Grant Thornton of Ann Arbor’s Merit Network named Innovator of Year

Ann Arbor-based Merit Network’s Grant Thornton beat out 46 other people to become the Innovator of the Year from Lawrence Technological University.Excerpt:Donald J. Welch Jr., president and CEO of Merit Network Inc. in Ann Arbor, has been named Grant Thornton Leader & Innovator of the Year.The award was announced at an April 22 reception at Lawrence Technological University, which co-sponsors the award along with Grant Thornton LLP and WWJ Newsradio 950. Welch was chosen from among 46 nominees profiled during the past 12 months in the radio station’s daily e-newsletter, the Great Lakes Innovation and Technology Report.Around 100 people attended the reception.The Leaders & Innovators program was developed by Lawrence Tech to recognize Michigan business executives who have demonstrated unique abilities or created unique products. The profiles that appear on Tuesdays in GLITR are edited by Matt Roush, who served as the MC at the reception.Since 2006, Welch has been the leader of Merit Network Inc., a nonprofit, member-owned organization formed in 1966. It developed the statewide backbone network that makes high-speed data networking available to all of Michigan’s universities, and many of its colleges and community colleges, schools, libraries, and research organizations. Merit provides connections to and from the global Internet for users at these organizations.Read the rest of the story here.