Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Longtime Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards VIP sponsor, City National Bank, has elevated their support in 2020 as the Premier sponsor! The Spirit Awards, now in its 18th year, has adapted the show program from a live event with over 1,000 attendees into a televised broadcast in order to continue the tradition of supporting and celebrating local entrepreneurs of Inland Southern California. Over the years the Spirit Awards has grown to be known by participants as the “Oscars of Business” and has continuously recognized the top innovators and entrepreneurs for the past 18 years.
City National Bank saw a unique opportunity to elevate their support for this unique delivery of the very first televised program format in Spirit Awards history, at the same time supporting and honoring those entrepreneurs that have given so much in the face of the pandemic.
“We want to continuously support regional companies that are driven by entrepreneurial spirit,” said Cary Wanner, Senior Vice President and Area Manager at City National Bank. “City National aims to provide world-class banking services and that starts by focusing on growing strong business relationships. As the 2020 Premier sponsor of the Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards, I can’t think of a better time to recognize these innovative entrepreneurs and celebrate them center stage!”
The 2020 Spirit of the Entrepreneur Award will be televised on November 21st, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on KSCI Channel 18. The program format will include the presentation of the COVID Hero and COVID Innovator Entrepreneur Awards to recognize those entrepreneurs that have survived, thrived, and played a key role in helping the community adapt and overcome the coronavirus pandemic through their direct efforts.
Airing November 21st, 2020 at 7pm -8pm pst on KSCI LA Channel 18
The 2020 Spirit of the Entrepreneur program features:
Mistress of Ceremonies – Janice Bryant Howroyd
The Spirit Awards televised program will feature Janice Bryant Howroyd, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The ActOne Group, as our distinguished Mistress of Ceremonies. She is currently #39 on Forbes list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women. In 2014, Mrs. Howroyd was recognized by Black Enterprise as the first black woman to own and operate a billion‐dollar company. She was BET’s first ever BET Honors Entrepreneur of the Year and has received Black Enterprise’s Business of the Year award. In 2013, she was appointed a USA Ambassador of Energy at the White House.
She operates by the mantra “Never compromise who you are personally to become who you wish to be professionally.”
“Janice’s quality of character as an individual, ownership mindset and driving success as an entrepreneur certainly aligns and elevates all that the Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards aims to honor and celebrate! Janice most definitely graces the stage with her effervescent spirit of entrepreneurship!” says Mike Stull, Founder and Executive Producer of the Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards.
Featured Entertainment – Vintage Trouble
The Spirit Awards featured entertainment is one of rock n’ roll’s best kept secrets – the LA based quartet, Vintage Trouble, presented by City National Bank. They have appeared in more than 3,000 shows across 30 countries. Their distilling swaggering rock, soulful blues grooves, and pop ambition delivers a bold and brash brew of infectious music. The quartet—Ty Taylor [vocals], Nalle Colt [guitar], Rick Barrio Dill [bass], and Richard Danielson [drums] – have been on tour with music industry legends such as The Who, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Lenny Kravitz, and Bon Jovi, to name a few.
Along the way, they also performed on Later… with Jools Holland, Jimmy Kimmel LIVE!, Conan, The View, and The Tonight Show (four times in one year!) in addition to receiving acclaim from New York Times, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Billboard, Rolling Stone, and more. All with a trio of albums under their collective belt!
“They bring immense talent and spirit you can feel right through the screen”, says Stacey Allis, Co-Producer of the Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards. “We are more than delighted to support local talent as they certainly know how to deliver inspiration!”
2020 AWARD UNVEILING
The Spirit of the Entrepreneur will unveil the 2020 COVID Hero and COVID Innovator Awards! Drawn from nearly 200 nominations and determined by an external panel of judges representing past Spirit Award recipients, the COVID Hero and COVID Innovator Awards seek to honor and recognize those entrepreneurs that have significantly insighted change and/ or community support and business growth in spite of the coronavirus pandemic. See the list of finalists…
The 2020 Spirit Awards Finalist line-up:
COVID INNOVATOR ENTREPRENEUR FINALISTS:
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Inland Empire Jennifer O’Farrell – Riverside
- C.H.A.N.T. Training Academy/ G.S.M. Management & Consulting LLC Vincent Garrett – Rancho Cucamonga
- RPP Products, Inc. Eric Zwigart – Bloomington
- SoCal Face Shields for Frontline Workers Zubin and Tenzing Carvalho – Hemet
COVID HERO ENTREPRENEUR FINALISTS:
- Another Brilliant Idea, Inc. – Brilliant Mobile Messaging Mary Barnett – Corona
- Inland SoCal United Way Lisa Wright – Rancho Cucamonga
- Murrieta/Wildomar Chamber of Commerce Patrick Ellis – Murrieta
- Victor Valley Rescue Mission Bill Edwards – Victorville
The Garner Holt Student Fast Pitch Competition
One of the most beloved features of the Spirit Awards is the Student Fast Pitch Competition. This year the program has 3 finalists competing for prize money for the 2020 Garner Holt Student Fast Pitch Competition in which college students have 90 seconds to present their winning idea. The top pitch is chosen from a panel of judges for the quality of their pitch and the attractiveness of their business concept.
This year marks 18 years of celebrating The Spirit of the Entrepreneur! Join us this November for a memorable televised broadcast filled with inspiration and innovation at this black-tie gala as we celebrate the top business innovators of Inland Southern California.
For more information, including broadcast and rebroadcast information visit SpiritAwardsIE.com https://spiritawardsie.com/
