Newswise — This year's Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame class has boosted sales, inspired innovation and demonstrated goodwill to achieve exceptional entrepreneurial success.

The Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame, presented by the University of Illinois at Chicago, is celebrating its 20th anniversary as the most prestigious award honoring Chicago-area entrepreneurs.

Gordon Segal, founder of Crate and Barrel, will receive the 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award. The 26 Hall of Fame inductees are listed below.

Sponsors for the annual event include UIC's Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies; Grant Thornton LLP; Levy Venture Management, Inc.; and LaSalle Bank.

A panel of judges that included previous nominees, business media representatives and executives of sponsoring organizations selected honorees in the Chicago region. Past winners include John Rogers, president of Ariel Capital Management; Gerald Gidwitz, founder of Helene Curtis; Phyllis Apelbaum, founder of Arrow Messenger Service; and acclaimed chef Charlie Trotter.

The awards celebration will be held at the Chicago Hilton and Towers, 720 S. Michigan Ave., on Thursday, March 10. The evening begins with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets are $95. For more information, call (312) 996-2670.

2005 Hall of Fame honorees (listed by headquarters location): Arlington Heights - Michael Chester, president, Buhrke Industries, LLC; Burr Ridge - Joan Walters, president, Data Comm Networking; Chicago " Victor Cacciatore, chairman and CEO, Lakeside Bank; James Crouthamel, founder and president, Performics; Marla Gelfond, executive vice president and CFO, Jet Support Services, Inc.; Robert Hirsch, CEO, Gold Eagle Company; Rich Hirsch, principal, Gold Eagle Company; Scott Siegel, president, R.S. Owens & Company; Deerfield - Jeffrey Aronin, president, COO, Ovation Pharmaceuticals; Elgin - Peggy Finley, president, K40 Electronics; Elk Grove Village - Alfred Shapiro, president, Active Glass Company, Inc.; Evanston - Karen Lennon, founder and president, ilight Technologies, Inc.; Prabhakant Sinha, founder and co-chairman, ZS Associates; Andris Zoltners, founder and co-chairman, ZS Associates; Forest Park - Andy Simo, president, New Archery Products, Corp.; Franklin Park - Chris Moffitt, president and CEO, Rubicon Technology; Hillside - Michael Miller, President, American Utility Management; Robert Malpasuto, CFO, American Utility Management; Lisle - Ted Gladson, president, Gladson Interactive; Oak Brook - Maria Bradley, president, Benefit Express; Plainfield - Al Darwan, president, Buckingham Builders Corp.; Portage, IN - P. Scott Bening, CEO, MonoSol, LLC; Schaumburg - Michael Balough, CEO, PromoWorks, LLC; Jerry Stock, president, U.S. Waterproofing; Skokie - Benjamin Shaw, president, United Printing Equipment Corp.; Waukegan - Paul Burke, president, Telefonix

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