Ontario, Calif., November 20, 2013 – A sell-out crowd of 610 business and community leaders gathered on November 19 to celebrate the 11th annual Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards, an event recognizing the leadership, innovation and business acumen of entrepreneurs.

The event, held at the Ontario Convention Center, was themed "The Art of Entrepreneurship" and featured entertainment from Brian Olsen, whose "Art in Action" painting of various famous figures during the evening reinforced the creativity and innovation necessary to be a successful entrepreneur.

The 2013 award recipients recognized at the black-tie gala, chosen from 26 finalists, include:

Service Based Entrepreneur

• Dan Hill, Mach One Air Charters - Chino

Emerging Entrepreneur

• Robert Kunesh, SacTec Solar, Inc. - Palm Springs

Family Business

• Jae, Robert and Sue Boyd, Boyd Specialties Manufacturing. - Colton

General Entrepreneur

• Gary and Sally Myers, BMW Management, Inc. - Temecula

Manufacturing Entrepreneur

• Donna Pursell, Prestige Mold Inc., - Rancho Cucamonga

Corporate Entrepreneur

• Phil Kurtz, Wetmore Tool and Engineering Co. - Chino

Small Enterprise

• Joan Nguyen, MeriEducation - Riverside

Social Entrepreneur

• Terrance Stone, Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy - San Bernardino

Technology Entrepreneur

• Kevin Mahaffy and Eric Schmidt, EXQUADRUM Inc. - Adelanto

Special awards presented - "Best of the Best."

At the end of the regular awards presentation, the "Best of Best" award was presented to Gary and Sally Myers of BMW Management, Inc.. The award was conceived by event sponsor Best Best & Krieger LLP (BB&K) and the event’s presenter the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship (IECE) at Cal State San Bernardino in 2012, to recognize the “best” entrepreneur from among each of the award recipients.

Students pitch their business concepts as part of the Garner Holt Fast Pitch Competition

As part of the event festivities, the Garner Holt Student Fast Pitch Competition was held for five future entrepreneurs to deliver a 90-second pitch about their up-and-coming venture idea to the audience and were critiqued on their overall preparation, poise and professional presentation. The top three pitches were recognized and the top student, Christine Law, walked away with a $4,000 prize. The fast pitch, which involves students from Cal State San Bernardino, is sponsored by local entrepreneur Garner Holt of San Bernardino. Holt’s company, Garner Holt Productions, is the world’s leading manufacturer of Animatronics & Animatronic Figures.

The Spirit of the Entrepreneur event was presented by the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship at California State University San Bernardino and sponsored by a wide range of local organizations including Inland Empire magazine, Best Best & Krieger LLP and Los Angeles News Group.