Intergraph receives AITA's top award

Other Huntsville firms, executive cited as finalists

The Alabama Information Technology Association recognized several Huntsville businesses and entrepreneurs at its awards banquet Thursday night at the Von Braun Center.

Intergraph Corp., which provides spatial information management software, was named Large Company of the Year (more than $15 million in annual revenue). Baron Services Inc., which provides weather analysis and technology, was a finalist in that category.

In the category of Small Company of the Year (less than $15 million in annual revenue), Huntsville's Dealnews.com and PeopleTec were finalists for the award that went to Computer Technology Solutions in Birmingham.

Dealnews.com, a graduate of BizTech, helps consumers find online bargains and partners with more than 2,000 e-commerce retailers. Two-year-old PeopleTec provides tech services to federal and commercial clients. It recently moved into a new 11,000-square-foot headquarters.

Bill Johnson, vice president of Global Information Technology for Intergraph, was a finalist for Top Technology Executive of the Year. Johnson, who joined Intergraph in 1991, oversees all IT operations worldwide. The winner in that category was Mike Whitt of Compass Bank in Birmingham.

Bryan Council of MetroMonitor in Birmingham was named Entrepreneur of the Year.

Chuck Jett of Birmingham's Emageon received AITA's Lifetime Achievement Award. Past recipients include Olin King, founder of SCI Systems Inc., now Sanmina-SCI, and the late Mark Smith, co-founder of Adtran Inc.

AITA is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting a positive business environment for technology companies in Alabama. This was the first time Huntsville hosted the group's leadership banquet.