As part of Indiana Entrepreneurship Week, the Northwest ISBDC will be celebrating its EDGE Award honorees, opening the Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards nomination process and helping host events.
“The week is a vital opportunity to mark the contributions of our region and state entrepreneurs who work hard day after day to ignite our state’s economy,” said NW-ISBDC Regional Director Lorri Feldt of the week that runs June 14 to 20.
Local events set during Entrepreneurship Week include Brewing Up Business and Trends and Challenges of Entrepreneurship.
Brewing Up Business features first-hand stories from successful coffee- and beer-based businesses including Four Fathers Brewing, New Oberpfalz Brewing, Ironwood Brewing, Twisted K-8 Brewing, Dagger Mountain Roastery and Maple City Roasters. Banking, business, insurance, legal and real-estate experts will also be on hand. The event is from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday June 16 at Sand Creek Country Club, 1001 Sand Creek Drive, in Chesterton. Cost is $7 pre-registered online at www.northwestindiana.score.org or $10 at the door.
The Trends and Challenges event will focus on financial discipline, business planning and succession, securing information and branding and marketing with insight from region experts. The event is from 8 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday June 18 at the Purdue Technology Center of NWI, 9800 Connecticut Drive. There is no cost but registration is requested as light refreshments will be served. For more information and to register, visit www.nwisbdc.org and click on events and workshops.
During the week, the NW-ISBDC team will begin accepting nominations for its 24th annual E-Day in such categories as small business person of the year, entrepreneurial success award and young entrepreneur of the year. Winners will be spotlighted at the luncheon event set for Nov. 4 at the Star Plaza in Merrillville.
Nomination packets and a full list of categories are available by visiting www.edayleaders.com or by calling the NW-ISBDC office at (219) 644-3513.
The center staff will also be recognizing the region’s EDGE Award honorees at a June 19 event at Dallara IndyCar Factory in Speedway. Receiving awards from the Northwest center are Klarer Automotive in the established business category and ChicagoLand Popcorn in the emerging business category.
Owner Wilhelm Klarer has grown his independent automobile repair shop from a location in Schererville to the current location, 9430 Calumet Ave., in Munster. ChicagoLand Popcorn owner Dwayne Walker launched the business on U.S. 30 across from Albanese Candy after retiring from corporate America. ChicagoLand Popcorn has taken over as title sponsor of the Valparaiso Popcorn Festival after ConAgra Foods withdrew its Orville Redenbacher title sponsorship in 2014 for the annual September event.
