Bill Elkington of JV Driver Group announced as Prairies Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur Of The Year®

Local entrepreneurs make their mark

CALGARY, Oct. 15 /CNW/ - Bill Elkington, founder of JV Driver Group headquartered in Leduc, Alberta, has been named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2010 for the Prairies region.

"As an entrepreneur, Bill demonstrates a unique ability to discover new opportunities, deliver products and services in innovative ways and generate prosperity for Canadian business," said David Boomer, Director of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards for the Prairies region. "He has overcome significant challenges in the construction industry by drawing on his strong networks and positive long-term outlook — demonstrating that it's possible to drive growth in the face of adversity."

JV Driver evolved from Bill's passion for construction and ability to recognize the market opportunities for a company with unique contracting expertise. In 1989, the same year he started the company from scratch, Bill led JV Driver to $8 million in revenue.

Today, JV Driver has completed projects with values exceeding $800 million. Bill's many accomplishments result directly from his unyielding devotion to his business and ability to surround himself with the right people.

Fostering an environment of teamwork and loyalty, Bill is readying the business leaders of tomorrow and building a sustainable future for JV Driver. His people focus and ability to drive change go beyond business into the community, where the passions of his team support numerous organizations, including the Stollery Children's Hospital, the Zebra Foundation, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and ongoing cancer research.

"As commerce continues to stretch globally beyond local and national boundaries, we rely on the innovation of entrepreneurs to propel us forward with long-term, sustainable growth," said Boomer. "This year's winners have accomplished the impressive feat of growing their businesses into new markets, creating jobs and building their communities despite an uncertain economy. We congratulate and honour the winners of this year's Entrepreneur Of The Year Prairies Awards, who continue to influence and inspire future generations of Canadian talent."

Category winners of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2010 Prairies Awards:

Business-to-business products and services
John MacInnes
Print Audit | Calgary
printaudit.com

Print Audit enables organizations worldwide to significantly lower the cost and environmental impact of printing and photocopying.

Business-to-consumer products and services
Betty Anne Latrace Henderson
Deer Lodge Hotels | Saskatoon
airlinehotels.ca

Deer Lodge Hotels is a leading, mid-market sustainable, second-generation, full-service hospitality company, guided at all times by ethics and values.

Cleantech
Gary Michalchuk
E.I.L Environmental Services | Edmonton
eilenvironmental.com

E.I.L. has been providing hazardous waste management services to waste generators across Western Canada since 1991, including used-oil recovery and recycling services.

Energy - external equity funded
Daniel Klemke
KMC Mining Corporation | Edmonton
kmcmining.com

KMC provides major producers in the Alberta oilsands with heavy earth-moving equipment and mining expertise. Its services include site preparation, dyke and haul-road construction, overburden removal, land reclamation and ore hauling.

Energy - private
Douglas Quinn
Quinn's Oilfield Supply Ltd. | Red Deer
quinnpumps.com

Quinn's Oilfield Supply provides service and distribution of reciprocation and progressing cavity pumps to the oil and gas community, through innovative manufacturing engineering and product development.

Manufacturing
John Leder
Supreme Group Inc. | Edmonton
supremesteel.com

The Supreme Group offers a wide range of steel fabrication, erection, mechanical and construction services.

Professional/ financial services
Tracy Graf, Troy Graf
Carfinco Income Fund | Edmonton

Carfinco provides consumer vehicle loans to borrowers unable to obtain financing through traditional lending sources. Automotive dealerships offer Carfinco's payment plan to their customers.

Real estate/construction
Bill Elkington
JV Driver Group | Leduc
jvdriver.com

JV Driver is a competitive, results-oriented industrial contractor that has successfully completed major projects in the oil and gas, petrochemical, mining and forestry products sectors.

Technology
Michael Legary
Seccuris Inc. | Winnipeg
seccuris.com,

Seccuris provides customers with an end-to-end strategy for managing enterprise information risk, as well as the capabilities to design, implement and manage programs, architectures and solutions.

What's next?

As the Prairies region's Entrepreneur Of The Year 2010, Bill will compete with top entrepreneurs from the Pacific, Atlantic, Ontario and Québec regions for the national honour of Canada's Entrepreneur Of The Year 2010, to be presented at a gala celebration November 17, 2010, in Toronto. In June 2011, Canada's Entrepreneur Of The Year 2010 will move to the world stage to compete with 50 country recipients for the title of Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year^®.

About the awards program

The Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards honour the spirit and contribution of entrepreneurs here and around the world. This year, the Canadian program is proudly celebrating 17 years of honouring Canada's outstanding entrepreneurs from all areas of business. For more information on the program, please visit ey.com/ca/eoy.

Nominees are reviewed by an independent judging panel, which is composed of several distinguished business leaders and previous award recipients. The 2010 Prairies region judging panel consisted of Zinat Damji, President and CEO, Alliance Trust Company; Jack Donald, Chairman Emeritus, Parkland Industries; John Ferguson, Chancellor Emeritus, University of Alberta; Barb Gamey, President, Payworks Inc.; Kevin Wolfe, President, Richmond Equity Management Ltd.

Entrepreneur Of The Year is sponsored nationally by Global TV, National Post, La Presse and RDI. Prairies region program sponsors are the Calgary Herald and Business in Calgary.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 141,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential.

For more information, please visit ey.com/ca. 

Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.

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