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NewTek Founder/Chairman and President Named Co-Recipients of Ernst & Young's 1997 Regional Entrepreneur Of The Year Award

Tim Jenison and Dwight Parscale are Honored as Technology Entrepreneurs

TOPEKA, Kan., July 7, 1997 - NewTek, Inc., today announced that Tim Jenison, NewTek's founder and chairman, and Dwight Parscale, the company's president, were recipients of the 1997 Regional Entrepreneur Of The Year award in technology for the Kansas/Western Missouri region. The awards are sponsored nationally by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Institute, USA Today, the NASDAQ Stock Market and the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership Inc. at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and locally by The Kansas City Business Journal, Sprint, George K. Baum & Company and CNN 1190.

"As a company, NewTek has achieved an elusive balance between long-term industry experience and a fresh, innovative spirit, and I'm delighted that our efforts have been recognized in this Entrepreneur Of The Year award," said Parscale. "I am proud to accept this honor on behalf of all the terrific, hard-working people at NewTek."

"I believe this prestigious award is a testament to the quality of our photorealistic 3D software, in particular LightWave 3D, the Video Toaster and the Video Toaster Flyer," said Jenison. "It feels great to be recognized in this manner, and it strengthens our commitment to continue creating great technology products and building a great company."

Jenison and Parscale Honored as Technology Entrepreneurs 2-2-2

Jenison and Parscale received their awards at a dinner in Kansas City on June 24, 1997. In addition to the technology entrepreneur category, eight other categories of entrepreneur were honored. The award recipients were selected by an independent panel of judges for their demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in areas such as technology, innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their business and communities.

As regional recipients, Jenison and Parscale are now eligible to receive National Entrepreneur Of The Year awards, the winners of which will be named later this year at a gala dinner in Palm Springs, California. Entrepreneur Of The Year award recipients will be announced and celebrated by more than 1,700 attendees as part of the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Conference. The winners will be featured in USA TODAY and on CNBC.

About NewTek, Inc. Headquartered in Topeka, Kan., NewTek, Inc. is the leader in providing full-featured video editing and special effects tools that allow anyone to produce professional video and graphics. The company's products are used worldwide on projects from home video to feature film and have won awards for television shows such as Babylon 5 and Star Trek. NewTek's Sales and Marketing office is located in Boulder, Colo. Contact NewTek at 1200 SW Executive Drive. (913) 228-8000. FAX (913) 228-8099. HYPERLINK http://www.newtek.com

LightWave 3D and Video Toaster are trademarks of NewTek, Inc. Entrepreneur Of The Year is a registered service mark, and Entrepreneur Of The Year Institute is a registered trademark, of Ernst & Young. All other brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.