Paul Reed Smith Named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2007 Award Winner in Maryland

Press release
Source: PRS Guitars

PRS Guitars, the third largest electric guitar manufacturer in the U.S., today announced that Paul Reed Smith, Managing General Partner, received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2007 Award in the Retail and Consumer Products category in Maryland. According to Ernst & Young, the award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic, growing businesses. Paul Reed Smith was selected by an independent panel of judges, and the award was presented at an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year gala event at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore on June 28th.

Paul Reed Smith was honored to be the recipient of this year’s award for Maryland. “PRS Guitars wouldn’t be the company it is today without the support of a great team or without the love that goes into making each and every PRS guitar. This award is really for every person that has contributed to PRS’ success since day one,” said Smith. PRS Guitars has been manufacturing high-end electric and electro-acoustic guitars in Maryland for more than 20 years. Starting in Paul’s family home in Bowie, Maryland, operations soon moved to a small, garret shop on West Street , in historic downtown Annapolis, Maryland, and then to a larger industrial space just outside of historic Annapolis . The manufacturing facility eventually moved to Stevensville, Maryland, in 1996 to meet increasing demand and is now full-swing with a multi-million dollar expansion set out to extend the current manufacturing space by more than five times.

Paul Reed Smith, Managing General Partner, receives the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2007 Award. L-R: Craig Burris, Baltimore Smart CEO; Paul Reed Smith, PRS Guitars; David Jones, Ernst & Young; and, Jennifer Bergman, Ernst & Young.

While PRS celebrates their 22nd anniversary in 2007, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program celebrates its 21st anniversary this year and continues to honor entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

“Ernst & Young is honored to recognize extraordinary business leaders, such as Paul Reed Smith, and the companies they have built,” said David Jones, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year program director for Maryland .

As a Maryland award winner, Paul Reed Smith is now eligible for consideration for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2007 national program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the overall national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs , California on November 17, 2007. The national Entrepreneur Of The Year celebration is part of Ernst & Young’s Strategic Growth Forum. The overall national Entrepreneur Of The Year award recipient is then considered for the world event held in Monte Carlo .

Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are pleased to have Bank of America as the national presenting sponsor, as well as SAP America and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation as national sponsors.

In Maryland local sponsors include Clifton Gunderson LLP, DLA Piper US LLP, The Mergis Group, Baltimore SmartCEO and the Baltimore Business Journal.

About Paul Reed Smith Guitars
Paul Reed Smith Guitars, a leading manufacturer of high-quality instruments in Stevensville, MD, has been providing some of the world’s most renowned guitarists with instruments since 1985. More than 200 highly skilled craftspeople produce more than 60 guitars each day for worldwide distribution. Carlos Santana, Rich Eckhardt of Toby Keith, Chris Henderson of 3 Doors Down and Mark Tremonti of Alter Bridge (formerly of Creed) are among the artists currently playing PRS guitars.

For more information, please visit www.prsguitars.com.

About the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards
The Entrepreneur Of The Year® awards program was created and is produced by professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP. As the first award of its kind, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award® recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic and growing businesses. The program, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2006, honors entrepreneurs through regional, national and global award programs in over 125 cities and 40 countries.

About Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to enhancing the public’s trust in professional services firms and in the quality of financial reporting. Its 114,000 people in 140 countries pursue the highest levels of integrity, quality, and professionalism in providing a range of sophisticated services centered on our core competencies of auditing, accounting, tax, and transactions. Further information about Ernst & Young and its approach to a variety of business issues can be found at www.ey.com/perspectives. Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, a U.K. company limited by guarantee, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited does not provide services to clients. Ernst & Young LLP is a U.S. client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.