For Immediate Release
For More Information, Contact:
Janice Jessen, Managing Director
Blue Earth Marketing
503 Ho-Chunk Plaza
Winnebago, NE 68071
402-878-2407
HO-CHUNK COO HAMILTON, NATIONAL
FINALIST IN 4TH ANNUAL STEVIE® AWARDS
Winnebago, NE. – Ho-Chunk, Inc., Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Vice President, Annette Hamilton has been named as a Finalist in the Best Executive – Non-Services Businesses – up to 2,500 Employees category in the 4th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor women executives, entrepreneurs, and the companies they run – worldwide.
Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word “crowned,” winners will be announced during the 2007 awards reception and presentations at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas on Monday, November 12. Nominated women executives and entrepreneurs from the U.S. and several other countries are expected to attend. More than 800 entries were submitted for consideration in more than 40 categories, including Best Executive, Best Entrepreneur, and Best Community Involvement Program.
“Ho-Chunk, Inc. is honored to have Annette, Hamilton, our COO named as a National Finalist in the Stevie Awards for Women in Business,” said Lance Morgan CEO and President of HCI. “Just being named as a Finalist among this field of prestigious nominees is no small accomplishment. It reflects the recognition by distinguished business professionals worldwide of the quality of individuals who comprise HCI’s corporate management team,” said Morgan.
Hamilton was nominated by Jake Moore of All Native Services, one of the HCI companies. As COO of HCI, Hamilton is responsible for the daily operations of the 18 diverse companies that make up HCI. They range from information technology to defense contracting, with work locations on the reservation in Winnebago, Nebraska, throughout the U.S., and in Iraq and Mexico. Those subsidiary companies totaled over $110 million in revenue in 2006. Under her direct supervision HCI revenue has grown steadily at over 20 percent per year for the past five years, with subsidiary All Native Systems identified in September 2007 by Government Computer News as the 14th fastest growing government contractor with a compound annual growth rate of over 109 percent over the past year. All Native Systems was also selected in September as the U.S. Department of State’s Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year.
The many accomplishments of HCI led to their being awarded the 2006 Champion of Small Business Award by the Small Business Administration’s Nebraska Business Development Center.
Hamilton oversees diverse contracts that range from providing Internet Streaming services for the International Broadcast Bureau’s Voice of America, to renovating and constructing buildings, to working with the governments of the U.S. and Mexico to implement a system to identify and prosecute violent alien smugglers and human traffickers. This project was detailed by Mexico’s President Calderon during his message to the nation in September, which is, comparable to the U.S. State of the Union Address, where he proudly informed his country the system was operational.
In addition, Hamilton is the Chair of Ho-Chunk Community Development Corporation’s (HCCDC) Board of Directors a non-profit entity with the main mission of providing support for community-oriented and economic programs necessary to grow a “healthy” community for the Winnebago and Omaha Tribes of Nebraska, as well as the people of Thurston County Nebraska, by acquiring grants for health, safety, education, housing, and community projects. Since inception, the HCCDC has received $15 million in grants that support the local fire department, law enforcement, health and safety, and building of new homes in Ho-Chunk Village.
Hamilton is an active participant in the Native American community and is deeply involved in
the education of young people. She is an Adjunct Professor at the Little Priest Tribal College in
Winnebago, Nebraska, and led the effort to establish the first nationally recognized Junior Achievement Program for Native Americans in the U.S. This program is now active in the elementary and middle school levels. Hamilton is a volunteer with the Junior Achievement Program providing her insights in the classroom and is a role model outside of the classroom for Native American children.
An enrolled member of the Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, Hamilton is a graduate of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and earned a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota.
Ho-Chunk, Inc., the economic development corporation of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, whose mission is to develop long-term economic growth for the Tribe through the creation of business enterprises and jobs. The corporation has revenues in excess of $100 million and employs over 500 persons in eight states and two foreign countries. |
