For Immediate Release: June 29, 2006
Contact: Kimberly Allen, (202) 226-8364; (202) 420-1524 [cell]
‘Young Entrepreneur’ from Teaneck Earns National Recognition
Pictured (L-R): Barbara Sohn, Rep. Steve Rothman, Andrew Sohn, and Alan Sohn
(Washington, DC)— On Wednesday, June 21, Congressman Steve Rothman (D-NJ) met with Andrew Sohn and his parents, Alan and Barbara, of Teaneck, New Jersey to congratulate the family on Andrew's receipt of the 2006 National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)/VISA USA Young Entrepreneur Award. Andrew is one of four young entrepreneurs who will receive a $5,000 scholarship to help pay tuition for any university or college they choose to attend.
"I am extremely proud of Andrew for winning this prestigious national award and scholarship. His ingenuity is a testament to his hard work and to the dedication of his loving parents. With up-and-coming small business leaders like Andrew, I believe that New Jersey's future is bright," said Rothman.
Andrew won the Northeast Region's Young Entrepreneur Award for founding a company called Acend in 2002, which has two components: Acend Solutions and Acend Productions. Acend Solutions focuses on creating data, content management and e-commerce systems to help businesses streamline their operations while Acend Productions is a video and film production studio.
One of Andrew's clients flew him to Israel to produce a video about Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh, an Israeli school in Jerusalem. The video aired at the school's 700-person annual dinner at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square.
"It was an amazing experience being in Jerusalem, being able to work there, and it was especially great that I earned the trip," says Andrew. "This award has inspired me to further my business goals and as we speak, I'm continuing to grow my business - building it up. Of course, I could not have done it without my parents. They definitely played a big role by providing moral support and in a lot of other ways. I definitely owe it to them that I've accomplished this success."
Andrew is a graduate of the Frisch School in Paramus, NJ and will begin his freshman year at Rutgers University in the fall. Scholarships for winners of the Young Entrepreneur Award are supported by the NFIB's endowment, and by small-business leaders, corporations and foundations nationwide.
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