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Freedom
Financial Network CEOs Named Finalists for E&Y
Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
-- San Mateo Debt Resolution Company Earns Honors for Leadership, Innovation, Integrity--
SAN MATEO, Calif.,
May 25 2006 – Andrew Housser and Brad Stroh, co-founders
and CEOs of San Mateo-based Freedom Financial Network,
LLC, have been named finalists in Ernst & Young’s
2006 Northern California Entrepreneur Of The Yearâ
Awards.
Housser and Stroh
were selected as finalists by an independent judging
panel composed of business, academic, and civic leaders.
They will be honored at the awards program’s June
16 ceremony at the San Francisco Fairmont Hotel, where
award winners for the Northern California region will
be announced.
Regional award winners
are eligible for consideration for the Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur Of The Year 2006 national program. Award
winners in several national categories, as well as the
overall national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The
Year award winner, will be announced at the annual awards
gala in Palm Springs in November. The program culminates
in the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in Monte
Carlo next June.
The Entrepreneur
Of The Year program, started in 1986, recognizes the
leaders and visionaries who are creating and building
world-class businesses in 35 countries. An independent
panel of judges comprising past winners, educators,
and business and community leaders evaluates the nominees
in each region. Judges evaluate entrepreneurs’
track records and forward motion, and award those who
have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success
in areas including innovation, financial performance,
and personal commitment to businesses and communities.
The awards program was created and is produced by professional
services firm Ernst & Young LLP.
“It is an honor to be recognized
in the Entrepreneur Of The Year program, particularly
given the history of great companies that have been
honored by Ernst & Young, and the tremendous pool
of entrepreneurs named finalists this year,”
says Stroh.
Freedom Financial Network (www.freedomfinancialnetwork.com)
provides debt resolution services through its Freedom
Debt Relief and Freedom Tax Relief divisions. The
company works for the consumer, negotiating with creditors
on clients’ behalf to lower principal balances
due that can often result in savings of up to half
the amount owed. Providing an alternative to bankruptcy,
credit counseling, and debt consolidation, Freedom
Financial Network has served more than 7,500 customers
nationwide and currently manages more than $250 million
in consumer debt. The company operates offices in
Sacramento and Tempe, Ariz., as well as its headquarters
office in San Mateo.
Founded in 2002, the company has grown at nearly 50
percent annually. Housser and Stroh attribute the
growth to the staggering, and continually increasing,
amount of consumer debt in the United States. Today,
total consumer debt – excluding mortgage debt
– tops $2 trillion and continues to climb. Americans
carry 1.2 billion credit cards, and more than 44 million
households carry card balances that average $8,025
month to month. Housser predicts continued success
for the company as debt resolution experiences unprecedented
growth in consumer demand.
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