ColoradoBiz Presents the 13th Annual COMPANY OF THE YEAR Awards.

Think of Colorado's economy and all of its thriving businesses, and then try to pull a company of the year out of the mix. It's a formidable job.

The original Company of the Year awards were founded in the mid-'80s by Colorado Business Magazine to acknowledge successful companies at a time when business success was tough to come by. This year sees the 13th annual awards, sponsored by UMB Bank, ColoradoBiz and Deloitte & Touche.

According to Jim Vaughn, managing partner at the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche, more than 60 companies responded to the call for nominations. The companies competed in seven categories (no winner was chosen in the health care category). Each company also chose and was judged on one of the following areas of emphasis: Product Innovation, Marketing Innovation, Quality of Management, Research & Development, and Operational Efficiency.

Deloitte & Touche analyzed the submissions based on financial performance, contributions to the community, and the emphasis areas.

Three finalists in each category were presented to the Panel of Excellence, which chose whiners with the aid of an industry overview from Deloitte & Touche experts.

"Overall, they all exhibited excellence in their general business, they picked good categories and they all understood the community part of what they were looking for," said Cynthia Evans, awards judge and Public Service Co. of Colorado spokesperson, who called the winners "good corporate citizens."

"Each judge had a fairly strong opinion or concern, said Robert W. Grabowski, vice president of finance and administration at Sunny Side Inc./Temp Side in Denver. "The interchange between judges was fast and spirited."

Were there tough choices?

"It varied by category," Grabowski said. "Some of them, it was very difficult."

Prizes will be both lavish and instructive: Winners will be flown on Frontier Airlines to California's Silicon Valley for a tour with area CEOs, courtesy of ColoradoBiz and UMB Bank. Finalists will receive an etched-glass trophy at the awards ceremony, held Dec. 7 at UMB Bank.

The Silicon Valley tour "is an opportunity for these companies, which are already showing their ability to think forwardly and to be dynamic in today's e-commerce centered economy, to spend a day in the future ... and see the next generation of products and their delivery," said UMB Bank President Mariner Kemper.

Englewood Leading Edge Information Technology

Emphasis: Quality of Management

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