We want the world to know what Savannah has to offer. Which is why we’re shouting it from the rooftops: “We have our finalists!” With not a moment to spare (and the 2009 Innovation Awards fast upon us) our esteemed panel of judges has issued the results of a long, grueling process. They’ve narrowed the field from over 100 applicants to just three finalists in each of the four categories (Community, Education & Government; Small Business; Big Business; and Sustainability), all with a caged tiger’s fighting chance at taking home the prize. (Remember last year’s finalists?)

Before the announcement you’ve been so patiently awaiting (ok you can always just scroll down), we want to thank our judges for the job well done and all the hard work that went into deciding this year’s finalists. Our independent panel of local and regional judges included State Representative Ron Stephens, former Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development Craig Lesser, retired CFO/business consultant/angel investor Gordon Matthews, UGA Small Business Development Center Area Director Lynn Vos, WTOC General Manager Bill Cathcart, SCAD Professor of Graphic Design and Sustainable Design Scott Boylston, Executive Director of the US Green Building Council (GA Chapter) Leesa Carter, and a 2008 winner, Union Mission President/CEO Michael Elliott. Thanks to each and every one of you for contributing your time, energy and expertise to selecting a handful of innovative do-gooders. This year’s festivities wouldn’t have been possible without you.

And the 2009 festivities aren’t to be missed! For the second year in a row, the Innovation Awards are presented by Lott + Barber - a leading commercial architecture, sustainable design and land planning firm headquartered in Savannah. On Thursday, October 22 at 6pm, TCCa and Lott + Barber will be “taking it to the street” - Broughton Street, specifically - blocking it off between Lincoln and Abercorn Streets in front of SCAD’s Trustees Theater for cocktails, conversation and hors d’oeuvres. The Awards presentation will follow inside the Theater promptly at 8pm. (Apologies if the aforementioned pun leaves you with Doobie Brothers tunes replaying in your head. And the Michael McDonald years, no less.)

In an effort to engage even more entrepreneurs and small business owners, TCCa and Lott + Barber have lowered the ticket price from last year by 1/3rd to $50 per person, if purchased before October 1st. ($60 if purchased afterward.) Additionally, with the purchase of each ticket to the 2009 Innovation Awards, attendees will receive an additional 60% discount on the purchase of tickets to the upcoming Geekend 2009 Conference in November. Holy crap, right?!

FYI, proceeds from the Innovation Awards will be reinvested in ways the TCCa Advisory Board determines match its mission and vision. Last year’s proceeds supported the Savannah Science Seminar, the Savannah-Ogeechee Regional Science and Engineering Fair, Savannah’s Engineering Academy and middle and high school robotics competitions.

Alrighty, without further ado, I give you… THE FINALISTS (in random order):

Small Business Category

Who: Music Intelligence Solutions, Inc. (uPlaya)
What: uPlaya.com, an interactive online service that meets the growing needs of musicians and songwriters (both established and unknown in the marketplace), producers, music supervisors, mobile distributors and anyone who has an affinity for music.
Why: The recently released site, uPlaya.com, uses proprietary and patent-protected technology to power Hit Song Science™ and the Music Universe™, which allow for immediate, scientific market analysis and popularity ranking prediction of music worldwide. In addition to these industry-focused services, uPlaya™ has a suite of services for consumers, including online and mobile interactive games, a music discovery application, and a personalized streaming solution.

Who: PureSpectrum Inc.
What: High-performance dimmable ballasts for compact fluorescent lights and linear fluorescent ballasts, as well as a new wireless light dimming control system.
Why: Through careful market research, PureSpectrum identified the most frequent consumer criticisms of energy efficient lighting products (such as Compact Fluorescent Lamps) and addressed those performance areas through common sense engineering. Most notably, PureSpectrum designed technology to offer solutions for improving dimming for energy efficient lighting, building high Power Factor into CFL bulbs and lowering per unit cost for energy efficient lighting.

Who: Say It Right
What: The Entire World of R, a phonemic approach to R remediation
Why: Correctly pronouncing the R is one of the most frequently-found and most difficult to treat childhood articulation errors. In addition, school-based speech-language pathologists (SLP) most often rate treating the R-sound as one of the most challenging and persistent of errors. Say It Right discovered that the co-located vowel influences the pronunciation of R and uniquely organized the R-sound into 21 different vocalic combinations, creating The Entire World of R, the best selling R remediation program in speech-language pathology.

Big Business Category

Who: Coastal Logistics, Inc.
What: Internal Software Development and IT Strategy
Why: Through the use of carefully designed software and processes, Coastal Logistics fills a gap in the logistics market for providers that offer the sophistication of the big 3rd party logistics providers (3PL) while maintaining the agility and customer centric focus of the smaller companies.

Who: Chatham Steel Corporation
What: “Steel Fit” Wellness Program
Why: In 1999, when most businesses were preoccupied with the impact of Y2K, Chatham Steel was instead trying to get a handle on the company’s rising health care expenses. They realized the correlation between managing employees’ health and the impact that it made on the company’s health care costs. Chatham Steel collaborated with INTERxVENT to track chronic risk factors, i.e., obesity, smoking and high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels and provided lifestyle management programs to its truck drivers to modify those particular risk factors. Once the results were realized, this successful pilot program developed into a company-wide effort.

Who: DIRTT Environmental Solutions
What: Flexible, customizable walls for commercial office space
Why: DIRTT not only creates its walls using sustainable methods (best use of materials, all waste recycling, all water-based adhesives and finishes, carpool and hybrid car allowances) the DIRTT Walls also allow their clients to be environmentally sustainable. DIRTT Walls create little or no waste during initial construction and are open to easy changes, whether it be putting in a new electrical outlet or reconfiguring your entire office.

Community, Education or Government

Who: Community Health Mission (lead agency) in consortium with St. Mary’s Community Center, Community Cardiovascular Council, and MedBank
What: The “Nobody is Left Behind Program”, an integrated community outreach and primary healthcare delivery program for the uninsured and under-served.
Why: These 4 organizations, collectively known as the Access To Healthcare Team (ACTH) offer a range of health services and ensure patients get appropriate treatment and follow-up, specifically for chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension. The program also works to modify unhealthy lifestyle choices like poor eating habits and smoking, as well as to increase the rate of early detection and prevention. The program accomplishes this through screening and identification, physical exams, lifestyle assessments and disease management, prevention and health promotion and access to free prescription drugs. By providing a regular source of care with the same healthcare provider (i.e. a “medical home”), the ACTH consortium produces better health outcomes and lowers the total cost of care. In 2008 alone, the ACTH consortium provided healthcare services for 2,372 uninsured individuals with 13,000 patient visits, $1.5 million in prescriptions, and $1.4 million in diagnostic tests, ultimately saving $3.3 million in emergency room visits.

Who: Healthy Savannah
What: Healthy Savannah Initiative
Why: At the initiative of City of Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson, the Healthy Savannah Initiative was formed in early 2007 with the purpose of establishing a community-wide collaboration to lead and support healthy lifestyles in Savannah. The collaboration accomplishes this by creating an environment that makes a healthy choice an easy choice; building a collaborative network that identifies and shares resources; collecting and disseminating information, promoting best practices and implementing innovative programs, and advocating for effective policies. The initiative is a community-wide, multi-sector collaboration of 104 partners in over 60 agencies that are comprised of local healthcare professionals, universities, business leaders, nonprofit institutions, faith-based organizations, schools, government and community leaders that work together to build a healthy community through policy change and community design.

Who: Savannah Music Festival
What: Off-season communications initiative
Why: Through new media programs and the organizational use of technology, the Savannah Music Festival has run an effective off-season communications initiative, more efficiently cultivated patron relationships, and streamlined production processes, allowing it to generate a 20 percent revenue growth in a down economy. While the technology itself is commonplace, the successful integration of PURLs (personal URLs), SMF live radio (broadcasting online on GBP statewide and across 8 other states), eBlasts, Ticketing/Patron Development (interfacing its ticketing and development databases to create specific audience target areas), and its substantial Production Database (data/content that ties together the artists/vendors involved in the festival, from agencies and managers to sound and light companies, to volunteers and interns) is an innovative approach that could soon be taken to market for other festivals and presenting organizations.

Sustainability Category

Who: IKEA Savannah
What: Pallet-free racking solution
Why: IKEA Savannah has implemented a pallet-free racking solution for their local distribution center that allows them to unload and transport goods directly from the truck and into the racking using only the paper slipsheets and other handling aids fastened to the unitized goods by their suppliers. Based in part on their local success, IKEA has made it a global mandate to eliminate all wooden pallets from the supply chain by fiscal year 2011. The local Savannah facility is regarded as the most significant innovator driving this process.

Who: Refuel Savannah LLC
What: Local WVO (Waste Vegetable Oil) Business Operation
Why: Refuel Savannah collects waste cooking oil from local kitchens. After hauling, cleaning and filtering the oil, they then provide feedstock to local biodiesel plants with whom they have developed a Savannah-based blend of biodiesel - ultimately selling and delivering ASTM-certified biodiesel to clients in and around Savannah, including the River Street streetcar.

Who: Structured Green LLC
What: Eco-friendly product, process and community approach
Why: Structured Green has product designs that are client driven and uses a process that involves reclaimed, recycled, and/or certified materials, delivering eco-friendly furnishings and build outs, minimal business operation footprint and cradle to cradle products driven by the global economy. Their products use low VOC, non-toxic, formaldehyde free glues and finishes for improved indoor air quality and the go the extra step to ensure that all materials are FSC certified, 100% reclaimed, recycled and/or salvaged from commercial and residential waste streams. They source and develop materials within a 500 mile radius to minimize footprint and contribute to local economies, and many of their products are produced with direct input from consumers and developed for their specific needs as opposed to mass produced mundane furnishings. Over the next 3 months they plan to become carbon neutral, take their business operations completely OFF GRID, generate zero waste (find new uses for their “trash”) and release a residential line of furniture available through 40-50 retailers nationwide.

To make reservations or secure sponsorships online, visit http://innovation.thecreativecoast.org. For more information about reservations, contact Leigh Lawless Acevedo at lacevedo@thecreativecoast.org, or (912) 447-9713. For more information on sponsorship, contact Yvonne Jouffrault at yvonne@jouffrault.com.

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