2015 Entrepreneur of the Year Lineup Announced

Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Announces Honorees

The Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Henry W. Bloch School of Management, University of Missouri-Kansas City, has announced the honorees for its 30th Annual Entrepreneur of the Year Awards celebration and the calendar of events for the 2nd Annual Henry W. Bloch Entrepreneurship Week.

“Fearless City: Celebrating Those Who Fearlessly Create” is the theme for the week. The festivities kick off with the awards on Monday, Nov. 16 at the Kansas City Convention Center, Grand Ballroom, 301 W. 13th St., Suite 100, Kansas City, Mo. A Student Venture Showcase begins at 6 p.m. with the dinner immediately following at 7 p.m.

Anne St. Peter, founder of Global Prairie and a member of the Regnier Institute Advisory Council, will serve as honorary dinner chair.

The 2015 honorees are:

Danny O’Neill, Bean Baron, The Roasterie

Regional Entrepreneur of the Year

O’Neill’s passion for coffee was inspired by a trip to Costa Rica during his senior year in high school. He founded The Roasterie in 1993 on three basic premises: to find the best coffees in the world; to roast them the best way known to man; and to get them to his customers as fast as humanly possible. He opened the first Roasterie Café in Brookside in 2005. The company has grown to include three cafés and a roasting factory with event space.

O’Neill is well respected in the industry and earned “Super Taster” status on the Specialty Coffee Institute Sensory Aptitude Test in 2001. He serves on a number of advisory boards for Kansas City companies and associations, including the University of Missouri-Kansas City Board of Trustees.

Gary White, CEO and Co-Founder, Water.org
John and Marion Kreamer Award for Social Entrepreneurship

Recognizing a need to empower people in the developing world to gain access to safe water and sanitation, White established Water.org in 2009. The organization was the result of a merger between WaterPartners International, co-founded by White in 1990, and H2O Africa, co-founded by actor Matt Damon.

White’s entrepreneurial vision has driven innovations in the way water and sanitation projects are delivered and financed. By the end of 2014, Water.org served more than three million people. White is a founding board member of the Millennium Water Alliance and WASH Advocates and a leading member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Water.

A Student Entrepreneur of the Year will be announced at the EOY dinner. Selected by the Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation leadership and Regnier Institute Advisory Council, the recipient will be an entrepreneurship student who has successfully developed and launched a business, product or venture. The winner will receive a $2,500 scholarship.

In honor of this milestone anniversary, the program will also include a retrospective look at the previous honorees with special attention given to their continued success.

Proceeds from the EOY Awards will benefit the Bloch School’s Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, one of Kansas City’s premiere resources for educating and creating the next generation of entrepreneurs. Money raised from previous dinners has supported the creation of innovative new programs such as Summer Scholars and Vets2Ventures. For additional information or to register for the event, please visit fearlesscity.com.

The EOY Awards begin the 2nd Annual Henry Bloch Entrepreneurship week, a weeklong celebration held in conjunction with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurship Week. The following Bloch School hosted events are open to the public:

Coffee with Danny O’Neill, 2015 Regional Entrepreneur of the Year

Tuesday, November 17

9-10:30 a.m.

Henry W. Bloch Executive Hall for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Room 330 and 331

5108 Cherry Street, Kansas City, MO 64110

Fearless Founders Reception, sponsored by Twenty30 CEO

Wednesday, November 18

6-8 p.m.

Henry W. Bloch Executive Hall for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Room 331

5108 Cherry Street, Kansas City, MO 64110

Women in Entrepreneurship Panel

Thursday, November 19

6:30-8:30 p.m.

Henry W. Bloch Executive Hall for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Room 218

5108 Cherry Street, Kansas City, MO 64110

Arts and Entrepreneurship Showcase

Friday, November 20

4-6 p.m.

Henry W. Bloch Executive Hall for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

5108 Cherry Street, Kansas City, MO 64110

For more information on Henry Bloch Entrepreneurship Week or to register or any of the events, visit fearlesskc.com.

 


Tags: , , , .
  • Recent UMKC News

    $20 Million Scholarship Article in The Kansas City Star

    KC Scholars partnership also in U.S. News and World Report … Read more

    Geosciences Professor’s Research Cited in New York Times

    Fengpeng Sun co-authored study on California wildfire seasons The 2015 … Read more

    Bloch Faculty Interviewed on NBC Nightly News

    Brent Never teaches about Kansas City’s racial dividing line Never … Read more

    More