Booster Juice Co-founder Dale Wishewan Of Named 2013 Prairies E Y Entrepreneur Of The Year

Dale is a natural leader and born entrepreneur. With no franchise, food or beverage experience, he grew Booster Juice to 50 locations in just two years - a Canadian franchising record. Today the company boasts 300 stores worldwide.

"Dale set out to create an international brand when the concept of on-the-go smoothies was in its infancy," says Rob Jolley, EY Prairies Entrepreneur Of The Year program director. "That's exactly the kind of fearless forward thinking we need to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs - no idea is too big, or too great to achieve." According to EY's G20 Entrepreneurship Barometer 2013, although Canada scores very highly on its entrepreneurship culture, relatively low levels of self-employment suggest there's room for larger numbers of people to be encouraged to capitalize on the country's supportive environment.

"Fostering a robust entrepreneurial culture starts by building a strong pipeline of entrepreneurial talent," says Jolley. "Government, academia and business must work together to encourage the next generation to pursue their ambitions.

"We're proud to include Dale on our program's long list of inspiring entrepreneurs - and to share stories like his that can set the wheels in motion for future business leaders," adds Jolley.

Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates the contribution and spirit of entrepreneurs everywhere. The Canadian program is in its 20th year of honouring the country's most impressive entrepreneurs from all areas of business. Award finalists are chosen based on their vision, leadership, financial success and social responsibility.

The gala also celebrated seven past Prairies winners who went on to win the title of Canada's Entrepreneur Of The Year with Prairies Legends awards. Category winners of the 2013 Prairies EY Entrepreneur Of The Year awards: Business-to-business products and services Jeff Polovick The Driving Force Inc. | Edmonton drivingforce.ca Offers vehicle rentals and sales and leasing services for a variety of industries in Western Canada and the Arctic.

Business-to-consumer products and services Dale Wishewan Booster Juice | Edmonton boosterjuice.com An international quick-service restaurant chain offering customers premium real fruit smoothies, fresh-squeezed juices, hot food and snacks in a fun, vibrant atmosphere.

Cleantech Mogens Smed DIRTT Environmental Solutions Ltd. | Calgary dirtt.net Manufactures prefabricated modular solutions for building interiors, including walls, power, data networks, flooring and millwork, to create sustainable, adaptable and enduring environments with clean construction.

Emerging entrepreneur Dan Smith, Darrell Boulter, Greg Hartman, Paul Smith RIDE Inc. | Drayton Valley rideinc.com Designs, manufactures and distributes emergency egress equipment for escape from any configuration of elevated platform.

Energy services Mervyn Pidherney M. Pidherney's Trucking Ltd. | Rocky Mountain House pidherneys.com Provides oilfield construction, civil construction, remediation and reclamation services, sand and gravel sales, concrete supply and delivery, and specialty equipment services.

Manufacturing Joe Makowecki Heritage Frozen Foods | Edmonton cheemo.com Produces over three million perogies per day in a state-of-the-art food processing facility, providing consumers with a variety of flavours.

Oil and gas David Bouchier, Nicole Bourque-Bouchier The Bouchier Group | Fort McMurray thebouchiergroup.com A leading service provider of civil construction, earthworks and general site services to the oil sands.

Professional and financial services Jean-Pierre Parenty Parenty Reitmeier Translation Services | Winnipeg parentyreitmeier.com Specializes in technical translation and localization in more than 100 languages for global clients.

Real estate and construction Reza Nasseri Landmark Group of Builders | Edmonton landmarkgroup.ca One of the largest production homebuilders in Alberta specializing in developing sustainable building.

Technology and communications Michael J. Sikorsky Robots and Pencils Inc. | Calgary robotsandpencils.com Develops iPhone and iPad apps, creators of the #1 app in the world: Spy vs Spy. What's next? As the Prairies region's 2013 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year, Dale will compete with top entrepreneurs from the Pacific, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic regions for the national honour of Canada's EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2013, to be presented at a gala celebration on 27 November 2013 in Toronto. In June 2014, Canada's Entrepreneur Of The Year 2013 will move to the world stage to compete with more than 50 other country recipients for the title of EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year.

About Entrepreneur Of The Year Entrepreneurs turn us on. To new ideas, new ways of thinking and new possibilities. We've shone the spotlight on entrepreneurs for 20 years - and we've only just begun. Nominees are reviewed by an independent judging panel composed of several distinguished business leaders and previous award recipients. The 2013 Prairies judging panel consisted of Tony Franceschini, retired President and CEO, Stantec Inc.; Linda Hohol, Corporate Director; Curt Vossen, President, Richardson International; Kelley Smith, Independent Consultant; and Stephanie Yong, Director, W. Brett Wilson Centre for Entrepreneurial Excellence.

For more information on the program, FAQs and key dates, please visit ey.com/ca/EOY.

For more information about our National Entrepreneur Of The Year awards gala on 27 November 2013, please contact Julie Olden at 416 943 2062 or [email protected].

Follow us on Twitter @EYCanada: #EOY20, #EOYPrairies.

This year's national program sponsors are National Post, La Presse, RDI, Merrill DataSite and Pandora Jewellery. In the Prairies, Entrepreneur Of The Year is sponsored by Business in Calgary, Business in Edmonton, and the Calgary Herald. About EY's Strategic Growth Markets practice EY's Strategic Growth Markets practice guides Canadian entrepreneurs by delivering integrated services tailored to their goals and needs at every stage of the business lifecycle. We are the world's leader in advising, guiding and recognizing the entrepreneurs who propel the economy - and community - forward.

For more information, please visit ey.com/ca/Entrepreneurs.

About EY EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

For more information, please visit ey.com/ca.

EY refers to the global organization and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com

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