The Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce the winners of their annual leadership awards which include Small Business of the Year, Community Leader of the Year, Volunteer of the Year and the Chairman's Award of Excellence.

Awards will be presented at this year's Leadership Awards Dinner, June 4th from 6-10pm at PGA National Resort and Spa. The "Shining Star Gala" themed event is sponsored by Roger Dean Stadium and is North Palm Beach County's Premier Business Event for 2009. Throughout the evening, attendees will be treated to cocktails, an amazing spread of food and live entertainment.

The event will celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of leadership in Palm Beach County and will honor the below award winners. "We are very proud to honor these deserving individuals and organizations and look forward to celebrating with them in June" said Joe Pinto, General Manager of Roger Dean Stadium.

During the dinner, current Chairman, Dennis LaBarbera of Edward Jones will give his outgoing remarks and pass the gavel to incoming Chairman, Neil Gaeta of Fischer Gaeta Corp. Additionally, the 2009-2010 Board of Directors will be inducted and the Chamber's newly formed long range Strategic Plan will also be presented.

"We are very excited to bring together Chamber Leadership past, present and future to recognize and celebrate the unified voice of business in Northern Palm Beach County" said Patti Hamilton, Leadership Awards Dinner Chairman. Tickets for the Leadership Awards Dinner are available to both members and non-members for $150 at www.npbchamber.com.

Sprouts! Inc. is the winner of the Chamber's Small Business of the Year. Sharon Quercioli, a lifelong entrepreneur, founded Sprouts!, Inc. in 2004. Sprouts is an innovative company that uses 100% recycled paper embedded with flower seeds to create a diverse array of eco-friendly products including greeting cards, bookmarks and unique marketing pieces that grow flowers when planted. A number of large corporations including Haagen-Dazs, Publix, Samsung, Virgin Mobile and the Oprah Winfrey Network have turned to Sprouts in a search for high-impact marketing pieces. In 2008, Sprouts jumped on to the national stage after launching its "Bee Kind" campaign with the creation of a paper embedded with 100% pollinator friendly flower seeds. Haagen-Dazs utilized this paper for a marketing piece that was inserted into Newsweek magazine. Quercioli believes that it is her duty to give back to the community as well as the planet. Since its inception five years ago, Sprouts has assisted and partnered with a number of charitable organizations to help raise funds and awareness. Sprouts is blooming in today's highly competitive and environmentally conscious world despite the recent economic slowdown, and its corporate clients are reaping wow-factor benefits through significantly increased return on investment. Quercioli contributes Sprouts' success to hard work, uncomprom ising customer service and the ability to create a truly unique product in step with today's growing eco-conscious world. (See photo below)

Community Leader of the Year goes to Frank Compiani of RSM McGladrey. Compiani is the Executive Managing Director overseeing the Florida practice of RSM McGladrey / McGladrey & Pullen ("McGladrey"). McGladrey is the fifth largest accounting, tax and consulting firm in the country and has over 400 employees in 8 offices through the state. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, the Palm Beach County Education Commission, and the Florida Atlantic University MacArthur Campus President's Community Council. Past community involvement includes the past chair of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County, 2005 General Chairman for ArtiGras and Former Chairman of the Finance Committee for ArtiGras and SunFest, involvement with the Child Development Center at St. Mary's Hospital, Our Community, Our Children, Economic Development Oversight Committee for the City of Palm Beach Gardens and many others. Frank has received the Ultimate CEO Award (2008), the March of Dimes Building Our Community Award (2007), Volunteer of the Year Award for the Palm Beach County Child Advocacy Council (2002), the Athena Award (2002) and the 2005 Henry W. Block National Award for Outstanding Community Service in our Community. (See photo below)

Marianne Kollmer of Seacoast National Bank is named the winner of the Volunteer of the Year Award. Kollmer serves a volunteer leader in a variety of Chamber Programs and Services. She has directed the finance responsibilities for Artfest by the Sea for the past 9 years by securing and directing the volunteers and overseeing the cash operations at the event. She also serves on the Artfest Steering Committee and the Women in Business Steering Council and was the former chair of the Business Development and Legislative Committee from 2003-2005. In addition to her service to the Chamber, Marianne also serves on many other volunteer boards as well, acting as the President of the American Business Women's Association, Treasurer of the Tips Club of the Palm Beaches, and serving as an active member of many organizations including the Rotary Club of Jupiter Tequesta, the Jupiter Medical Center Ambassadors, and the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. Many children have been the beneficiaries of Marianne's hard work and generosity over the years. For the past nine years, she has participated in the volunteer mentor program for reading skills at Jupiter Elementary School as a classroom assistant for second graders. In addition, Kollmer is the President of The Guatemalan Tomorrow Fund, providing funds for a school in Guatemala that provides the only education opportunity for over 250 children.

Lou Gaeta is posthumously awarded the Chairman's Award of Excellence. The Palm Beach Gardens resident founded Gaeta Development Corp. in 1981. His expertise included developing and managing several million square feet of land, office projects, manufacturing and distribution facilities, commercial buildings and residential subdivisions. He also served as vice president of Gaeta Capital Inc., a private equity company; was President of real estate brokerage Fischer Gaeta Corp. and served as vice president of Gaeta Realty and Investments, specializing in residential real estate. Serving on numerous industry boards, Lou was very active in supporting local charity programs, civic organizations and foundations here in Palm Beach County. It was Lou's commitment to our community that helped shaped North County into what it is today. Lou was very active in many groups such as the Affordable Housing Board for Palm Beach County, the City of Riviera Beach Industrial Development Committee, the Palm Beach County Convention Center Task Force, the Business Development Board , the PGA Corridor Association and the Northern Palm Beaches Chamber of Commerce.

The Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce is a not-for-profit organization whose over 1,100 members represent more than 40,000 employees in all aspects of business and industry. Its continuing mission is to be the unified voice of business driving sustainable growth and prosperity. The Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce focuses on the development and retention of businesses, taking an active role in business, providing meaningful member services and improving the quality of life for all residents in their community. For more information, call 561-746-7111 or visit www.npbchamber.com