Nominations are now being accepted for the Annual Awards for Business Excellence (AABEs), to be presented by The Business Ledger to companies and organizations in 11 categories.

The deadline for nominations is Feb. 22. Awards will be presented at the annual AABE luncheon March 26 at The Danada House in Wheaton.

More than 200 suburban businesses and groups have been honored since the inception of the awards program in 1991 by the now defunct DuPage Area Association of Business and Industry. The Business Ledger subsequently took over and expanded the program.

Nominations are being accepted in the following categories:

•Small company (up to 50 employees)

•Medium company (51-300 employees)

•Large company (more than 300 employees)

•Ethnic minority-owned business

•Notable not-for-profit organization (501c-3)

•Educational institution or program

•Retail business

•Entertainment/hospitality company

•Business organization/economic development entity

•Trade association/professional society

Nomination forms and more information may be downloaded from The Business Ledger Web site (www.thebusinessledger.com). For more information, call 630-428-8788.

Sponsors for the event are A&T, Benedictine University, The Business Initiative of Itasca Bank & Trust Co., B. Gunther & Company, Inc., and Tasty Catering with Arends as the marketing partner.

The 2007 AABE recipients were:

By category, they are:

•Large Companies (more than 300 employees): Wheels, Inc., Des Plaines.

•Mid-sized companies (51-299 employees): Allied First Bank, Naperville; Henricksen, Itasca; MedSpeed, Elmhurst; Ovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Deerfield.

•Small Companies (fewer than 51 employees): Aires Consulting Group, Inc., Batavia; Design Resource Center, Naperville; Elumin, Glen Ellyn; enteo Software, Inc., Schaumburg; GO! Products, Inc., Elmhurst; Klein, Hall & Associates, LLC, Aurora; Kluber Skahan & Associates, Batavia; Quick Impressions Group, Lombard.

•Retail: Larry Roesch Chrysler Jeep Dodge, Elmhurst.

•Entertainment/Hospitality Industry: Benedictine University Sports Complex, Lisle; Onesti Entertainment Corp., Schiller Park.

•Educational Program: DuPage Area Education to Careers/Tech Prep, Glen Ellyn; Illinois Aviation Museum at Bolingbrook, Bolingbrook.

•Trade Association: CISCO, Oak Brook.

•Notable Not-for-Profit Organizations: DuPage Homeownership Center, Wheaton.

Previous recipients are eligible if they have not been honored in any category for five years, i.e., recipients from 2001 and earlier may be nominated again.