Cornell's Entrepreneur of the Year event marks its 20th year Oct. 14-15

Steven B. Belkin, chairman and founder of Trans National Group (TNG), a Boston-based privately held corporation, and the principal owner of the Atlanta Hawks (National Basketball Association) and Atlanta Thrashers (National Hockey League), will be honored on campus Oct. 14-15 as Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year 2004. This year's celebration will include several special events to mark the 20-year anniversary of the Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Belkin founded Trans National in 1974. Principally a direct response marketing and investment company, TNG has a staff of 250 and achieves more than $200 million per year in sales. Belkin pioneered the concept of using direct mail marketing to provide products and services to the affinity group marketplace. Belkin was also the founder of affinity credit cards, those Visas and Mastercards that also bear the logo of both businesses and nonprofits, which can generate special deals for the user or income for the organization. Belkin has started more than 20 companies under the Trans National umbrella.

Belkin received his bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Cornell in 1969 and his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1971. Belkin met his wife, Joan Wolfers Belkin '69 at Cornell during their freshman year. Their daughters, Julie '98 and Amy '01 also are Cornell graduates. Belkin is a Cornell trustee, a member of the Cornell Athletics Alumni Advisory Committee and a recent recipient of the Cornell Alumni Volunteerism Award.

The Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year award is given annually to a Cornell graduate who best exemplifies entrepreneurial achievement, community service and high ethical standards. A committee of Cornell alumni, faculty and students reviews the nominations and selects the recipient. The award was established in 1984 by Cornell's S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management and now is managed by Cornell's universitywide Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise Program (EPE). Founded in 1992 as a combined initiative of the Johnson School and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, EPE supports instruction, internships, student groups and an alumni network. The deans of nine participating Cornell schools and colleges now govern the program.

This year's CEY Celebration will begin with a reception Thursday, Oct. 14, at 6:15 p.m. in the ballroom foyer of the Statler Hotel, followed by an awards dinner at 7:30 p.m., hosted by President Jeffrey Lehman. Friday's events include a panel of former CEY winners speaking on "Lessons Learned: Keys and Pitfalls in Starting and Running a Successful Business," from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the amphitheater of the Statler Hotel. A lunch presentation will follow from 12:30 to 2 p.m. by Stuart Hart, the S.C. Johnson Professor of Sustainable Global Enterprise, in the Carrier Grand Ballroom.

Belkin will deliver a public address, "Lessons Learned by an Entrepreneur," on Friday, Oct. 15, at 4:15 p.m. in the Alice Statler Auditorium, followed by a reception in the auditorium foyer.

For further information or to register for the CEY Celebration events, visit the EPE Program Web site at http://www.epe.cornell.edu or call the EPE office at 255-1576.