Congratulations to Jack Hays, the latest winner of the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award bestowed as part of Entrepreneurship Day at Colorado Mesa University.

Hays personifies the successful entrepreneur in his remarkable work in turning Western Pump & Dredge from a one-man startup into an enterprise with a staff of 500 and annual revenues of $100 million. While Hays sold Western Pump & Dredge in 2011, he continues to operate other ventures selling the water evaporators he developed as well as storage tanks, industrial fans and construction trailers.

Like so many other entrepreneurs, Hays serves as a worthy role model for what  hard work, perseverance and the willingness to take risks can accomplish.