Bevy of area businessmen are EY award finalists
April 27, 2016 | Bobby Burch
Eight Kansas City-area businessmen are now finalists for a national entrepreneurship award.
Ranging from techies to whiskey-makers, the regional finalists of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards recognize those “who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses.” Sponsored in part by the Kansas City-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, EY operates its award programs in more than 145 cities across more than 60 countries.
A group of judges selected a total of 22 entrepreneurs in the Central Midwest region, which is comprised of Kansas and Missouri. Winners of the awards will be announced June 16 at Kansas City’s Midland Theatre.
Finalists from the Kansas City-area are:
- Andy Rieger, Kansas City-based J. Rieger & Co.
- Neal Sharma, Overland Park-based DEG
- Case Dorman, Overland Park-based Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue
- Kelly Mann, Lenexa-based Mediware Information Systems
- Chris Long, Mission Woods-based Palmer Square Capital Management
- Nathan Ferman, Grandview-based Perfection Floor Tile
- David Chinnery, Blue Springs-based Adams Dairy Bank
- Bob Bagby, Liberty-based B&B Theatres
Three Kansas City-area businessmen nabbed the award last year: Jody Brazil, Overland Park-based Firemon; Bill Zahner, Kansas City-based A Zahner Company; and Matthew Perry, Kansas City-based GENESYS Systems Integrator.
Featured Business

2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
ShotTracker scores partnership with sports equipment giant Spalding
Overland Park, Kan.-based startup ShotTracker will partner with Spalding, the largest basketball equipment supplier in the world, to debut the first multi-player basketball tracking technology. ShotTracker’s technology tracks real-time basketball performance statistics using data from chips embedded in a basketball, players’ shoes, and portable sensors placed around the court. Davyeon Ross, COO of ShotTracker, commented that their…
Rightfully Sewn founder stitches a vision for Kansas City’s fashion future
Poised, posh and purposeful, Jennifer Lapka Pfeifer sits straight as a board at Kaldi’s coffee shop with unwavering eye contact. Donning a contoured-floral blue and white dress, Lapka smiles as she poetically recalls painting in high school and learning to sew with her grandmother in rural Kansas. Those experiences fostered a love for fashion, art…
By the Numbers: A look at Midwest tech investment in 2015
Startland News recently distilled a report by Lead Bank and investment research firm CB Insights that analyzed the Midwest tech investing scene. Here are a few more of the findings from the nearly 40-page report, as presented by Startland’s Kat Hungerford.
