Grace-Amey Obeng Among 2014 Enterprising Women of the Year

CARY, NC: Monica Smiley, publisher and CEO of Enterprising Women magazine

(_www.enterprisingwomen.com_ (http://www.enterprisingwomen.com) ), has

announced the winners of the 2014 Enterprising Women of the Year Awards, an

annual tribute to top women entrepreneurs from North America and around the

globe. The award honorees will be recognized during a two-day event held March

2-4, 2014 at the Ritz Carlton Sarasota in Sarasota, FL, USA.



The annual Enterprising Women of the Year Awards, which recognizes the

finest women entrepreneurs in North America and beyond, is in its 12th year. It

is widely considered one of the most prestigious recognition programs for

women business owners. To win, nominees must demonstrate that they have

fast-growth businesses, mentor or actively support other women and girls

involved in entrepreneurship, and stand out as leaders in their communities.



Many of the honorees also serve as leaders of the key organizations that

support the growth of women’s entrepreneurship.




Award winners were recognized in six categories this year: annual sales

revenues of more than $25 million; annual sales revenues of more than $10

million and up to $25 million; annual sales revenues of more than $5 million

and up to $10 million; annual sales revenues of more than $2 million and up

to $5 million; annual sales revenues of more than $1 million and up to $2

million; and annual sales revenues of up to $1 million.





"The Enterprising Women of the Year Awards Celebration continues to grow

each year, attracting more nominations from outstanding women entrepreneurs

around the world. Our class of 2014 includes 17 honorees from outside the

United States, representing Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Ghana,

Egypt, Kenya, India, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Brazil, and Switzerland.

Our highest revenue winner in the over $25 million in sales revenue category


had 2013 revenues of $694 million — a remarkable achievement," Smiley said.





Congratulations to the following members of the Enterprising Women of the


Year Awards Class of 2014!





Winners in the "More than $25 million in annual sales revenues" category:





Cindy Monroe, Thirty-One Gifts, Columbus, OH


Veronica Edwards, InGenesis, Inc., San Antonio, TX


Carmen Jacob, NextGen Information Services, Inc., St. Louis, MO


Mary Kariotis, Merrimak Capital Company, LLC, Novato, CA


Sabina Teshler, SET Creative, Portland, OR


Tracy Balazs, Federal Staffing Resources, LLC dba FSR, Annapolis, MD


Winners in the "More than $10 million and up to $25 million in annual


sales revenues" category:





Lili Hall, KNOCK, Inc., Minneapolis, MN


Jeanne Groenewald, Elgin Free Range Chickens Pty Ltd., Grabouw, Western


Cape, South Africa


Margrit Wolff, Mercury Freight (Pty) Ltd., Johannesburg, South Africa


Grace Amey-Obeng, FC Group of Companies Ltd., Accra North, Ghana


Neli Vazquez-Rowland, A Safe Haven Foundation, Chicago, IL


Karen Emanuel, Key Production (London) Ltd., London, UK


Linda Moraski, PeopleSERVE Inc., Chestnut Hill, MA


Winners in the "More than $5 million and up to $10 million in annual sales


revenues" category:





Heena P. Sampat, Horizon Travel LLC, Richardson, TX


Marla Kott, Imprint Plus, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada


Amy Winfield, Suburban Auto Seat Co. Inc., Lodi, NJ


Sonja N. Hines, H & S Resources Corporation, Columbia, MD


Kim Shepherd, Decision Toolbox, Irvine, CA


Kathie H. Okun, The Okun Group, Inc., Hunt Valley, MD


Mina Ebrahimi, Saint Germain Catering, Vienna, VA


Darlene Panzitta, DSP Clinical, Parsippany, NJ


Heather Manley, On-Demand Services Group, Inc., Minneapolis, MN


Traci O’Bryan, Arcturis, St. Louis, MO


Deyona (Dee) Hays, Excellence Engineering, Tulsa, OK


Necole Parker, The ELOCEN Group, LLC, Washington, DC


Debbi Shapiro, Henderson Shapiro Peck, Roswell, GA


Chris Harvey, The Design Factory/Network Convention Services, Las Vegas,


NV


Heather L. Cole, Lodestar Solutions, Tampa, FL


Winners in the "More than $2 million and up to $5 million in annual sales


revenues" category:





Amanda Gorecki, Healing Waters Spa & Cosmetic Clinic, Wichita, KS


Molly Gimmel, Design to Delivery Inc., Bethesda, MD


Caroline Houghton, Rapid Allweiler Group, Isando, South Africa


Kimberly A. Blackwell, PMM Agency, Columbus, OH


Gail Downing, Acorn Group Holdings, Gauteng, South Africa


Elaine E. Bedel, Bedel Financial Consulting, Inc., Indianapolis, IN


Ginger Sloan, GS Companies, Edmond, OK


Angela Margolit, Bluebird Auto Rental Systems, Dover, NJ


Sonia Clayton, Virtual Intelligence Providers, LLC, Houston, TX


Christine Phipps, Phipps Reporting, West Palm Beach, FL


Gina Merritt, Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures, Washington, DC


Yomna El Sheridy, Special Food Industry International, Cairo, Egypt


Karen Rossilli-Kiefer, PAR Flooring, Inc., Morristown, NJ


Jaime Melissa Cooper, RezBiz, LLC, Naples, FL


Stephanie D. Johnson, Bed Rest Concierge LLC, Frisco, TX


Lynn Bardowski, Million Dollar Party Girl, Audubon, NJ


Ryann Wayne, The Frontier Project, LLC, Richmond, VA


Fenella Yin Fang Kim, Reliance Star Payment Services, Oakland Gardens, NY


Andrea Heuston, Artitudes Design, Inc., Issaquah, WA


Winners in the "More than $1 million and up to $2 million in annual sales


revenues" category:





Elizabeth Colon, Metaphrasis Language & Cultural Solutions, LLC, Chicago,


IL


Susan McGlory Michel, Glen Eagle Advisors, LLC, Princeton, NJ


Jessie Boucher, Jessie et Laurent, San Rafael, CA


Kristine Jones, New England Flagger Services, LLC, Willimantic, CT


Emily McKhann and Cooper Munroe, The Motherhood, Pittsburgh, PA


Jennifer Pearlman, MD, PearlMD Rejuvenation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada


Elizabeth W. Thande, PJ Flowers Ltd., Nairobi, Kenya


Sherry Moran, Tribeca Limited (trading as Tribeca Knowledge), London, UK


Stacie M. Curtis, CW Solutions, Millstone Township, NJ


Sumita Ghose, Rangsutra Crafts India, New Delhi, India


Laurie Rowen and Erin Giglia, Montage Legal Group, Irvine, CA


Jane Shanab, Spark Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada


Wendy van Ierschot, Van Ierschot b.v., Heemstede, The Netherlands


Marty Britton, Britton Management Profiles, Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada


Winners in the "Up to $1 million in annual sales revenues" category:





Vanessa Ho, Anaqua Chemical Supply Company, Yuen Long, New Territories,


Hong Kong


Patricia Okelo, Willart Productions Limited, Nairobi, Kenya


Kizzy M. Parks, PhD, KPC, Melbourne, FL


Anna Pappas, KnowQ Solutions, Northbrook, IL


Nancy Victor, Help Me!! Tech Team, San Antonio, TX


Angela Hirata, HPS, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil


Melissa Lagowski, Big Buzz IdeaGroup, Chicago, IL


Dawn Welch, Rock Cafe, Stroud, OK


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Honorable Mention Recipients Named for the 2014 Enterprising Women of the


Year Awards





Congratulations to the following individuals, who were chosen as Honorable


Mention recipients for the 2014 Enterprising Women of the Year Awards and


also will be recognized March 2-4 in Sarasota:





Dayna Gilchrist, The Hype Agency, Salem, NH


Lee Anne Davis, PromoVentures, Inc., San Diego, CA


Sabrina Lloyd, Lloyd Agencies LLC, Schaumburg, IL


Mashell Carissimi, JMC Electrical Contractor, LLC, St. Clair Shores, MI


Christine J. Hammerlund, Assured Healthcare Staffing, Gurnee, IL


Margarita McClure, Blueberry Diapers, Knoxville, TN


Lisa Druxman, FIT4MOM, San Marcos, CA


Bonnie Ixson, HB MediaWorks, LLC, Lubbock, TX


Navjot Bajwa, Ocean Mist Inc., Schaumburg, IL


Gayle Stack, EverStar Realty, Kennewick, WA


Patricia Shaw, CLR Auto Transport Corporation, Merrillville, IN


Amy Beth Treciokas, Yoga Now Inc., Chicago, IL


Michele Ruiz, Ruiz Strategies, Los Angeles, CA


Kelly Parlier, YES Communications Inc., Coppell, TX


Selina Kedziora, G. Adams Restoration LLC, Philadelphia, PA


Jessica Boni, Bliss Bridal, Cheshire, CT


Carolina Worley, Worley Law, LLC, Westerville, OH


Brigitte Connors, Meeting Industry Experts, Schenectady, NY


Dr. Marlene N. Mahipat, Mediquest, LLC, Randallstown, MD


Daniela Herrmann, Topan AG (Switzerland), Herrliberg, Switzerland


Shannon Wilkinson, Reputation Communications, New York, NY


Sabine van Egeraat, Outspoken Communication/Exelenti, Huizen, The


Netherlands


Nance L. Schick, The Law Studio of Nance L. Schick, New York, NY


Linda G. Drummond, Drummond Public Relations, Houston, TX


Vicki Dau, TeamDau Wellness, Carol Stream, IL


Terri Bennett, Terri Bennett Enterprises, LLC, Charlotte, NC


Kimble Bosworth, Proforma Printelligence, Nashville, TN


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About the 2014 Enterprising Women of the Year Awards Celebration &


Conference


The 2014 Awards Celebration and Conference will bring together dynamic


women business owners from North America and around the world for two full


days of top-notch workshops, networking opportunities, corporate sponsor


exhibits and learning labs, and awards presentations.





The celebration will shine the spotlight on the 2014 Enterprising Women of


the Year Award winners and finalists, with award presentations at the March


4 Enterprising Women of the Year Awards Gala Dinner. During the annual


Hall of Fame Luncheon, one woman entrepreneur will be inducted into the


Enterprising Women Hall of Fame, an outstanding nonprofit will receive the 2014


Advocacy Award, and two women will be recognized with the 2014 Legacy Award.





The annual awards celebration honors recipients of the Enterprising Women


of the Year Award. These outstanding women entrepreneurs have demonstrated


that they own and manage fast-growth businesses; mentor and give back to


help other women business owners; and are leaders in their communities. It


also offers unparalleled networking opportunities for women business thought


leaders and established and emerging women entrepreneurs from the United


States and around the world.





Widely regarded as one of the premier networking opportunities for women


business owners in North America and beyond, the event is open to winners and


finalists of the Enterprising Women of the Year Award, corporate


supporters, members of the Enterprising Women Advisory Board, VIPs in the women’s


business community, readers of Enterprising Women magazine, and members of


the many partner organizations affiliated with Enterprising Women.





"There is strong support for this event again this year from corporations


that are committed to the growth of women's entrepreneurship," Smiley said.


"Many of these companies have supported this event for a number of years,


and three of our sponsors — UPS, American Airlines, and IBM — have


supported us for all 12 years that we have held this awards event," Smiley added.





Partner organizations represented on the Enterprising Women Advisory Board


and supporting the 2014 event include:





Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO)


Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP)


Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)


National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO)


National Women Business Owners Corporation (NWBOC)


Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women (IEEW)


Center for Women in Business (CWB), U.S. Chamber of Commerce


Center for Women’s Business Research (CWBR)/The Global Initiative for Women


’s Entrepreneurship Research


Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC)


Quantum Leaps


Springboard Enterprises


UnitedSucces


Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBEC)/Women Entrepreneurs Inc.


(WE)


Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence


Women’s Leadership Exchange


The International Alliance for Women (TIAW)


Asian Women in Business (AWIB)


eWomenNetwork (EWN)


Association of Women’s Business Centers (AWBC)


National Association of Women REO Brokerages (NAWRB)


For more information or to register to attend the 2014 Enterprising Women


of the Year Awards Celebration & Conference, visitwww.enterprisingwomen.com.