The Business and Professional Women's Network has named Marie Watkins Reese as the Most Promising Young Woman Entrepreneur of 2008.
A cash award of $500 and plaque was given to Reese. Runner-ups Carla Olive and Paige Wagoner each received a cash award of $250.
A separate plaque with the addition of Reese's name along with all previous winners will be displayed in the Bates Building at East Carolina University.
Michael Harris, director of the Small Business Institute at ECU and an assistant professor in the Department of Management, selected the three finalists.
The awards committee included Lisa Wagner, BPWN's vice president and regional sales manager for the Greenville Convention Center; Tracy Dematteis, BPWN's secretary and owner of Easy Living Blinds and Shutters; and Sheila Pridgen, BPWN's publicity person and publisher of the Pitt County Women's Journal.
The Most Promising Young Entrepreneur award began in 1989 by the Women's Business Owners for ECU students that show exceptional promise and has been carried on by the BPWN.
