Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the 22^nd Annual Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (otherwise known as EOY) in Palm Spring, CA.  In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that my wife is a director of marketing in Ernst & Young’s Detroit office and manages several regional EOY programs, including the Central Great Lakes region which includes Southeast Michigan.  In addition, in past years, Safford & Baker has been a sponsor of the Emerging Growth Category for the Central Great Lakes program.  Winners from the regional programs go on to compete at the national level in Palm Springs.  A list of this year’s award winners from the Central Great Lakes region can be found here.

The National EOY awards ceremony is preceded by the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, a four-day gathering of some of the best and brightest of American business.  This year’s keynote speakers included Jack Welch (former Chairman and CEO of General Electric), Robert Nardelli (Chairman and CEO of Chrysler), Guy Kawasaki (author of Rules for Revolutionaries and The Art of the Start), Chris Gardner (author of The Pursuit of Happyness), Marcus Buckingham (author of First Break All the Rules: What the World’s Best Managers Do Differently and Now, Discover Your Strengths), and Geena Davis (Academy Award winning actress).

You can learn more about the National EOY awards here, the Strategic Growth Forum here, and the EOY program in your region here.

–Matt