Awards & Certifications

Awards and nominations

2017 SBA – Small Business Person of the Year Award
2016 Central Ohio Smart 50 Award recipient
2016 Columbus Business First Fast 50 Award recipient
2016 Columbus Business First Diversity in Business Award recipient
2015 Metropreneur Social Entrepreneur of the Year recipient
2015 EY Accelerating Entrepreneurs Award recipient
2015 Central Ohio Smart 50 Award honoree
2015 Ernst & Young EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women Award finalist
2014 Goodwill Industries of Kentucky Employer of the Year Award
2014 Columbus Chamber of Commerce Small Business Leader Award finalist
2012 WBENC Dorothy B. Brothers Executive Scholarship Awardee
2012 World Technology Network finalist for Social Entrepreneurship
2011 TechColumbus Innovation Award nominee for Outstanding Service (fewer than 250 employees)
2011 TechColumbus Innovation Award nominee for Outstanding Woman in Technology
2011 Columbus Chamber of Commerce nominee for Small Business Leader Award
2011 State of Ohio Governor’s Council on Disabilities Best Small Business Employer of the Year (37:31)
2010 National Association of Women Business Owners Visionary Award recipient
2010 Ohio Social Entrepreneur of the Year
2010 TechColumbus nominee for Outstanding Service Business
2010 TechColumbus nominee for Outstanding Woman in Technology
2010 Bloomberg/Business Most Promising Social Entrepreneur nominee
2008 Ohio Association of Rehabilitation Services, Outstanding Employee Award
2007 Ohio Governor’s Council on Disabilities, Outstanding Small Employer of the Year
2006 United States Business Leadership Award nominee
2005 Ohio Governor’s Home Site Grant Award

Recognitions

2016 CEO Merry Korn’s interview/podcast on The Successful Micropreneur
2016 CEO Merry Korn’s story on Blue Ocean Strategy website
2016 Pearl, along with Ohio Dominican University, mentioned in Columbus CEO article about Apprenticeship Program
2016 Insurance Advocate article by CEO Merry Korn about hiring veterans
2016 614 Magazine article about social enterprises in central Ohio includes mention of Pearl
2016 Smart Business article by CEO Merry Korn on how reading Blue Ocean Strategy helped create a unique business model
2015 Pearl featured in Winchester Sun about company-provided transportation for employees
2015 Columbus CEO Leaderboard (ranked 9th) – Central Ohio Women-Owned Businesses
2015 Pearl featured in Metropreneur article on providing opportunities for a niche workforce
2015 Pearl featured in Columbus CEO article about hiring workers with challenges
2015 Pearl featured in Columbus CEO article about veterans finding jobs
2015 Feature article in Columbus Business First about the advantages of hiring military veterans
2013 Recognized by WBENC in national publication for Outstanding Contract Award
2013 Featured in the November/December issue of Search & Employ magazine for one of our employee success stories
2013 Presenter on Military Appreciation channel for Subject Matter Expertise in Hiring Disabled Veterans
2012 Interviewed by Federal News Radio on the topic of veterans and disabled veterans entering the workforce
2012 Featured in DiversAbility magazine, as an example of best practices for leadership and achievement
2011 Cited in Harvard Business Review as an example of “hyper-specialization”
State of Utah – Recognized as Patriot Partner
U.S. Business Leadership Network (USBLN) – Speaker
Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) – Speaker
National Governors Association (NGA) – Article Best Practice Public/Private Partnership