One local business and one regional business with local ties have been nominated for the 19th Annual Joel Labovitz Entrepreneurial Success Awards sponsored by the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD) Center for Economic Development.
McKeever Well Drilling of Schroeder, owned by Roger “Bill” McKeever, is one of five businesses nominated in the “innovation” category, given to entrepreneurs who have “developed a new process that creates value by implementing a new idea or technology.”
McKeever Well Drilling developed a cement mixer that makes a type of cement that conducts heat better than traditional types of cement, and that improves the geothermal heating and cooling systems they install. They recently finished a major geothermal installation at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, where they completed over nine miles of drilling. Although Roger McKeever has been in this business since he was very young, he credits his sons Ken and Don for all that they have done to help develop McKeever Well Drilling.
Superior Squeegee Inc. of Esko, owned by David Piepho, was one of 10 businesses nominated in the “micro-entrepreneur” category, given to entrepreneurs who have had “principal responsibility for the creation and operation of a business which provides a sustaining income and has allowed him/her to transition from unemployment or underemployment prior to starting a business.” The business must be between two and five years old and employ no more than five employees. Piepho grew up in Cook County and is the son of Butch and Rae Piepho of Lutsen.
Superior Squeegee specializes in residential window cleaning but offers a host of other services, including pressure washing, gutter cleaning, chandelier cleaning, Christmas light installation, and snow removal.
The UMD Center for Economic Development defines “entrepreneur” as “an individual [who] as a result of assuming financial and/or personal risk has created personal, community, and/or regional wealth.”
According to Center for Economic Development Workshop Coordinator Sandi Larson, “The 19th Annual Joel Labovitz Entrepreneurial Success Awards celebrates entrepreneurial leadership and successes in the Twin Ports and Arrowhead Region by recognizing those entrepreneurs who have continued their dreams and taken on inordinate risks to forge ahead, meeting the challenges of today’s economic reality.” Thirty-six businesses in five different categories accepted nominations.
“This is the only regional awards ceremony that honors entrepreneurs who contribute so much to our economy and our communities,” Center for Economic Development Director Elaine Hansen announced in a March 30 news release. The awards program is the region’s celebration of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s National Small Business Week, to be observed in Washington, D.C. the week of May 16.
Previous Cook County businesses to receive awards are Trail Center Lodge, owned by Sarah Hamilton, receiving the award in the “gazelle/enterprise” category in 2003, and Dockside Fish Market, owned by Harley and Shele Toftey, receiving the award in the “established entrepreneur” category in 2010.
The winner in each category will be announced at a luncheon Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. The UMD Labovitz School of Business and Economics will also announce its Business Person of the Year at this event. More information can be found at www.umdced.com/labo or by calling Sandi Larson at (218)726-7298 or (888)387-4594.
Roger McKeever can be reached at
(218)663-7574 or
McKeeverWellDrilling@northlc.com.
David Piepho can be reached at
(218)341-0044, and his website address is
www.superiorsqueegee.com. The business
can also be found on Facebook.
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