ITFlorida Announces 2008 Award Recipients at Annual Gala

Jon Yob, Founder and CEO of Creative Recycling Systems, Is 2008 IT Leader of the Year; Sen. Jeremy Ring is Legislator of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 6, 2008

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Today, the ITFlorida Board of Directors announced the 2008 recipients of the annual Awards Program. The announcements were made at the Sixth Annual Awards Gala and Tech Forum, held at Disney's Contemporary Resort. Taking part in the event were U.S. Senator Bill Nelson; State Senator Jeremy Ring; Jim Albert, Chair of ITFlorida and President of Idea Integration; Earnie Franklin, Vice Chair of ITFlorida and CIO of TriServ Alliance; Roger Berry, CIO of Disney; Rick Kearney, President and CEO of Mainline Information Systems; and representatives of numerous small businesses and IT-enabled corporations throughout Florida.

Senator Bill Nelson delivered a keynote address on the critical importance of ensuring a high qualified, technical workforce that can sustain the progress Florida has made as a growing technology economy. Nelson drew on his experience as an advocate for Florida's space industry and his commitment to the bright future of Florida.

"This year's Gala was like no other before it," said Jim Albert, Chair of ITFlorida. "We had a record number of nominations in 2008 and an exceptionally strong line up of finalists. With our speakers from earlier in the day — including incoming Senate President Jeff Atwater; Terry Tamminen, former California EPA Secretary; David Taylor, CIO of the State of Florida; State Sen. Jeremy Ring; and U.S. Small Business Administrator Sandy Baruah — we were able to cover our most current and relevant topics and couldn't have asked for better recognition of Florida's innovators."

The winners in the 2008 ITFlorida Awards Program are as follows:

Excellence in Bridging the Digital Divide
Digital Harmony — Tallahassee

Excellence in IT Leadership-Northwest
Allen Byington — Tallahassee

Excellence in IT Leadership-Northeast
Beeline.com — Jacksonville

Excellence in IT Leadership-Central
Engineering and Computer Simulations — Orlando

Excellence in IT Leadership-Tampa Bay
Doctors' Administrative Solutions — Tampa

Excellence in IT Leadership-Southwest
Neighborhood America — Naples

Excellence in IT Leadership-Southeast
New World Symphony — Miami Beach

Government Technology Leadership-Private
America's Emergency Network — Miami

Government Technology Leadership-Public
Florida Department of Management Services — Tallahassee

Excellence in Web 2.0
Sayfie Review — Ft. Lauderdale

Excellence in Sustainability through Information Technology
The Energy Efficient Internet Project — Tampa

Excellence in New Business Recruitment
Tampa Bay Partnership — Tampa

High Growth Company of the Year
Advanced MarketPlace — Tampa

Small Business of the Year
iDatix — Clearwater

Innovation and Entrepreneurialism Award
Scripps Florida — Jupiter

ITFlorida Legislator of the Year
Sen. Jeremy Ring — Margate

IT Leader of the Year
Jon Yob - Creative Recycling Systems — Tampa