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APPEL NAMED SEMI-FINALIST IN FORBES 2009 “BOOST YOUR BUSINESS” CONTEST
Baltimore resident, Michigan native seeks to win $100,000 prize to help stroke survivors
VOTING IS OPEN ON FORBES.COM TO SELECT A FINALIST
BALTIMORE, MD (Tuesday, September 1, 2009) – Baltimore, Maryland resident and Saginaw, Michigan native Kristen Appel, founder and owner of Baltimore-based Encore Path, has advanced to the second stage of Forbes.com’s third annual “Boost Your Business” editorial contest, available at www.forbes.com/byb. She is one of 20 semi-finalists in the competition.
Visitors to Forbes.com can now vote for Appel’s Encore Path as the company most poised for growth among the 20 semi-finalists. Her submission, including a self-recorded 30-second “elevator-pitch” video, is available for review at www.forbes.com/byb. Voting for this round runs through September 30, 2009.
If Appel becomes one of the forbes.com five finalists on September 30, she will be flown to New York City to give a live presentation to an expert panel of judges. The winner of the Boost Your Business contest is eligible to receive $50,000 in cash and $50,000 in advertising on Forbes.com. The 2009 BYB contest is sponsored by Comcast.
Appel is seeking to win the competition and its prize to grow Encore Path, which markets the Tailwind, an exercise device that has been shown in scientific studies to improve arm function and range of motion in people with partial paralysis. Developed by researchers at the University of Maryland Medical School, the Tailwind is the first and only device of its kind in the world. It is non-invasive, portable, and designed to be used in the comfort and privacy of a patient’s home.
“With stroke ranking as the third leading cause of death and the number one cause of disability among adults in the U.S., the Tailwind has the potential to help stroke survivors and others recover the quality of live they thought was lost forever,” explains Appel. “Casting a vote for Encore Path will give hope and support to millions of stroke survivors and their caregivers both in the U.S. and abroad.”
Kristen Appel
A former linguist with the National Security Agency, Kristen Appel founded Encore Path, Inc., a Baltimore, Maryland-based medical device company, in 2006, to commercialize and sell cutting-edge, research-based stroke technologies. Since then, Appel has won numerous business and innovator awards for her work. A native of Saginaw, Michigan, Appel graduated from Bridgeport High School and the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor).
Encore Path
Founded in 2006, Encore Path is a Baltimore, Maryland-based medical device company established to develop and market University of Maryland School of Medicine-researched technologies, devices, and therapies designed to enhance rehabilitation after stroke safely and affordably. More information can be found online at www.tailwindtherapy.com.
CONTACTS:
Kris Appel, Encore Path, 410-522-8709, kris@encorepath.com
Vicki Aversa, Aversa Communications, 410-338-0318, vicki@aversacommunications.com
Debbie Weathers, Forbes Media, 212-366-8848, dweathers@forbes.com
