The New England Entrepreneur of the Year Program seeks to identify and honor the people who are leading the way to our region's economic future and continued growth. The companies we learn more about during the year represent a broad scope of industries. Many offer unique products or services. Others are gaining share in crowded competitive arenas. Some of the companies are very young, bursting with the enthusiasm of the right idea at the right place and the right time. We also see mature companies in business for many decades that have been able to capitalize on today's opportunities by leveraging their experience and accumulated wisdom.In whatever ways these companies differ, or wherever they may be on their path to achieving their objectives, they all share one characteristic. All are led by individuals who infuse their organizations with an entrepreneurial spirit. This spirit is born of the desire to find a better way of doing things, coupled with the courage to take the road less traveled. It's a spirit that does indeed make all the difference.New England produces more than its share of leaders and we have honored many of them at past Entrepreneur of the Year Awards' evenings. Two of last year's award recipients are here tonight as regional judges. Howard Brodsky has continued to lead Carpet One into new business areas and greater success. Bill Bygrave has kept Babson in the forefront of academic programs for entrepreneurs while sharing his wisdom with students and companies around the world. We are proud that past award recipients like Tom Stemberg of Staples have not only continued the growth of their companies, but have become involved as investors and directors of entrepreneurial companies.Many New Englanders have gone on to greater recognition through the National Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Program. In the last three years, New England has produced five national award recipients and three more national finalists. Joanna Lau was a national award recipient in 1995, and a judge at both the regional and national level. After receiving a national award, Joanne took her company public and Lau Technologies continues to grow. Joanne also spends time serving as a mentor to young entrepreneurs. Linda Mason and Roger Brown, 1996 regional and national award recipients, have taken their company, Bright Horizons, to higher levels, also completed an IPO, and continue to give back to the community. We're proud of last year's regional and national winners from NetScout Systems, Anil Singhal and Narendra Popat. NetScout Sysytems continues its successful journey, ever mindful of where they began. After Nerandra Popat received his award in Palm Springs, he left to wake up his family and his partner in Lowell, and then to call his mother in India.These are interesting and wonderful people. The opportunity to know them better is the best part of my job. This year's finalists are no exception. You embody the best qualities America has to offer and your leadership acts as a beacon to investors, employees, and customers. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the Statue of Liberty's arrival in the United States. In 1885 the leading symbol of freedom had been torn apart, crammed into crates, then loaded as cargo in the dark recesses of a ship for a long journey on stormy seas. As entrepreneurs, you might know what that feels like. There's a proverb about leadership that I like: When a man is able to take abuse with a smile, he is worthy to become a leader. The trials of leadership are many, but there are rewards. 113 years later, Lady Liberty has been proclaimed a citizen of New Jersey after an extensive legal campaign. I hope your rewards are less dubious. Your leadership can be measured in many ways. As a group, your total net sales amounted to 4,393, 290, 900, with almost 190 million of that before taxes. Your sales grew 33% last year and you've created jobs for 33 thousand 625 people. If it were just a question of numbers, the job of the judges would be much easier. Numbers are important and the financial performance of the business organization counts. But the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards aren't given to companies, they are awarded to people. The judges look at innovative practices, community involvement and corporate culture during their deliberations. Examples of courage, perseverance, and resiliency are noted.Every finalist receives the full attention of each of our judges. Within the panel is a broad range of experience and the judges bring it all to the table in the difficult process of determining who the winners are in an outstanding group of finalists such as this. Those of you who were able to attend the finalists' reception last month may have already met some of the individuals I'm about to introduce. It's an impressive group and we are very grateful for the time and diligence they have contributed to this program. They implement the standards of excellence that give this award its integrity and its meaning. I'll ask all the judges to please stand so we can thank them as a group. It's an honor to introduce Howard Brodsky, William Bygrave, Dana Callow, Stephen Carlotti, Jackie Chermisino, David Fischer, Ernest Jaquet, Jennifer Kushell and, Joanna Lau. (lead applause)Before we hear the results of the judges' work, we want to present each of you with a finalists award in recognition of your leadership, your dedication, and your achievements. In order to do that efficiently and elegantly I've asked for help from a professional. Some of my colleagues might suggest I need professional help of a different kind but we won't talk about that now.I said earlier that the best part of my job is the opportunity to get to know some very interesting people and our host for this evening is one of the more interesting. Kasey Kaufman, anchorwoman and reporter for WBZ News, is a native New Englander, unusual in this day of plug-and-play broadcast journalism. Watching the news can sometimes leave us feeling that we live in a chaotic world where little makes sense. Kasey offers us an intelligent and compassionate connection to that world and I am grateful for her perspective. And I can't tell you how grateful I am that Kasey has agreed to join us tonight. Those of you who remember when I remained at the podium for the whole evening are filled with gratitude, too, no doubt.

Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in offering a warm welcome to our host, Kasey Kaufman.

Understanding that there is risk involved in entrepreneurial activity is not the same as being at risk. I'm not sure I could do it and I truly admire those who have what it takes to hang in through the rough times. An entrepreneur once said to me, "You think you're in business when you meet a payroll. You know you're in business when you miss one."Now it's time to meet some of the risk-takers. Bob, are you ready to present the finalist awards to our first group?Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in congratulating Entrepreneur of the Year finalist William Nutt of the Affiliated Managers Group, Incorporated. William was a leader long before he began this business and helped to develop the first money market fund.Michael Sherman and Calvin Frese carved a new path in commercial real estate by structuring CB Richard Ellis/Whittier Partners, LP, as a broadly held partnership.Our next finalist is Donald Larson of Concentra Managed Care, an injured workers case management company...Most of you are familiar with Boston Duck Tours, the WWII amphibious vehicle sightseeing tour. Andy Wilson spent nearly 2 yrs in 100 halls of government to get the 30 required permits and it paid off. Let's all give Andy a big quack. Collette Tours went into business after WWI, by offering a 21-day trip to Florida, all expenses included, for $61.50. Dan Sullivan is the CEO who continues to expand the company's offerings. Accepting for Dan is Cindy Zesk.Our next finalist is Joseph Dietch, the Chairman and CEO of Commonwealth Equity Service, a securities brokerage firm dedicated to servicing financial advisors.Jonathan Stern of the Corex Technologies Corporation is also a finalist. Corex delivers business card scanning and software.Please congratulate finalists Rick Dyer, Skip Dyer, and Rick Theder from Desk Top Graphics, which provides complete solutions for corporate marketing needs. Congratulations to Richard DeWolfe of The DeWolfe Companies, offering integrated homeownership services.Later I'll tell you a story about man who once ripped up a customer's $50,000.00 check. That man is John Danieli, The Computer Merchant. I can't imagine how that felt, John. William Cummings is the founder and Chairman of Cummings Properties Management which manages and maintains 6 million square feet of office space in Greater Boston. As the mother of a new son, I'm glad I found out that the curve on a baseball cap's brim is an important form of self-expression. I'd like to thank Gregg Levin of Perfect Curve for giving me a clue and congratulate him for being a finalist.Our last finalist in this group is Jeffrey Shuman, Director of Entrepreneurial Studies, Bentley College. Jeffrey's nomination papers included this quote: "I believe that entrepreneurship and the free enterprise system is one of the most effective tools in helping to solve major societal problems." The people in this room demonstrate the truth of that statement through your collective community efforts. Last year Boston Duck Tours gave 15% of pre-tax income back to the city through organizations focused on education and clean water. Cummings Properties Management set aside 1 million dollars to fund 20 merit scholarships every year. Robert Davis uses the reach of Lycos, an online service provider, to support the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Michael Burnell of the Whistler Corporation contributes significant time and money to the American Cancer Society.

And in the interest of the common good, I believe a little food would benefit the community in this room right now. We'll pause in our recognition of the finalists for our first course, then I'll introduce the next group of finalists.

Many of you demonstrated your leadership leanings at an early age. When he was 5, Kenneth Berger convinced his mother to bake a batch of cookies. Going door-to-door he said, "These are samples. I'll be back to take your orders tomorrow." Jonathan Stern got hooked on computers as a high school student in Israel. While still a student he received a salary as the school's first computer instructor. Raymond Sozzi began several businesses while still in college, which generated 100,000 dollars in revenues and created jobs for 50 of his fellow students. And at the age of 12, Ralph Folz took on every local newspaper delivery route as it became available, subcontracted some of the work out, and managed it for a profit. Signs of leadership often show up early and they're instantly recognizable. Our first finalists in this segment are Jane McBride and Patricia Zinkowski of Flight Time International who were nominated by 23 employees who recognized the value of Jane and Patricia's leadership and wrote: "Our lives, personally and professionally, have been enriched by their unique style of entrepreneurial leadership."Mona Elliassen is the founder and CEO of The Elliassen Group which provides highly-trained technology professionals on a per-project basis.Richard Barry and Robert Johnson of First Security Services are in the business of protecting people, property, information, integrity and reputation.Tom Martin of Cramer Productions is not only a finalist, his company is producing this event. We're right on schedule so far, Tom.Please join me in congratulating Patricia Gallup, Chairman/CEO of PC Connection, a leading direct marketer of computers, software and networking products. Gary Furst, Michael Zane and Peter Zane are here from the Kryptonite Corporation which introduced the first bolt-cutter-proof bike lock in 1974. I've heard that these gentlemen have dressed up as Superman to illustrate the power of Kryptonite and I was sort of hoping they'd do it tonight.Douglas Levin is from Fresh Samantha and I could use some Mango Mama right about now, for sure.Robert Madonna leads the Excel Switching Corporation, a provider of open switching platforms. Accepting the finalist's award for Robert is Bob Pannoff.Ted Goodlander is the President of the Storage Computer Corporation, a manufacturer of high capacity mass storage systems. Congratulations, Ted.Suffolk Construction Company is one of the U.S.'s top 50 building general contractors and John Fish is an Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. From Foreign Motors West, Frederick Tierney, whose company was one of the first in its industry to offer an employee stock option plan. An Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist Award goes to Mark Skaletsky, President of Geltex Pharmaceuticals. His company developed their first product in 3 years compared to a 10-year industry average. Accepting for Mark is Paul Mellett.Kenneth Berger is the President of EAW, Incorporated, a professional loudspeaker manufacturer. Kenneth, I covered the story about the fire that destroyed your facilities. I know that, because of your leadership, the company was back in business by 7 AM the next day. I could use that kind of leadership after the awards if you're not busy. Subscription fraud in the global telecommunications industry costs almost 1 million dollars a day. Lightbridge's innovations protect customers from that risk and Pamela Reeve is receiving a finalist award for her efforts.Ron Feinstein is the President of Lifeline Systems, a personal response service. My mother Toby is a subscriber to your service, Ron. Do you hear from my mom as often as I do?Now we want to take a moment to present a special award of recognition. The worldwide web offers much promise as a medium for business communications and transactions. Many are waiting for the promise to take more direction before they jump on... But others have rolled up their sleeves and are building the superhighway. John Magennis is one of them. The Internet Exposer is the name of the business he started when he was 12. Since then, John has created an online presence for over 60 companies, including affiliates of Fortune 500 corporations. The websites look good, producing results that look great. Running a successful business is only one of John's jobs. He is also a fulltime student in high school. The entrepreneurial spirit can break down many of our society's roadblocks in regard to age, race and gender. Ernst & Young and the sponsors of the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards want to thank John Magennis for reminding us of that. John, will you please stand?

My mother just left a message with Lifeline Systems: "Kasey, are you making sure everyone has enough to eat?" Thanks, mom. Let's do that before we honor our last group of finalists.

[Comments]Leaders create the tangible components of the business... the product or scope of services. They build the organizational structure and attract the financing. But they also create the symbols, the ideologies, the language and rituals. Fred Tierney began the Seventh Player Awards to help build the corporate culture at Foreign Motors West. John Fish has the Goaltenders to help Suffolk Construction to stay focused. "The Cut Above" is a peer recognition program at Desk Top Graphics.Leaders set the standards. The Computer Merchant has a written guarantee: "If you aren't satisfied, we won't bill you." John Danieli tore up a 50 thousand dollar check and went on to satisfy and retain that very surprised customer. I'm sure most of you have heard of Tweeter's automatic price-protection policy. If your purchase is later advertised at a lower price, even by another company, they'll mail you a check for the difference. Leaders understand that words have meaning. Jerry Greenberg and Stuart Moore recently led the charge to change their company's core value from pioneering to leadership, reflecting a company that intends to help frame the future. We begin this segment by presenting a finalists award to Jerry Greenberg and Stuart Moore, the leaders of Sapient Corporation.Ralph Folz is the President of TVisions which specializes in developing online business solutions. Next are the men from Tweeter who have mailed out a million dollars worth of price protection... Sandy Bloomberg and Jeffrey Stone of the New England Audio Company.James Kaloyanides is from the New England Coffee Company. I'll use a double dose of your product tomorrow, James, to fuel the unpacking.We have a finalists' award for Ray Sozzi, Student Advantage, a membership-based discount organization. Dr. Kedar Gupta and Jonathan Talbot of GT Equipment Technologies worked together at another company and saw a need for specialty machines in the manufacture of silicon for the solar and microchip industries. They left, with the blessings of their former employer, and have turned an opportunity into a successful business.Joining us from the wonderful world of web destinations is Robert Davis, the president of Lycos, now introducing 2.5 new products or enhancements a week. Dr. Kenan Sahin, president of Kenan Systems, encourages his employees to pay attention to making a difference ahead of making money.Congratulations to Michael Burnell, President of the Whistler Corporation, a manufacturer of automatic garage door openers and other automotive aftermarket products.We have a finalists' award for Drew Conway from Renaissance Worldwide, a global provider of integrated business and technology solutions.Another thing I learned this year is that there is an award given for the quality of snow. Okemo Mountain Resort won it and Tim and Diane Mueller are also Entrepreneur of the Year Finalists.Our next finalist is Andrew Ory, Priority Call Management. Andrew's company links cellular, home, and office phones so that calls reach people, not places. I'm happy to see Samir Desai of the System Resources Corporation join us again this year. Samir, I think the number of times you've been a finalist says a lot about the consistency of your company's performance. Congratulations.The term 'Angel Network' is used to describe private investors who are seeking early start-up investment opportunities. William Wetzel coined the terrm and he is the Director Emeritus of the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire.The Road to Responsibility is an IRS approved non-profit human service corporation. Richard Walker leads the way on that road and is with us tonight. Congratulations, Richard.Our last finalists' award goes to Sharon Merrill, who has also been here before. Sharon Merrill Associates is an investors/relations/corporate communications agency.Well, we've met all of the 1998 Entrepreneur of the Year Finalists... an outstanding group of people with enviable achievements. Let's congratulate them as a group. (lead applause)

The only thing left is to announce the judges' choices for the winners. If it were my decision, I'd call you all up here for an award. We'd be here until 3 AM. Fortunately, our panel has accomplished their difficult task and we'll learn the results after coffee.

We see democracy in its simplest form when consumers vote for products with their dollars. In the regional elections products race the winner this year is (name in envelope)

The world can be a stressful place, whether or not you're an entrepreneur. The Award in the Entertainment category is given to those who give us a break and the chance to renew, recharge, and return to our worklives refreshed. The winner in this category is (name in envelope)

High Technology has a major influence on all of our lives and I'd like to announce the winners in the industry that touches all of us. (name in envelope)

We can all use a little help from time to time and the finalists in the Supporter of Entrepreneur category offer lots of it. Their efforts make a difference and tonight we recognize someone who's made a big difference with his efforts to support entrepreneurs. Join me in congratulating (name in envelope)

Join me in congratulating (name in envelope), our Financial Services Entrepreneur of the Year.Our final award tonight is the Socially Responsible Entrepreneur of the Year. It's a personal pleasure to name Richard Walker of the Road to Responsibility as the leader in this category. Richard suffered a broken leg recently, so I'll take the road to the audience to present his award. (present award)The Road to Responsibility has a mission statement which reads: Together we can harness the most powerful energy in the universe -- human energy.Every finalist and award winner here knows the truth of that statement and that's one of the reasons I enjoy this evening as much as I do. I hope you have as well. It's a good idea to end an evening while people are still enjoying themselves and I'll do that by thanking a few people. (Bob's personal thanks here)You've worked so hard and you've done a great job. Your reward is to begin the work on next year's program right away and surpass even yourselves. I know you can do it.

And finally, I'm not sure there are words to express how I feel about Kasey's contribution to the Entrepreneur of the Year program. She shows up long before the awards evening with a sincere interest in learning as much as she can about you and your businesses. Her gracious style and genuine enthusiasm are infectious and she makes all of our jobs easier and more fun. Mine in particular, and I am forever in her debt. Kasey spoke of your commitments to making the world a better place. In my opinion, there is no better leader for us to follow, and no better example than her own. Kasey has asked that her honorarium be donated to the United Way. Ernst & Young's Jim DiStasio will be United Ways Campaign Chair next year and Kasey, along with her husband, Michael, will co-chair the Leadership Gifts Committee. I expect Kasey will energize everyone at the United Way as she has with us. Kasey, the last thing I'll ask from you, tonight anyway, is to come to the stage once again.