Hayneedle, Hudl and Sojern headline the list of companies that will be recognized by the AIM Institute this year with Technology Celebration Awards, which honor area companies, individuals, educators and students for their outstanding contributions to Nebraska’s information technology scene. The AIM Institute announced the recipients of its awards on Friday and will present the awards at its annual banquet April 19 at Qwest Center Omaha.

(Left, photo of 2010 awards from aiminstitute.org)

The year's award-recipients are:

• Technology Company of the Year – Sojern
• Technology Leader of the Year – Hayneedle's I.T. Leadership Team, led by Steve Dee and comprised of Ryan Paulson, Kendall Vinson, Travis Kreikemeier, Scott Wagner and Jim Gruhn
• Technology Innovator of the Year – Hudl
• College Educator of the Year – Dr. Leida Chen, Creighton University
• K-12 Educator of the Year – Stephen J. Hamersky, Daniel J. Gross Catholic High School
• College Intern of the Year – Darin Kleb, University of Nebraska at Omaha, intern at ConAgra Foods
• High School Intern of the Year – Alexandr Ives, Omaha North High Magnet School, intern at Omaha North High Magnet School

Tickets to the awards ceremony and banquet cost $75 for AIM members and $90 for non-members. The banquet begins at 6 p.m. and is held in conjunction with Infotec, which runs April 19-20 at the Qwest Center.