Refrigerated and frozen seafood products exec Todd Blount was among those recently honored by Ernst & Young LLP (EY), Boston, as one of its New England 2010-11 "Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award" winners. Blount is president of Blount Fine Foods, a Fall River, Mass., processor of refrigerated and frozen soups, bisques, dips and appetizers for retail, foodservice and club store accounts.

“Ernst & Young has honored outstanding entrepreneurs like this year’s winners for the past 25 years,” said Kristin Keating, Ernst & Young LLP’s Entrepreneur Of The Year New England program chair. “These business leaders have accomplished so much and contributed a tremendous amount to the community. They give us hope for what the next 25 years of entrepreneurs will bring.”

EY said it Entrepreneur Of The Year Program honors entrepreneurs regionally in June, leading up to the national awards in November. Additionally, winners from venture-backed companies who win an Entrepreneur Of The Year Award regionally are also eligible for the Entrepreneur Of The Year Venture Capital Award of Excellence on a national level. The overall national U.S. winner then moves on to compete for the Ernst & Young "World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award" in June.

Officials said EY's awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who "demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities."