en•tre•pre•neur n. a person who organizes and manages an enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative. (See also revolutionary, risk taker, visionary, self-made & slightly mad.)
Dayton’s history is full of genius people who possess an untamed entrepreneurial spirit. From John H. Patterson to Charles Kettering, the Wright Brothers to Carl Lindner; the list goes on and on. Dayton claims more patents per capita than any other U.S. city in 1900. So what can we do to keep this momentum going? How about $25,000 for your new product or service! Enter the Soin Award For Innovation.
“The Dayton area has a long history of innovation and discovery. We must continue to encourage our local entrepreneurs to build on this and create new enterprises, jobs and additional opportunities for this region. On behalf of the Soin Family, I am proud to support this annual award that recognizes the accomplishments of these individuals and businesses.” -Rajesh Soin Chairman and CEO Soin International
Since 2007, The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce and the Soin family are partnering to offer the Soin Award for Innovation, which bestows one recipient annually an award of $25,000! The winning applicant best demonstrates an entrepreneurial spirit through a recently introduced or pending introduction of a unique product or service that will have the ability to sustain long-term growth for the company, increase local employment and assist in the creation of economic prosperity within the Dayton region.
“The Soin Award for Innovation means something for this community. When our company is talking to other transit systems, it allows us to say, our local community supports us. The Soin Award validates Commuter Advertising nationally and locally.” -Russell Gottesman, President and CEO Commuter Advertising 2011 Soin award winner
A selection committee, made up of representatives of the region’s business and academic leaders, along with The Chamber’s Education and Public Improvement Foundation (EPI Foundation) Board members, will select one recipient annually from the applications to receive a $25,000 cash award and its accompanying public and community recognition.
2013 UDECX
2012 NanoSperse
2011 Commuter Advertising
2010 Composite Advantage
2009 IYA Technologies
2008 Mound Laser and Photonics Center, Inc
2007 WebCore
Applications are due no later than February 14, 2014 and judging will take place at the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce on Monday March 3, 2014. EPI Foundation will present the Soin Award for Innovation at the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting in the spring of 2014.
A link to the application is listed below:
www.daytonchamber.org/index.cfm/business-resources/soin-award
There will be a Lunch and Learn at UD’s River Campus on the Soin Award and information on the regions wealth of entrepreneurial resources on January 30th from 11:00AM-1:00PM. For more information on this event and the Soin Award please contact Jason Antonick at [email protected] or by calling him at 937 226-8293.
The Dayton Chamber and Soin family have given away $175,000 over the last 7 years, could you be the winner this year?
The above article written by Jason Antonick, Manager, Business and Economic Development, Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce.