Finalists Announced For Missouri-Kansas Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2004 Award; Winners to Be Announced at the Awards Banquet on June 22

Business Wire, April 26, 2004

Business Editors

ST. LOUIS, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 26, 2004

Professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP announced today the finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) 2004 Awards in Missouri-Kansas. The finalists were selected by an independent panel of judges comprised of local community and business leaders. Winners will be announced at an awards banquet on June 22, 2004, at the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton, Missouri.

The Missouri-Kansas finalists for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year are:

-- Ms. Jo Anne Gabbert, President and CEO, Adams-Gabbert and

Associates

-- Mr. Robert D. Dobsch, President and CEO, Bank of Franklin

County

-- Mr. Sean Squire, President, CareFore Medical

-- Mr. Robert Baudendistel, Owner; Ms. Mary Strauss, Owner; Mr.

Harvey Harris, Owner; Mr. Richard M. Baker, President, Fox

Associates, LLC

-- Mr. David Gale, President, Gale Communities, Inc.

-- Mr. Richie K. Graham, President, Impressions Direct

-- Mr. John McHugh, Chief Operations Officer and CFO; Mr. Dennis

Schoemehl, President and CEO, Logistics Management Solutions

-- Mr. Brett Gordon, President; Mr. Patrick J. McCown, Chief

Executive Officer, McCownGordon Construction, LLC

-- Mr. James A. Saitz, Chairman and CEO, Missouri State Bank

-- Mr. Jeffery S. Fraser, Chairman and CEO, NIC Inc.

-- Mr. F. Peter Kovac, President and CEO, NKH&W, Inc.

-- Mr. Orville G. Bicknell, Chairman and CEO, NPC International,

Inc.

-- Mr. Michael Platt, Chief Executive Officer, PlattForm

Advertising Inc.

-- Mr. Robert L. Caulk, Chairman and CEO, Spectrum Brands

-- Mr. Kurt W. Huffman, President and CEO, UPAC Insurance Finance

-- Mr. Don O. Walsworth, President and CEO, Walsworth Publishing

Company, Inc.

-- Ms. Young W. Sexton, President and CEO, WingGate

Travel/American Express

-- Mr. Sebastien C. Heintz, President, Zenith Aircraft Company

Missouri-Kansas winners will be eligible for consideration for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2004 national program. Winners in several national categories, as well as the overall national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, Calif., in November 2004.

For reservations for the awards banquet on June 22, contact Marilee Albers of Ernst & Young at 888-EOY-MOKS or marilee.albers@ey.com by June 15. Tickets are $125 per person. For more information about the awards program, visit our website at www.ey.com/us/eoy.

About The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) Awards Program

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program was created and is produced by professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP. As the first award of its kind, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic and growing businesses. The program honors entrepreneurs through regional, national and global award programs in more than 100 cities and 35 countries.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to restoring the public's trust in professional services firms and in the quality of financial reporting. Its 103,000 people in more than 140 countries around the globe pursue the highest levels of integrity, quality, and professionalism to provide clients with solutions based on financial, transactional, and risk-management knowledge in Ernst & Young's core services of audit, tax, and transaction services. Ernst & Young practices also provide legal services in those parts of the world where permitted. Further information about Ernst & Young and its approach to a variety of business issues can be found at www.ey.com/perspectives. Ernst & Young refers to all the members of the global Ernst & Young organization.

About the Sponsors

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services, and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software - any time, any place, and on any device. Microsoft works to help ensure that small-business owners have the tools, technology, and support they need to reach their business potential in today's competitive marketplace. More information is available on the Web at www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness.

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City works with partners to advance entrepreneurship in America and improve the education of children and youth. The Kauffman Foundation was established in the mid-1960s by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman. Information is available at www.kauffman.org.

Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP, one of the country's largest law firms with offices in Kansas City, Jefferson City, and St. Louis, Mo.; Overland Park and Wichita, Kan.; Omaha, Neb.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and Washington, DC, is committed to providing high-quality legal services to emerging and growth companies. It recognizes that a large number of businesses in its communities are in this stage of development and have structured its attorneys' practices into multi-disciplinary groups that are capable of addressing issues relevant to the entrepreneur's needs, such as tax, corporate, securities, capital formation, intellectual property, and more.