Entrepreneurial Innovation and Management to be Celebrated at The 2005 Ben Franklin Emerging Business Awards

PHILADELPHIA, March 2, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The region's most innovative entrepreneurs and their management teams will be honored on Thursday, March 10th in Philadelphia at the 11th annual Ben Franklin Emerging Business Awards (the Bennies). This premier event will be held at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel from 6:00pm-8:30pm. Each year, co-founders The Entrepreneurs' Forum of Greater Philadelphia and Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania have presented the awards to highlight and promote area companies and entrepreneurs for their outstanding efforts and achievements with breakthrough technologies, product innovations and management excellence. Each winning company will receive a $1,000 cash prize and will be put on the fast track to investment capital.

Companies vying for the title of Best Management Team are AR Resources, Inc., 4 Walls, LLC, and Really Strategies

Competing for Most Innovative Product are MacroArray Technologies, LLC, Safend, Inc, and Tiger Optics, LLC.

In the running for Most Innovative Service are InOutsource, LLC, PartySpace.com, and T.A.D. Entertainment Marketing.

Finalists for the Biotech Company of the Year award are Alteris Therapeutics, Inc., Immune Control, Inc., and Nucleonics, Inc.

Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, BDO Seidman LLP, National Penn Bank, and S.R.One, Limited are the 2005 Ben Franklin Emerging Business Awards premier sponsors.

Tickets for the "Bennies" Awards program are $125. Special discounts on tickets are also available. For more information, please contact the Entrepreneurs' Forum of Greater Philadelphia at (215) 640-3339 or visit www.benfranklinawards.org.

CONTACT:  Ben Franklin Technology Partners of 
           Southeastern Pennsylvania 
          Kimberly Everett
          215-972-6700 x3989
          kim@sep.benfranklin.org