On Thursday evening, Edwin Chow won the 2026 Pioneer of the Year!
Edwin, Owner of Summit City Climbing Co., was also the winner of the Entrepreneur category.
The other two category winners and Pioneer of the Year finalists were Tomi Cardin, Social Impact, and Lance Clark, Brand Champion. Tomi is the Founder & CEO of Redemption House, and Lance is the Co-Founder of Forester Film.
Our other finalists include Brandon Gerber and Rob Mitrevski in the Brand Champion category. Brandon is the Founder and Steward of BCG Capital, and Rob is the President of Golden Dome Strategy & Integration for L3 Harris Technologies.
In the Entrepreneurship category, the other finalists were Chris Ratay and Jerod Hevel. Chris is the General Manager of the Bradley, and Jerod is the Vice President of Innovation and Strategy of Rival.
Ashley Wagner and Kent Castleman were the other finalists in the Social Impact category. Ashley is the Market Manager for the YLNI Farmers Market, while Kent is the Executive Director of the Fort Wayne Trails.
We also, in partnership with Junior Achievement, awarded our second Junior Pioneer to Raydin Garrett, who runs Amend Landscaping and is a 3DE Student. Raydin embodies an entrepreneurial spirit, always looking to learn and grow. By finding his passion and choosing to pave his own path, he continues to move forward with purpose and determination.
A first for the event, we presented our first-ever Pioneering Perseverance Award to John Guingrich, President and CEO of The League. John’s work through The League empowers individuals with disabilities to embrace their identity and advocate for themselves, while continuing to advance a more inclusive Northeast Indiana.
Thank you to all who attended the 4th Annual NEI Pioneer Event! It was truly a night to remember, celebrating 11 individuals who are all making a difference in our region!
Thanks to all our partners who helped us organize this year’s event, especially our Platinum Sponsor, Lake City Bank, and our Gold Sponsors, Junction 36 and the University of Saint Francis.
If you missed out on the event, visit pioneerstartshere.com to watch this year’s Pioneer Videos!
We look forward to seeing you all next year!
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