Northeastern University College of Business Alum Chosen 2008 SBA National Young Entrepreneur...

Northeastern University College of Business Alum Chosen 2008 SBA National Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Honor Showcases Impact of College's Number-One Ranked Co-Operative
Education Program
BOSTON--(Business Wire)--
Northeastern University's College of Business Administration (CBA)
today announced that 2004 graduate John Ready has been honored with
the Small Business Administration (SBA) "National Young Entrepreneur
of the Year Award" for 2008. Mr. Ready is the 27-year old co-founder
of the Portland, Maine-based Ready Seafood (www.readyseafood.com) and
Catch a Piece of Maine, a global lobster and seafood distribution
company with over $10 million in annual sales.

The SBA award is given to an individual under 30 years old who has
served for three years as a majority owner of a small business or who
bears principal responsibility for operating the business. Evaluation
criteria include success as measured by sales and profits, jobs
created, creative business methods, and demonstration of long-term
entrepreneurial potential.

"When I decided to go to college, I chose Northeastern's College
of Business because of the College's co-op program," said Mr. Ready.
"The marketing courses and mentoring I received as a student at CBA,
coupled with the opportunity my co-ops gave me to put into practice
what I learned in the classroom, were instrumental in my success."

Northeastern's co-op (short for "co-operative education") program
was founded almost a century ago. In March 2008, BusinessWeek ranked
CBA as the #1 College for business internships in the U.S. Students
alternate periods of academic study with periods of employment in
positions related to their academic or career interests. This
combination of academic study and experience produces an overall
learning experience that gives greater meaning to their academic
studies and direction to their career development. Graduates of the
College of Business Administration enter the workforce with as much as
eighteen months of real-world, on-the-job experience already on their
resume.

"It's no surprise to see John achieve success. He typifies the
persona of the entrepreneur. He is driven, action-oriented, and
focused on the pursuit of an opportunity," said Ted Clark, executive
professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Northeastern
University's College of Business Administration. "He was one of those
students who always took the classroom material and looked for a way
to apply it to a perceived opportunity. While at Northeastern, he
honed his ability to identify an opportunity and then create a plan
for execution."

"CBA has a long, rich tradition of both producing entrepreneurs
and next-generation leaders of family businesses across a variety of
industries - high tech, services, and retail. At the undergraduate
level, there is no doubt that co-op quickly matures young students and
provides them with specific industry knowledge required to start a
business. At the graduate level, many of our students are already
working professionals, and we help shape and apply their desire to
start their own companies," said Marc Meyer, the Entrepreneurship and
Innovation Group Coordinator at Northeastern University's College of
Business Administration. "For all students, our focus is to help them
connect the different disciplines needed for successful venturing:
product and service development and delivery, marketing, finance, and
managing people. You can see these come together in John Ready's
entrepreneurial success. Simply outstanding."

In his senior year, Mr. Ready won the undergraduate Business Plan
Competition, which lead to the birth of Ready Seafood. He also won the
Northeastern Cooperative Education Award for outstanding performance
in the co-op program.

"Small businesses drive our economy, creating jobs and
opportunities for Americans in every community across the country,"
said SBA Administrator Steve Preston. "The SBA is very proud of the
vital role it plays in enabling America's entrepreneurs, and we are
excited to recognize the achievements of Ready Seafood among the
businesses that were honored during National Small Business Week."

Ready Seafood sales now exceed $10 million with lobster sold
around the world. "Catch A Piece of Maine" was launched in 2007,
www.catchapieceofmaine.com. John, and his business partner and
brother, Brendan, were honored with other SBA Award champions and
winners at a reception ceremony in Washington, D.C. during the SBA's
National Small Business Week. They will also be recognized at the
Maine Small Business Week Awards luncheon in Lewiston on May 26.

About SBA

For over 30 years, SBA has been recognizing the significant
contribution of small business to our state and national economies
through the Small Business Week Awards Program. National Small
Business Week 2008 will begin with three days of events in Washington,
D.C., at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, where more than 100 outstanding
business owners from across the country will be recognized. In
addition to the National Young Entrepreneur of the Year, State Small
Business Persons of the Year, men and women involved in disaster
recovery, government procurement, small business champions as well as
SBA partners in financial and entrepreneurial development will be
honored. The highlight of events will be the announcement of the
National Small Business Person of the Year.

For more information on SBA and National Small Business Week, go
to www.sba.gov or www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com

About Northeastern University College of Business Administration

Northeastern University College of Business Administration,
established in 1922, provides its students - undergraduate, graduate,
and executive - with the education, tools, and experience necessary to
launch and accelerate successful business careers. The College credits
its success to expert faculty, close partnerships with industry, and
its emphasis on rigorous academics combined with experiential
learning.

The College is highly ranked by several prestigious publications.
BusinessWeek ranks the College 34th in its "Best Undergraduate
B-schools" and #1 in internships. The College's Bachelor of Science in
International Business program is ranked #16 by U.S. News & World
Report. The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program is
distinguished by Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine as one of
the U.S. top 25 entrepreneurship programs. For more information about
Northeastern University's College of Business Administration, visit
www.cba.neu.edu.

Paradigm Communications (for Northeastern University CBA)
Dennis O'Connor
781-530-3700;
cell: 781-883-5109
dennis.oconnor@paradigmshiftpr.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008