Aaron and I won the Ernst & Young Carolinas' 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Emerging Category tonight at the ceremony in Charlotte. We were up against Virtual Heroes and Canvas on Demand, both from RTP.

The winners will be going to Palm Springs, California in November for the Ernst & Young 2008 National Entrepreneur of the Year Awards to compete against the other regional winners.

We're really glad, and humbled, to have won. We are very appreciative of the support North Carolina and the Triangle community has given us the past six years and have to thank our family at iContact and our families at home. We have a lot lot lot more work still to do.

The full list of winners is below.

Ernst & Young Carolinas 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year Winners

Lifetime achievement. O. Temple Sloan. General Parts, Inc.

Financial Services
Robert Hatley
Paragon Commercial Bank

Health Services
Willam Cobb
JM Smith

Industrial Products
Christopher Kearney
SPX Corporation

Real Estate Hospitality Construction
Patricia Rodgers
Rodgers Builders

Retail and Consumer Products
Thomas Millner
Remington Arms

Emerging
Aaron Houghton
Ryan Allis
iContact

Software and IT
Matthew Szulik
Red Hat

Telecommunications
Eugene Johnson
FairPoint Communications