Beyster Institute Draws Record Breaking Attendance at Annual Conference and Founder Receives Two Prestigious Awards

A record-breaking crowd of over 800 people gathered in Chicago April 2-4 for the 2008 Employee Ownership Annual Conference, presented by the Beyster Institute and the National Center for Employee Ownership. They heard from keynote speaker Dean Schroeder, co-author of the bestseller “Ideas are Free;” celebrated the winners of this year’s Innovations in Employee Ownership Award; met business leaders and equity sharing specialists at a variety of networking events; and chose from over 50 breakout sessions on specific topics - everything from creating an ownership culture to keeping up-to-date on tax and regulatory issues.

As more and more companies choose to share equity with employees in order to build and sustain strong ventures, the Employee Ownership Annual Conference continues to offer the foremost opportunity to learn about best practices and technical issues, get inspired by successful employee-owned companies and meet leading experts in the field. Next year’s conference is planned April 22-24 in Portland, Oregon.

In other Beyster news, Beyster Institute (and SAIC) Founder Dr. J. Robert Beyster received two prestigious awards this spring. He was a 2008 recipient of the Horatio Alger Award, from the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans. The honor is given to individuals who have overcome adversity to achieve great successes through the American free enterprise system. He was inducted as a lifetime member of the association during a ceremony held in Washington, D.C. in early April. According to the association, those selected have each overcome adversity to achieve great success and are now able to give back.

Dr. Beyster also was selected for the CONNECT Entrepreneur Hall of Fame, which recognizes individuals who have achieved distinction for founding, leading or advancing a San Diego life sciences or technology based business or organization. Such entrepreneurs have contributed to the region individually and through their organizations, to the business sectors that shape our local economy and improve our quality of life. As CONNECT’s highest honor, the Entrepreneur Hall of Fame celebrates these individual success stories that continue to inspire future generations of innovators and entrepreneurs.