Five local entrepreneurs honored with Dandi Awards

Tallahassee’s top entrepreneurs took center stage Friday night at the 2012 Dandi Awards, which honored five local business owners for their accomplishments and community service.

Sponsored by the local business organization E2E Connect, the Dandi Awards were presented during an event at Goodwood Museum &Gardens. They are named for the pervasive, persistent dandelion and honor not only the achievements of dedicated small business owners, but their impact on Tallahassee through community service and civic involvement.

Awards were presented in five categories.

The Renegade award went to Casie Reinholt, owner of Social Design Group. The event-planning firm puts on the Abandoned Fields Adventure Race, which combines the challenges of running, biking and paddling. Reinholt and her firm also produce a similar local event called the Urban Disturbance Race in December with its own set of obstacles and challenges along the route.

The Compassionate Entrepreneur was Cynthia Douglas, owner of Cynthia’s Wig Boutique. After more than 20 years working in the banking field, Douglas changed careers and today pursues her interest in styles and beauty aids for women, focusing on their hair.

Douglas opened Cynthia’s Wig Boutique on Market Street in Tallahassee in 2010 with the goal of providing stylish wigs to women. She also devotes a sizable amount of her energy to serving women who are losing hair, often a side effect of the chemotherapy that cancer patients receive.

Melinda Patrick Cowan and Todd Woodward of Creative People Consulting Inc. won the Rising Star award. The Tallahassee firm is a provider of mobile computer training. Its instructors travel Florida, Georgia and Alabama to deliver custom computer and technology training to clients.

The Accidental Entrepreneur was Andy Janecek of Bluestare Networks, which specializes in professional web presence design and maintenance, along with search engine submission, web hosting and virtual marketing services. The company focuses on the needs of small businesses to help owners understand the e-commerce world and how to utilize it.

The Serial Entrepreneur award went to Karen Mercer and FairyDust Faces, which provides an array of dramatic face painting, body art and henna design services to Leon and surrounding counties.

Mercer works with youth organizations and art programs in schools, and supports numerous charities with her art. She is founder of the North Florida Face Painters Guild, a nonprofit, educational organization for face and body artists.

Exciting News!

As a result of a ‘do as we do’ belief in collaboration, we are pleased to announce our partnership with the non-profit ASTD (American Society for Training and Development) Tallahassee.  This partnership will provide future class offerings as well as a TAX-DEDUCTIBLE status for contributions. Click HERE to learn more about ASTD Tallahassee.