Antonio “Tone” Conley runs his own business in Michigan City, but it’s the business of teaching young people to run their own businesses that drew accolades for the Michigan City man.
At the E-Day Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards on Nov. 13, Conley, who also owns a boutique clothing store, received the Advocate For Youth Entrepreneurship award for launching BuddingPreneurs. The nonprofit teaches young people about financial literacy and entrepreneurship. It held a four-week entrepreneurship boot camp for young people over the summer.
“I didn’t think of these kinds of awards and acknowledgements when I first started my nonprofit,” said Conley, one of seven businesses and nonprofits recognized for their work during the annual celebration at Merrillville’s Avalon Manor. “I started my nonprofit because it’s my passion, and this award actually feeds my passion and makes me want to go forward with it even more.”
Sponsored by the Northwest Indiana Small Business Development Center, which covers seven counties, the annual E-Day Awards have been doling out accolades for 34 years. The tradition has recognized hundreds of entrepreneurs and business advocates.
Each year, the NW-ISBDC welcomes nominations from anyone who believes a business, open for at least three years, should be recognized. The nominations then go before a steering committee made of professionals from different fields, from business professors at local colleges to CPAs, bankers, lawyers and more.
The categories this year are: Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Garry Bradley Small Business Advocate, Advocate for Youth Entrepreneurship, Emerging Business of the Year, Woman-Owned Business of the Year and Small Business Persons of the Year. They also named a Lifetime Achievement Honoree.
One long-standing committee member Thomas Rowland, president of Merrillville-based Treehouse Financial, said the group always spends weeks considering each nomination and ranking them using scorecards before discussing, and debating, at times, the best businesses or advocates for each award.
“It’s very difficult at times,” Rowland said. “We’ll have situations where there are ties, scoring wise, and we’ll be honest with each other about going with either one, and we continue the discussions.
“It’s always really satisfying to say, ‘This is a really great group of winners this year’. It’s a pleasure to be a part of it, and it’s exciting to see our NWI area. There’s a lot of good strong businesses that need to be recognized, and it’s an honor to do that.”
The E-Day celebration also is a reminder of the economic boost small businesses deliver to the region, said Trudy Menke, owner of Reframing Leadership and winner of the 2025 Garry Bradley Small Business Advocate award.
“Small business is an engine that’s running our communities,” she said. “It’s nice to have an opportunity to touch base with other small businesses and to take a minute to reflect that entrepreneurship can be challenging, but it’s worth it.”
This year's honorees are:
- Small Business Persons of the Year: Ryan and Chris Sandberg, Sandberg’s Towing & Recovery, Valparaiso
- Women-Owned Business of the Year: Carol Harsh, Wild Birds Unlimited, Crown Point and Schererville locations
- Young Entrepreneur: Emmani Ellis, No Limit Living, Gary
- Advocate for Youth Entrepreneurship: Antonio “Tone” Conley, BuddingPreneurs, Michigan City
- Small Business Advocate: Trudy Menke, Reframing Leadership, LaPorte County
- Emerging Business: Joseph Podgorski, Project R3D, DeMotte
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Ross Pangere, The Ross Group, Portage
Award winners are chosen from the seven counties the NW-ISBDC serves, including Lake, Porter, Newton, Jasper, La Porte, Starke and Marshall.
