Innovation Stars Award Winners Announced

The Southern Piedmont Technology Council’s Innovation STARS Awards Banquet partnered with the Southern Virginia STEM-H Summit to promote the extraordinary achievements of our region’s educational and industrial leaders, punctuated with an impressive keynote address from NASA astronaut Leland Melvin of Lynchburg, VA.
With 200 of the area’s most influential in attendance in IALR’s Great Hall, the evening’s festivities began with SPTC President Jon Horin recognizing the Tech Council’s 20 years of advocating the importance of investing in technological fields in both the public and private sectors to meet the adapting demands of economic development in the region.
Award winners included:
Senator Frank M. Ruff
Chairman's Award
Noblis
Innovation in Education and Community Outreach Award
Troy Simpson - Precision Machining Workforce Development Pipeline
Innovation in Community Award
Panaceutics
Innovation in Technology - Small Business Award
Microsoft Data Center
Innovation in Technology - Large Business Award
Innovation in Technology - Large Business Award
Samantha Smith-Herndon
Rising Star Award
Danielle Jeffers
Student Innovator Award
Michael Ashby
Student Innovator Award
Awards Dinner Keynote Speaker Announced
The SPTC is pleased to announce its Innovation Stars Awards Banquet guest speaker, Leland Melvin. Leland is a former NFL player, astronaut, head of NASA Education, co-chair on the White House’s Federal Coordination in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Task Force, and author of Chasing Space: An Astronaut's Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances.
Welcome New Members
We would like to welcome our new members to the SPTC. American National Bank & Trust Company, Averett University, and the City of Danville Office of Economic Development.
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