[view videos of winning companies] [listen to award ceremony highlights]

The following companies were honored:

Osprey Biotechnics
Innovation Award, sponsored by the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota
The Innovation Award recognizes a business that has innovated through a product, service, process, technology or partnership. Osprey Biotechnics, the winner of the award, is a manufacturer of biological products used in the agricultural, industrial and wastewater industries. The company was recognized for their development of innovative, eco-friendly products. Osprey Biotechnics currently holds 16 patents and has others pending approval.

Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc.
Green-to-Gold Award, sponsored by the University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee.
The Green-to-Gold award recognizes a business that develops green products, services, processes, technologies or ways of doing business. Lakewood Ranch-based Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc., winner of the award, was selected because of its commitment to green building. The company currently has nine green projects underway and is the first construction company in Florida to occupy its own LEED certified headquarters.

Crane Environmental
Export Excellence Award, sponsored by Williams Parker Harrison Dietz & Getzen
Venice-based Crane Environmental, a manufacturer of water purification products and systems,  was named the Export Excellence Award winner. The company was recognized for its exporting efforts to more than 83 countries on every continent except Antarctica.

Biological Tree Services, Inc.
Entrepreneurship Award, sponsored by Kerkering Barberio & Co. P.A. CPAs
The Entrepreneurship Award recognizes a business in its first five years of operation. Biological Tree Services, Inc., a Sarasota company that focuses on improving residential landscapes through natural products and eco-friendly practices, won the award. Since its inception in 2004, the company has improved its sales five-fold and now employs 12 people. 
 
Boys and Girls Clubs of Sarasota County
Community Partner of the Year, sponsored by The Bank of Commerce
Boys and Girls Clubs of Sarasota County was named the John J. Cox Community Partner of the Year. The award, created in honor of John J. Cox, founder of Halfacre Construction Company, recognizes a non-profit that contributes to economic development or improving the area’s quality of life. The Boys and Girls Clubs provides a safe learning environment for more than 8,000 children in Sarasota County.

Michael Saunders
Clyde Nixon Business Leadership Award, sponsored by Sun Hydraulics, Corp.
Michael Saunders was presented with the Clyde Nixon Business Leadership Award. The award is given to an individual that exhibits outstanding values and business leadership. Saunders, the founder of real estate brokerage Michael Saunders & Company, was recognized for her professionalism and involvement in the business community.

Additional sponsors of the Hall of Fame Award include: The Community Foundation of Venice, The Herald Tribune Media Group, Signs Now, and Stephen A. Smith & Associates.