Joseph Slawek of Geneva-based FONA International Is Finalist in Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Geneva businessman Joe Slawek is a finalist in the 2011 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year^® Midwest competition.

Slawek is among a group of outstanding entrepreneurs selected by an independent judging panel made up of previous winners of the award, leading CEOs, private capital investors and other regional business leaders. Winners will be revealed at a gala on June 22 at the Sheraton Chicago.

In addition to recognizing the 26 finalists, John A. Canning, Jr., Co-Founder and Chairman of Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC, will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement award. Canning will be honored for building one of the largest and most successful private equity funds in the United States, among his other accolades.

The Midwest region includes companies based in Illinois and Indiana. The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2011 Midwest finalists are:

• Jaideep Bajaj, ZS Associates, Inc. — Evanston, Illinois
• Stuart Bernsen, Chiro One Wellness Centers — Oak Brook, Illinois
• Jack W. Blumenstein and Michael J. Small, Aircell — Itasca, Illinois
• Paul C. Darley, W.S. Darley & Co. — Itasca, Illinois
• Mike Evans and Matt Maloney, GrubHub, Inc. — Chicago, Illinois
• Ted Gelov, Heartland Sweeteners, LLC. — Carmel, Indiana
• Scott Graf, BCD Meetings & Incentives — Chicago, Illinois
• Michele Honomichl, Celergo — Deerfield, Illinois
• Gordon Hunter, Littelfuse, Inc. — Chicago, Illinois
• Andrew Mason, Groupon, Inc. — Chicago, Illinois
• Robert J. McCullen, Trustwave Holdings, Inc. — Chicago, Illinois
• Matthew Moog, Viewpoints Network, LLC — Chicago, Illinois
• Guy H. Morgan, BlueStar Energy Services, Inc. — Chicago, Illinois
• John Priest, Equable Ascent Financial, LLC — Buffalo Grove, Illinois   
• James Reynolds, Jr., Loop Capital Markets — Chicago, Illinois
• Joe Reynolds, Red Frog Events — Chicago, Illinois
• Shawn Riegsecker, Centro — Chicago, Illinois
• Jai Shekhawat, Fieldglass, Inc. — Chicago, Illinois
• Andrew Sieja, kCura — Chicago, Illinois
• Jeff Silver, Coyote Logistics, LLC — Lake Forest, Illinois
• Joseph J. Slawek, FONA International — Geneva, Illinois
• Mark A. Thierer, SXC Health Solutions — Lisle, Illinois
• Elliot S. Weissbluth, HighTower — Chicago, Illinois
• Jeffrey M. Yordon, Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc. — Schaumburg, Illinois

“These finalists create jobs in our area, encouraging community development and innovation in our broader economy,” said Randy Tavierne, Ernst & Young partner and Midwest Strategic Growth Markets Leader.  “No matter who wins on June 22 we know one thing for sure—the Midwest is enriched by every one of these finalists.”

The Entrepreneur Of The Year Program honors entrepreneurs regionally in June, leading up to the national awards in November. Additionally, venture-backed companies that win an Entrepreneur Of The Year Award regionally are also eligible for the Entrepreneur Of The Year Venture Capital Award of Excellence on a national level. The overall National US winner then moves on to compete for the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in June.

This year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Program celebrates its 25th anniversary. The program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 140 cities and more than 50 countries throughout the world. Awards are given to entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

All regional honorees are invited to the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards gala, hosted by Jay Leno, on Nov. 12, in Palm Springs, California. The gala is the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum^®, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies, which will be held November 9–13, 2011. For more information on the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, please visit www.ey.com/us/strategicgrowthforum.

This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a U.S. client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.