(Valparaiso, IN.) – Indiana University's Kelley School of Business recognized nearly sixty Indiana companies as finalists at its annual Indiana Entrepreneurial Leadership Awards on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis. The awards banquet spotlight’s Indiana’s top entrepreneurial and emerging companies for their growth, innovation, and social enterprise. The Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation hosted the event.

The Indiana Entrepreneurial Leadership Awards recognized 58 finalists who had applied earlier in the year. From the finalists, winners were selected in each of the following categories: Growth, Innovation, Social Enterprise, and Emerging.

Omnitech Systems, Inc., of Valparaiso, was among the finalists in the Innovation Award category. The Growth Award recognizes companies with at least 35 percent growth for a two-consecutive year period. The Innovation Award identifies companies that pioneered new methods, products, or best practices to adapt to the ever changing business climate. The Social Enterprise Award recognizes non-profit companies with social missions that have adopted entrepreneurial attributes. The Emerging Award was selected through the state’s Venture Idol Competition.

Omnitech Systems, Inc., founded in 1994 currently employs 34 persons from this community. Gregg VanDusseldorp Sr., President, states that he is proud to be recognized as an Indiana Entrepreneurial Leadership Award Company. “Besides the personal satisfaction, I believe that we have had a positive effect on the community and set an example for other Valparaiso businesses. We have worked with the Spring Valley Shelter and made every effort to hire and ‘train-up’ employees who would otherwise not have the opportunity. We have focused on hiring single moms and tried to help them with their individual child care needs. We believe that the success of the company rests directly on the dedication of our employees, a group we call The Omnitech Family. We are proud of what we have accomplished over the past thirteen years.”

Donald F. Kuratko, executive director of the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and The Jack M. Gill Chair of Entrepreneurship in the Kelley School of Business stated, “The Entrepreneurial Leadership Awards celebrates and showcases the tremendous achievements of Indiana’s entrepreneurial community. This is a unique opportunity to celebrate some of the true greatness that exists in the state of Indiana by recognizing the hard work and tenacity that is evident in these award-winning companies.”

Partners for this year’s Indiana Entrepreneurial Leadership Awards were Premier Capital Corp, as the Lead Partner; Katz, Sapper & Miller, as the Exclusive Accounting Firm; Baker & Daniels, as Exclusive Legal Firm; and the Indiana University Research & Technology Corp.; Monument Advisors; and NASDAQ OMX, as Corporate Partners.

For more information regarding the program and how to nominate an Indiana company for next year’s award or more about the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, visit the Center’s web site at http://www.kelley.indiana.edu/jcei or call 812.855.4248.

Below is listed the winning companies, grouped alphabetically with location and the award category for which they are being recognized.