Building, Ads, Computers Yield Regional Awards

Three Central New York businessmen have received regional Entrepreneur of the Year honors from Ernst & Young. David Hardy, of Hardy Construction Services, Inc. of Syracuse.; Mark Russell, of MRA Group, Syracuse; and Geoffrey Lewis, of WYNIT, Inc., Syracuse received their awards Thursday evening

The three competed with four other finalists from Central New York and 15 others from the region. Some 120 entrepreneurs were nominated for the annual award.

Past regional winners include Welch Allyn, Alcas Corp., and Montana Mills Bread Co. The Upstate region - which includes Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and nearby communities - is one of 46 across the country.

The winners of the regional Entrepreneur of the Year awards worked their companies from humble beginnings to multimillion-dollar annual sales.

Hardy, in the construction industry since graduating from college, formed a company with a co-worker after four years as a foreman. He left that partnership five years later, selling his mobile home and living with his wife in a half-finished house that they were building. He used the profits from the mobile-home sale to bankroll his new company, which consisted of Hardy, his tool box, a wheelbarrow, and his pickup truck.

This year, Hardy Construction Services expects revenues of about $30 million for the fiscal year ending June 30 and has commercial-construction operations in Syracuse and Maryland.

Thirteen years ago, Geoffrey Lewis used only his own money to start WYNIT, which has become a nationwide distributor of computer peripherals, specializing in digital-imaging equipment. WYNIT also is working with converging technologies such as cell phones, pagers, and personal digital assistants. Lewis created a 16-person executive group to manage operations in distribution centers across the country. One of the cornerstones of the company's success has been its speed in turning orders around and delivering the merchandise. In 1999, WYNIT had sales of more than $137 million.

Mark Russell also launched his business 13 years ago. Mark Russell Associates; has grown from five employees serving three clients to more than 120 employees and annual capitalized billings in excess of $80 million. Russell's agency has won many advertising awards.

The company recently expanded into the Internet with the "ComGroup" as a separate company. This group focuses on marketing for comrnunications and technology companies only.