From 1994 through 2019, the Niagara Entrepreneur of the Year Awards recognized over 1,100 nominees and 360 award recipients across a range of juried categories and inducted outstanding entrepreneurs into NEYA’s Hall of Fame in three categories: Lifetime Achievement, Community Contribution and Historical. In 2009, NEYA introduced the Gene Luczkiw Spirt of Enterprise Scholarship Award to the lineup of honours.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is a bestowed award and considered the preeminent honour awarded by the Niagara Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. Since 1994, 33 individuals have been inducted into NEYA's Hall of Fame for their entrepreneurial successes spanning several decades of their lives, and for the indisputable legacy they have left on Niagara.
Juried awards have been suspended for NEYA's 25th anniversary year as we mark this milestone by celebrating Niagara's Top Entrepreneurs of the Last 25 Years.
Each year, bestowed awards are presented in the Lifetime Achievement and Community Contribution categories. Recipients of these awards are chosen by specially appointed selection committees.
Founded in 2009 in honour of entrepreneurship educator Gene Luczkiw, this scholarship award recognizes the enterprising spirit of some of Niagara's most outstanding students.