Nominations open for 2010 Governor's Business DiversificationAwards

Contact: Stuart Doyle (407) 956-5689 sdoyle@eflorida.com

Nomination open for 2010 Governor’s Business Diversification Awards

Program honors businesses for economic diversification achievements

ORLANDO, FL (March 23, 2010) – Calling all Florida businesses in emerging and high-tech industries (IT, homeland security, biotech, etc.): Nominations are open for the 2010 Governor’s Business Diversification Awards competition.

The program honors companies with measurable accomplishments that have enhanced Florida’s economic diversification efforts. And those achievements must have been made during 2009 in at least one of the state’s target industries for high-wage job creation and economic diversification:

• Aviation/Aerospace
• Clean Energy
• Financial/Professional Services
• Homeland Security/Defense
• Information Technology
• Life Sciences
• Manufacturing
• Trade/Export Services

The entry deadline is June 25 at 5 p.m. ET., and the application will be available online via Enterprise Florida’s Web site starting March 30.

Nominations can be made by local and regional economic development organizations and professional or industry associations. Self-nominations also are acceptable. Three awards will be given in each of these categories:

• Governor’s Green-to-Gold Award – for a company, organization or institution that, through product or process, best exemplifies “green” leadership.
• Governor’s Business Expansion Award – for a company that expanded its Florida operations in 2009, investing capital and creating jobs for Floridians
• Governor’s Newcomer Award – for a new-to-Florida company that began operating in the state in 2009
• Governor’s Export Excellence Award – for a Florida company with a significant increase in documented export sales in 2009
• Governor’s Entrepreneurship Award – for a company less than five years old that sets the standard for entrepreneurship and creativity
• Governor’s Innovation Award– for a company, organization or institution that, through product or process, best exemplifies innovative leadership.

The winners will be announced in September and presented with their awards that month during Florida’s Industry Appreciation Week.

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Enterprise Florida, Inc. is a partnership between Florida's business and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for the state of Florida. Headquartered in Orlando, Enterprise Florida’s mission is to diversify Florida’s economy and create better-paying jobs for its citizens by supporting, attracting and helping to create businesses in innovative, high-growth industries. In pursuit of its mission, Enterprise Florida works closely with a statewide network of economic development partners and is funded both by the State of Florida and by private-sector businesses.

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