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Jean-wildy Malary could have basked in the glory of being named Construction Contractor of the Year during the recent Minority Enterprise Development Week. He chose, instead, to turn the spotlight in another direction.

鈥淭he big winners are my guys out working in the field right now,鈥� Malary told the crowd during a luncheon awards ceremony at the Oregon Convention Center.

That willingness to share the stage was a common factor among all seven of the winners of the Minority Enterprise Awards handed out by the Business Development Institute during a Med Week celebration.

BDI holds MED Week as part of its mission to provide education and training for minority business development in Oregon. Each year, MED Week features a morning of training sessions and mini workshops followed by a luncheon and the presentation of BDI’s Minority Enterprise Awards.

Of all of this year’s award recipients, Malary may have been the one that most reflected the 2011 MED Week theme, 鈥淓merging Industries and Markets: a Blueprint for Success.鈥� When Malary started his company, , in 2004, he focused mainly on residential remodeling. But he kept a careful watch and when that market started shifting, he expanded his business to also handle commercial, multifamily and infrastructure work.

Changing with changing times also resulted in a success story for and , the winners of the Corporate Diversity Award. Separately, the two companies hold their own in the construction industry. As a large builder, R&H has solid resources and capacity. Colas, a minority-owned company, has forged strong professional relationships with other minority-owned firms in the building industry. The two companies brought those strengths to the same table when they formed a new business venture, R&H/Colas Construction, in 2009.

Manufacturer of the Year honors went to , a wholly owned business enterprise of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs of Oregon. The company’s 50 employees 鈥� 80 percent of which have tribal affiliation 鈥� turn out components for fire-rated door systems.

The Professional Service Firm of the Year award was presented to . Owned by the husband-and-wife team of Venky and Shanthi Ramakrishnan, the company offers information technology solutions and software development to a range of companies.

Alando Simpson of stepped forward to receive the Service Company of the Year award. Simpson has led the charge to establish the company as a leader in sustainability and recycling.

Lorraine Kim Erion and her company, , were honored as the 2011 Small Business Administration Region X winner. Erion’s firm is a heavy construction company with a twist 鈥� it focuses on environment and habitat restoration. Since its inception, LKE Corp. has completed hundreds of miles of watershed restoration throughout the Northwest.

The Business Development Institute also presented a lifetime achievement award to Jerry Walker. The director of Home Forward’s Economic Equity Program has dedicated his life to what BDI describes as 鈥渟ervice, social justice and economic equity.鈥�

鈥淚’m really at a loss for words,鈥� Walker said as he accepted his award, 鈥渁nd those of you who know me know that is a Kodak moment.鈥�