NCET / EDAWN Tech Awards Recap: A night highlighting entrepreneurs past and present
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Nearly 30 local businesses and people were honored at the 16th annual NCET / EDAWN Tech Awards and Showcase on Tuesday, May 23rd at the Reno Elks Lodge.
It was a sold-out event with a boisterous crowd which celebrated entrepreneurs past and present. The program paid tribute to entrepreneur Jacob Davis, whose joint patent with Levi Strauss was issued 150 years prior (almost exactly) to the date of the awards ceremony.
“Jacob Davis, right here in the heart of Reno, reimagined an everyday item that is still popular and everlasting today,” said NCET President and CEO Sarah Johns during the ceremony. “The people in this room, right now, are reimagining energy, distributed storage, software, sales, medicine, education and so much more.”
The changed format of the awards ceremony included a keynote speech from 2022’s Technology Company of the Year, Dragonfly Energy CEO Dr. Denis Phares. Phares discussed the great pro-business ecosystem in Northern Nevada, the support he has received from both NCET and EDAWN, as well as the leaps his company has made since the 2022 win. Within the past year Dragonfly Energy has gone public (Nasdaq: DFLI), has created partnerships with companies like Airstream, and was awarded a patent for a powder coating system that’s part of the lithium battery manufacturing process. The groundbreaking process is integral to scalable production of a non-flammable solution for li-ion battery applications and products that focus on deep cycle storage for grid, residential, and industrial applications.
Additionally, the NCET Hall of Fame trophy was handed to Mike Kazmierski, EDAWN’s retiring president and CEO. The award itself is a meritorious award and is not handed out each year.
“A conservative estimate is that under Mike’s tenure 30,000 jobs have been brought to the community, and 250 companies have been recruited,” Johns said. “The state, the region, and our community say ‘thank you’ to Mike Kazmierski who is retiring from his post. Mike, we hope you enjoy your retirement.”
Kazmierski walked up to the stage with a standing ovation from the crowd.
NCET Award Winners
Technology Company of The Year
· CIQ
Startup of The Year
Consumer Packaged Goods Company of The Year
IT Support / Cybersecurity Company of The Year
Logistics Company of The Year (TIE)
· Food Bank of Northern Nevada
Manufacturing Company of The Year
Medical Health Services Company of The Year (TIE)
SaaS Company of The Year
Professional Services Organization of The Year
Nonprofit of The Year (TIE)
· PBS Reno
· Neighbor Network of Northern Nevada (N4)
Sustainability Company of The Year
· American Battery Technology Company
Construction / Construction Services Company of the Year
Innovative Mixed Use Development of the Year
Innovative Retail Development of the Year
Hall of Fame
· Mike Kazmierski, President and CEO, EDAWN
Technologist of the Year
· Rich Ferguson, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Lulius Innovation
Technology Advocate of the Year
· Candace Dietrich, Director of Customer Engagement, Renown Health
Innovator of the Year
· Carlos Cardillo, Executive Director - Corporate Partnerships, University of Nevada, Reno, Research & Innovation
EDAWN Award Winners
Program of the Year
Startup Champion
· Ania Calvillo-Mason, Business Manager of Innevation Center, University of Nevada, Reno
Venture Catalyst
Founder of the Year
Innovation Catalyst
· Nevada Center for Applied Research and Technology (NCAR)
NCET Tech Stars
· David Lewandowski, Fennemore Law
· Amanda Long, G8 Strategies