The judges have finished their deliberations, and the envelopes have been opened. Ten area companies and organizations, representing nine categories, have been chosen as this year’s Coastal Entrepreneur Award winners.

The Coastal Entrepreneur Awards program is run by the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Greater Wilmington Business Journal.

Its mission is to help foster increased entrepreneurial activity – and higher-paying jobs – in the region, according to the awards program website.

The winners, with their category shown in parentheses, are:
-Cape Fear Clinic (Nonprofit)
-Wilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry (Nonprofit)
-DocsInk (Emerging Company)
-National Speed (Retail)
-Next Glass (Internet-Related Company)
-Odyssey Fire Protection (Manufacturing & Distribution)
-Quality Chemical Laboratories (Biotechnology)
-SIVAD Business Solutions (Technology)
-TOZAL (Health Care)
-Without Limits (Services)

All the category winners will now enter a second round from which one overall winner will be chosen by a further panel of judges. The overall winner will then be announced at the 2014 Coastal Entrepreneur Awards Breakfast on May 22 at UNCW’s Burney Center.

All category winners will be honored as well.

For more information or to register for the breakfast event, click here.