SOURCE Walz Tetrick Advertising

Ad agency earns distinction among the world's most ground-breaking companies

KANSAS CITY, Kan., June 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today announced that Charlie Tetrick, President and CEO of Walz Tetrick Advertising was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 Heartland Award winner. Entrepreneur Of The Year is the preeminent competitive awards program for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies. For 40 years, EY US has celebrated ambitious entrepreneurs who are transforming industries, impacting communities and creating long-term value.

Charlie was chosen by an independent panel of past winners, top CEOs and business leaders. Judges assessed candidates on long-term value creation, entrepreneurial spirit, purpose-driven commitment and significant growth and impact. Previous recipients have traditionally been in hard goods, retail, healthcare, and technology. An advertising agency earning this recognition is rare – so it speaks volumes to what Charlie and his team have built at Walz Tetrick.

"Our company has been blessed with some wonderful national clients and a truly amazing team to make the magic happen every day. We've taken a few risks along the way and our growth has been such a great reward," said Tetrick.

As a Heartland award winner, Tetrick is now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 National Awards. The National Award winners, including the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced in November at the Strategic Growth Forum®, one of the nation's most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies. The Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner will then move on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in June 2026.

Entrepreneur Of The Year recognizes many different types of business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. The program celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or who raised outside capital to grow their company; transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organization to catapult its trajectory; and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to strengthen it for the future.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year program has recognized the leadership of entrepreneurs such as:

• Richard Schulze of Best Buy Co.

• Maxine Clark of Build-A-Bear Workshop

• Andy Taylor of Enterprise Rent-A-Car

• Ronald Shaich of Panera Bread Company

• Sally J. Smith of Buffalo Wild Wings

• Shelly Ibach of Sleep Number

• Jude Bricker of Sun Country Airlines

• Cheri Beranek of Clearfield

• Michael Happe of Winnebago Industries

• Marco Assis of Propio Language Services

Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, LLC, Marsh McLennan Agency, and SAP. In Heartland, sponsors also include regional Platinum sponsor, Twin Cities Business, regional Gold sponsor, Padilla, and regional Silver sponsor, Brillect.

About Entrepreneur Of The Year
Founded in 1986, Entrepreneur Of The Year has celebrated more than 11,000 ambitious visionaries who are leading successful, dynamic businesses in the US, and it has since expanded to nearly 60 countries globally.

The US program consists of 17 regional programs whose panels of independent judges select the regional award winners every June. Those winners compete for national recognition at the Strategic Growth Forum® in November where National finalists and award winners are announced. The overall National winner represents the US at the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ competition. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.

About EY
EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets.

Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow.

EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi-disciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories.

All in to shape the future with confidence.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

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