Governor honors 35 Nevada companies

Friday, June 16, 2000 | 11:12 a.m.

Two companies and an individual were set to receive special recognition and 33 firms were honored for growth today by Gov. Kenny Guinn at the 16th annual Governor's Industry Appreciation Luncheon.

Honored with special awards:

1999 Southern Nevada Distinguished Business: Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc.: The firm employs 180 people in Nevada and was cited for cash contributions, sponsorships and product donations it made to Nevada charities and organizations.

1999 Southern Nevada Exporter of the Year: Unitel Wireless Products and Services Corp. Unitel, which has an 8,000 square-foot plant with 14 employees and has eight employees overseas, reported export sales of more than $6.5 million in 1999.

1999 Southern Nevada Motion Picture of the Year: "Play It To The Bone," Touchstone Pictures/Shanghai'd Films. The production starring Woody Harrelson and Antonio Banderas had a $7 million economic impact to the Las Vegas economy.

2000 Nevada Inventor of the Year: John Wilbur Whitney of Reno. The founder, president and CEO of Itronics Inc., Whitney's photochemical recycling technology extracts 99.999 percent of the silver and almost all toxic heavy metals from photowaste and converts the liquid into environmentally friendly liquid fertilizer.

Guinn also saluted 23 Southern Nevada companies that are new to the state:

Guinn also saluted 10 businesses that expanded in Nevada: