The Knoxville business community celebrated continued success and growth in the region at the sold-out 2008 Pinnacle Business Awards held April 25th at the Knoxville Convention Center. The fourth annual awards gala, hosted by the Knoxville Chamber and presented by Regions Bank, honored nine Knoxville businesses and individuals for excellence in their fields and in service to the community.

If you'd like to make a nomination for the 2009 Pinnacle Business Awards, please email Lori Fuller at lfuller@knoxvillechamber.com

The 2009 awards will be held on May 1.

“The Pinnacle Business Awards gala is an occasion to honor the nominees and winners in the eight award categories,” says Mike Hamilton, chairman of the Chamber’s Board of Directors. “The businesses and businesspeople that received awards are outstanding representatives of the greater Knoxville business community. They are emblematic of all the fantastic businesses and hard working businesspeople in our region.”

The winners were:

• Innovator Award: Molecular Pathology Laboratory Network, Inc.
• Small Business Excellence Award: Studio Four Design, Inc.
• Impact Award: Goody’s Family Clothing
• Minority Business Excellence Award: (tied) ES&H, Inc. and Visionary Solutions, LLC
• Business Excellence Awards:
  • Mid-Sized Business Excellence Award: Merit Construction, Inc.
  • Large Business Excellence Award: Pilot Travel Centers, LLC
• Young Entrepreneur Award: Chris VanBeke, president and CEO, Tennetic Ventures, LLC
• James A. Haslam, II Leadership Award: Pete DeBusk, chairman and CEO, DeRoyal

ES&H, Inc. tied for honors in the Minority Business Excellence category. The excitement and enthusiasm garnered on awards night continues for Bill Garibay, president of ES&H, Inc., and his employees.

“We’re pumped and honored that we received the award,” he says. “Everybody at the company is just fired up right now!”

Garibay says the award is especially meaningful considering the finalists in the category.

“We have worked with a couple of the other finalists in the category so we knew the competition for this award was top notch.”

Winning a Pinnacle Business Award has become a mark of distinction highly valued by area businesses.

“We’ve been a member of the Knoxville business community for 11 years and we know what it means to be recognized by the Chamber,” says Garibay. “I know my company is a success when it wins a Pinnacle Award. I feel we’re doing something right.”

Chris VanBeke, president and CEO of Tennetic Ventures, LLC, was given the Young Entrepreneur Award.

“This award means a lot,” VanBeke says. “It’s a huge validation of what I’m doing. My success metrics are not necessarily like other entrepreneurial success metrics of revenue or volume of employees. My success is measured in the amount of impact that I’m making for my clients.”

Tennetic Ventures focuses on helping technology-based companies get a head start. Financial, venture capital, legal, and business development resources are provided. Clients may also utilize business coaching services, counseling services, mentoring services, and the increased networking opportunities Tennetic Ventures provides.

Former University of Tennessee football player Will Overstreet, a colleague of VanBeke’s, taped a congratulatory video clip that was presented to VanBeke and those in attendance. Jill VanBeke, Chris’s wife, helped arrange the video prior to the gala. Both Overstreet – who works with VanBeke on a daily basis – and Jill kept the award a surprise.

“I began to recognize some of the descriptions of the category’s winner the emcee was sharing with the audience. It started to dawn on me that I had actually won the award. I didn’t believe it until they put my ugly mug up on the large projection screen. That’s when it really hit me. It was a surprise up to the very moment.”

The Pinnacle Business Awards is one of Knoxville’s marquee annual events with over 650 businesspeople attending the 2008 celebration. Attendees were once again treated to an exciting evening that included a reception and silent auction, followed by dinner and the awards presentation emceed by John Becker. Additional sponsors included the Greater Knoxville Business Journal, Bandit Lites, Wackenhut, Energy Solutions, the Knoxville News Sentinel, Citadel Broadcasting, GraceWorks Studio, and WBIR-TV.