HARRISBURG, Penn. (April 15, 2015)—Golden Technologies is being recognized for creating jobs that pay and their economic impact within the Commonwealth as part of the third annual Governor’s ImPAct Awards. Awards will be presented at a ceremony at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, Pennsylvania on May 21, 2015.

“We are honored to have Golden recognized as a company with an entrepreneurial spirit and as an employer that creates jobs that sustain families with competitive salaries and good benefits. I’m proud to say that in the 30-year history of our company, we have never had a layoff situation. There is stability working for Golden. We have many employees with us for 15, 20 and 25 years,” says Richard Golden, CEO.

The Governor’s ImPAct Awards recognizes companies from throughout the state in five categories: Community Impact, Entrepreneurial Impact, Export Impact, Jobs That Pay, and Small Business Impact Award. Richard Golden, CEO and owner of Golden Technologies, is a finalist for the Entrepreneur ImPAct Award.

“I am truly humbled to be nominated for this award,” says Golden, who has been CEO since 1991. “We have become an industry leader worldwide in the manufacture of the highest quality power lift and recline chairs, as well as scooters and power wheelchairs. We have a tremendously talented workforce that has enabled us to become a leader in our industry and throughout the world.”

• Community ImPAct Award - This award is given to a company that exemplifies the tenet of "doing well by doing good." The winners in this category show a sustained commitment to the growth and development of their employees and the community(ies) in which they do business.
• Entrepreneur ImPAct Award - This award is given to an entrepreneur who has led his or her company to a position of strength in the marketplace by way of growth in one or all of the following areas: creativity, innovation, managerial ability, leadership skills, and turnaround.
• Export ImPAct Award - This award is given to a company that has significantly increased its export sales and the number of new foreign markets to which it sells
• Jobs That Pay ImPAct Award - This award is given to a company that has demonstrated consistent job growth and retention over the past two years. The company must have had a positive net gain in new jobs during this time period.
• Small Business ImPAct Award - This award is given to a small business that has been an innovator within its industry, demonstrated revenue/profit growth, increased its workforce, and committed to the growth and development of its employees and community. The company must have 100 or fewer employees.

Richard Golden was nominated for the award by the Partnerships for Regional Economic Performance (PREP) network. Each of the 10 PREP regions submitted up to five nominations per category.

PREP is a statewide network of partners that works to regionalize and coordinate local economic development services to businesses and entrepreneurs.

Representatives from the Team Pennsylvania Foundation and Journal Multimedia evaluated the nominations and will select the award recipients.