LouisvilleKY’s chamber celebrates 2016’s Inc.credible Award Winners

(Louisville) – More than 300 people turned out to celebrate the best local small businesses during the 16th annual Inc.credible Awards, presented by Strothman and Company, at the Galt House on Friday. The luncheon was presented by U.S. Bank.

 

Mayor Greg Fischer and business leaders from across the region were on hand as winners were announced live. Here is a summary of the companies who took home trophies.

 

Small Business of the Year Award – Presented by Integrity HR

Ladyfingers Catering offers custom designed food services for gourmet box lunches, black tie events, outdoor cookouts, and so much more. The “Ladyfingers Family” includes chefs from all over the world who offer authentic international menus with Southern Charm. Ladyfingers Catering is committed to supporting Kentucky vendors, businesses and farmers and continually strives to reduce waste and limit their carbon footprint. The Ladyfingers team also takes annual educational culinary trips as an added bonding experience.

 

Very Small Business of the Year Award – Presented by Mortenson Family Dental

Level 12 is a custom software design-build engineering firm that combines technical skill with customer advocacy and business savvy to offer profitable solutions for clients. Level 12 sets itself apart from competitors by responding to issues from a businessman’s point of view rather than strictly as a coder. Level 12 offers all employees profit sharing opportunities and they work hard to harness each employee’s individual strengths to help the company excel. Additionally, Level 12 is the sponsor for Louisville’s DerbyPy Meetup which aims to spread awareness for Python as a programming language.

Northern Continental Logistics wins the AML Award (photo from GLI's Facebook page).
Northern Continental Logistics wins the AML Award (photo from GLI’s Facebook page).

 

Advance Manufacturing & Logistics Award – Presented by KentuckyRxCard

Northern Continental Logistics, Inc. (NCL) is a leading innovator of web-based technologies. NCL provides clients with complete visibility of their logistical processes and analytical tools and reports. NCL’s company model blends transaction services and carrier negotiations to create a cost-efficient management system for product distribution. These advanced solutions give NCL “Big City Ability” with the down-to-earth support of “Small Town Sensibility.”

 

Arts, Culture, & Community – Presented by V-Soft Consulting

Fund for the Arts is the oldest arts fund in the country with the mission of creating a vibrant and strong united arts community. The Fund benefits a plethora of arts organizations throughout Greater Louisville and raised $8.7 million over the past year to benefit these artists. The Fund invests in education programs that engage children, inspire excellence, and improve academic success. They are also a major benefactor in the Greater Louisville Arts Master Plan—a collaboration between the Louisville Metro Government, GLI, and many more organizations. This plan supports innovative programming for the public to improve overall quality of life and create a competitive 21st Century City.

 

 

Innovation & Creativity Award – Presented by Middleton Reutlinger

ECT Services, Inc. is an independent technology provider that designs, develops, installs, and integrates technology systems for both small and large businesses.  ECT Services is in the business of making buildings sustainable, maintainable, energy efficient, and safe. A unique aspect of their support is their Shooter Detection System which uses high-tech sensors to detect gunfire seconds after it happens. The program immediately puts the building into lockdown mode without any human action required. This is only one of the countless safety and technology solutions provided by ECT Services.

 

 

Lifelong Wellness & Healthcare – Presented by Humana

Splash Analytics is an advanced analytics company whose primary focus is to enable clients the ability to leverage their data to gain a competitive advantage in their industry. Splash Analytics has positioned itself as a key player in helping healthcare organizations improve clinical quality and patient outcomes. Programmers in house have created clinical classification software that allows Splash Analytics to analyze analytics and create real-time predictive models for their clients. Splash Analytics tailors this software to each individual client to facilitate continuous improvement for success.

People’s Choice Award

Hope Scarves was founded by Lara MacGregor in 2007 after she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 30. The program started in Lara’s spare bedroom sending out 2-3 Hope Scarves a week. Today Hope Scarves sends nearly 50 scarves a week all around the world and has sent more than 4,500 scarves to people with all types of cancer, from ages 2 to 92. The head scarves are both practical and inspiring for individuals battling cancer. The Hope Scarf Collection, which changes constantly, contains more than 5,000 scarves and over 500 stories.

 

More than 1900 people voted for this year’s People’s Choice Award online via Twitter, Facebook, and over email. All 31 Inc.credible Awards finalists were eligible for the award.

 

“The Inc.credible Awards are a chance for Greater Louisville to really celebrate all the small businesses that make our region unique and vibrant,” Kent Oyler, President & CEO of GLI, said. “We are always excited to see the innovative business solutions that are being pioneered by the smaller players in our community.”

 

Since 2000, the Inc.credible Awards have recognized multiple small, local businesses for their ongoing contributions to our community’s economic vitality.

 

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About Greater Louisville Inc.

Greater Louisville Inc. – the Metro Chamber of Commerce is where regional business leaders come together to accelerate business competitiveness, economic growth and job creation in the Greater Louisville region.  The region’s largest business leadership organization, GLI leads economic and global outreach strategies focused on business attraction; nurtures the entrepreneurial eco-system and fast growth companies; and champions the development of the community’s talent base.  As the voice of the business community, GLI advocates for a pro-business environment and facilitates business leadership engagement on issues that impact regional competitiveness.  For more information, visit www.GreaterLouisville.com.