The last time, Jud Bowman went solo.

In 2001, when Ernst & Young first nominated Bowman as an entrepreneur of the year, the then-20-year-old traveled alone to Charlotte for the awards ceremony, figuring he wouldn't win. He did.

This week, when he returns to Charlotte as a finalist again, he'll bring his mother, girlfriend, and several board members and employees from the technology company he now runs, Durham-based PocketGear.

"We're thinking of renting a bus and all driving over together," Bowman said. "Even if I don't win, it's a great excuse to put on tuxes, drink some champagne and celebrate."

The annual Ernst & Young awards, now in their 24th year, have become prestigious recognition for the state's entrepreneurs. A caravan of other Triangle business leaders who are finalists also plan to make the trip to Charlotte. Most will bring spouses, children, employees, investors or friends as they bask in the limelight on Thursday night.

The N.C. State College of Management on Tuesday named Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. as its person of the year.

The award recognizes an individual's contributions to the college and the N.C. State community.

Zelnak, 65, recently retired as CEO of Raleigh-based Martin Marietta Materials, one of the Triangle's largest publicly traded companies. He remains chairman but handed the CEO role to C. Howard "Ward" Nye. The company is one of the country's largest suppliers of rocks, gravel and other construction materials, with 300 quarries in 28 states and more than 4,700 employees.

Zelnak also serves on N.C. State's board of visitors and on the Advisory Board of the College of Management.

Martin Marietta Materials reported
this morning that sales and profit continued to fall during the third
quarter as the slump in construction activity weakens demand for its
products.

The Raleigh company produces rocks, gravel and other construction materials out of nearly 300 quarries in 28 states.

Net
sales for the three months that ended Sept. 30 were $428.6 million,
down 18 percent from the same quarter last year. Earnings per diluted
share were $1.23, down 34 cents from last year.

Martin Marietta again lowered its guidance for the year from $2.70 to $3.30 per share to $2.20 to $2.45 per share.

The company's stock fell 98 cents to $81.27 this morning and is down 20 percent from its recent high on Sept. 17.

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials fell in morning trading after the Raleigh-based producer of crushed rocks and other construction materials warned that  would weaken its 2009 earnings.

The company now predicts earnings of $2.70 to $3.30 a share. That’s down from the $3.70 to $4.15 it estimated in early May.

Martin Marietta has been cutting costs, including hundreds of jobs, to offset a slump in demand for its products.

“We continue to adjust our operating plan in response to the current economic environment with a strict focus on cost containment,” CEO Stephen Zelnak Jr. said in a prepared statement.

The company does expect to get a boost from federal stimulus money aimed at improving roads, bridges and other infrastructure. But the pace of those projects is moving slower than expected, Zelnak said.

He added that projects funded by stimulus money should start to pick up in the second half of the year and into 2010.

Martin Marietta’s stock, which has fallen nearly 20 percent in the past year, dropped $2.29 to $74.81 this morning.