TORONTO, (July 7, 2005) — Two freight carrier owners from each side of the country have made the final list of regional nominees for the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2005 awards.

Ron Tepper of Woodbridge, Ont. based Consolidated Fastfrate and Kelly Hawes of Victoria, B.C.-based perishable goods transporter Coldstar Freight Systems are two of dozens of business people who have been nominated for the Canadian award. They made the Ontario and B.C. finals, respectively.

Consolidated Fastfrate is one of Canada’s largest for-hire carriers. ColdStar specializes in the warehousing and delivery of temperature sensitive food products with 21 reefer units.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year awards honour entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in areas such as innovation, risk taking, company development, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Submissions are reviewed by an independent judging panel, which is composed of several distinguished Canadian business leaders and previous award recipients.

The world-renowned business awards program is now in its 12th year. The program considers nominees in a number of business categories before selecting finalists.

The regional award recipients go on to compete with top entrepreneurs from the rest of Canada for the coveted national honour of Entrepreneur Of The Year, to be announced November 3, 2005 in Ottawa. In June 2006, Canada’s Entrepreneur Of The Year moves to the world stage, joining more than 35 country recipients participating in the international competition for the title of World Entrepreneur Of The Year. That title was given to Miami Dolphins owner and Blockbuster Video founder Wayne Huizenga earlier this year.

Canadian truckers are no strangers to the awards finals. Last year, Thomas Payne, president and CEO of 160-truck fleet Payne Transportation in Winnipeg won the Prairies finals and went on to compete for the national title.