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Two other businesses and one nonprofit received awards Thursday. They were:
Small business of the year: Shea Carr Jewell, an Olympia engineering firm.
Corporate employer of the year: Western Institutional Review Board of Olympia.
Nonprofit of the year: Community Youth Services of Olympia.
The Thurston County EDC began gathering business nominations last year, then announced its 12 finalists last month. The finalists, excluding Thursday’s winners, were Fosbre Academy of Hair Design, Olympia Systems, 94.5 FM KRXY, Scott Homes, Alliance Enterprises of Lacey, Stormans, Capital Playhouse and the Volunteer Center of Lewis, Mason and Thurston Counties.
About 250 people attended the two-hour event, which was held in the conference center at Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound.
“We want to thank Thurston County for allowing us to build this company,” Diamond Technologies co-owner Ted Jernigan told the audience after winning the award.
Ted and Tanya Jernigan launched Diamond Technologies in 2004, after they sold another Olympia business, H20 Jet, that year. They retained a portion of their old business to start the new one. The business now has 14 employees and is hiring, although Ted Jernigan acknowledged it recently cut staff because of the slower economy. The company operates out of two buildings on Olympia’s west side, including one in which the diamonds are shaped for high-pressure nozzles that focus the water into a stream for precision cutting.
Another winner Thursday was the Western Institutional Review Board, formed by Dr. Angela Bowen in 1968. Although the review board is known for reviewing hospital, individual and university medical and scientific research projects, it might be better known for its new home, an $8 million, four-story medical office building that is visible from U.S. Highway 101 at Cooper Point Road. The building opened about a year ago.
Stephen Daniels-Brown, the president of Daniels-Brown Communications, nominated the review board for the award.
“This is a rare gem in our county, and her (Bowen’s) influence is being felt around the world,” he said.
Bowen said during her acceptance of the award that the business employs more than 300 people.
Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403
rboone@theolympian.com
www.theolympian.com/bizblog
