Pioneer Awards presented by NNDA

Carson City celebrated business, education and entrepreneurship at the 2017 Pioneer Awards hosted by the Northern Nevada Development Authority on Friday night.

The annual ceremony recognizes those businesses, non-profits and individuals who have contributed to the region’s economic well being.

“I want to thank you so much, this is an incredible honor,” said Collie Hutter, chairman and co-founder, Click Bond Inc., Carson City’s largest manufacturer, during the dinner held at the Carson Nugget.

Hutter was the event’s special honoree.

She also is president of the board of directors for Dream It Do it, a collaborative effort to build the local manufacturing workforce.

Hutter took up the cause of workforce development and helped assemble a team of local constituents, including Western Nevada College and Carson City School District, to address the issue.

“Everyone in this room has helped,” she said.

The evening also featured the six 2017 Pioneer Award winners.

The Battle Born Award for the leader in sustainability went to Bently Enterprises.

“Sustainability is the foundation of Christopher Bently’s business philosophy. It’s about doing the right thing,” said Carlo Luri, director of government affairs, Bently.

Luri said many of Bently’s buildings are LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, including its Minden office, which is equipped with geothermal heat pumps and solar arrays.

The company’s latest business, the Bently Heritage distillery scheduled to open next year, will continue the tradition.

The grains for the distillery’s upcoming gin and malt whiskey spirits is being grown at Bently Ranch.

“Whatever is left over will be given to the animals or composted,” said Luri. “It’s a big closed loop.”

The Boundary Peak Award for outstanding non-profit of the year went to Nevada Rural Community Partners (NRCP), a non-profit established by the employees of Nevada Rural Housing Authority (NRHA) to raise money for student scholarships.

The recently-formed group’s first donation will be to help Eagle Valley Middle School’s robotics team, which won the Northern Nevada LEGO League Championship, pay for its trip to the world championship finals in Houston next month, said Janet Thompson, NRCP president.

NCRP raises money through its membership of NRHA employees and at an annual fundraiser, a classic car show at Carson High School on Aug. 19.

The Kit Carson best entrepreneur award went to Quantum Mark, a women-owned Reno business who does project management.

“We’re very excited to receive the award. We’ve been blazing a trail and become nationally known,” said Kim West, director of business development.

West said the company has become most recognized for its work in vital records, working with 12 states, including Nevada, to move birth, marriage, death and other records from paper to an electronic format.

The Mark Twain Award for best marketing campaign went to In Plain Sight Marketing, the Carson City marketing and advertising agency launched five years ago by Renee Plain, who was joined by her mother, Kathie Taylor, in 2015 and Shaylin Segura and Jessica Grundy in 2016.

The firm’s clients include Mayor Bob Crowell, Nevada Builders Alliance, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Nevada, Carson City School District Career and Technical Education, Shaheen Beauchamp Builders, East Fork Firefighters Association, and the Carson City Senior Center.

The Silver Forge Award for manufacturer of the year went to CGI Inc., the Arrowhead Drive precision manufacturer of gears and gearboxes

for industrial automation, general motion control, medical, semi-conductor and aerospace industries.

Shaheen Beauchamp Builders LLC took home the Golden Hammer Award for the 2016 expansion of Top Notch Distributors, Inc.’s Carson City distribution center.

Lyon County School District won the Silver Apple Award for best education initiative and four local students — Carson City’s Elise Brady, Scott Harrison of Douglas County, Lyon County’s Jakeline Guerrero and Allison Hultberg from Storey County — were awarded $1,000 scholarships each.