars are always an anticipated reveal during the gala. Past events have included top flight entertainment such as: Rock Legend Eddie Money, Ekenah Claudin-Transcending Box, and Gregory Adamson- Facing the Music Performance Artistry.

VIP Reception Sponsored by City National Bank an RBC Company

A portion of the proceeds from the Spirit of the Entrepreneur event benefit the Spirit of the Entrepreneur Scholarship established by Dr. Mike Stull, Director of Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship at California State University, San Bernardino. The scholarship is awarded to vetted and deserving entrepreneurship students in order to assist them in achieving their degree. Since inception, the fund has provided over $225,000 in scholarship support.

• EVENT SPONSORS

  The Spirit of the Entrepreneur event is presented by the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship (IECE) and the Jack H. Brown College of Business & Public Administration at California State University San Bernardino and sponsored by a wide range of local organizations including:

• PLATINUM SPONSORS Best Best & Krieger LLP, Southern California News Group, Inland Empire Magazine, Inland Empire Business Journal, and Group 1 Productions
• GOLD SPONSORS Varner & Brandt, San Bernardino County Economic Development, US Bank, Wilson Ivanova CPAs, JP Morgan Chase, Riverside County Office of Economic Development, Union Bank, Desmond & Louis Inc, and Fifth Third Bank.
• SILVER SPONSORS Pacific Premier Bank, City of Ontario, Pepsi, Farmers & Merchants Bank and IECF
• JUDGING RECEPTION SPONSOR Roorda, Piquet & Bessee, Inc.
• VIP RECEPTION SPONSOR - City National Bank, An RBC Company
• PREVIEW RECEPTION SPONSOR Bank of America
• AFTER PARTY SPONSOR - ROARK Financial Solutions, Inc.