Two well-known members of the Snack Food Association have been recognized with Ernst & Young’s prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Barry Levin, chairman and CEO of Snak King Corp., and his City of Industry, Calif.-based company received the Greater Los Angeles Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Manufacturing and Distribution. Levin joined the company in 1979, one year after it was founded. Then a pork rinds manufacturer, Snak King now offers a variety of snack food products, ranging from tortilla chips to snack nuts. Under Levin’s leadership, it has become one of the largest snack food companies on the West Coast.

Robert J. Shearer, CEO of Shearer’s Foods, Inc., and his Brewster, Ohio-based business have been named Entrepreneur of the Year for the Northeast Ohio region. From four founding family members, Shearer’s has expanded to nearly 700 associates in seven locations that include both manufacturing and distribution operations. Under Shearer’s leadership, the company has grown exponentially and become the country’s largest producer of gourmet-style kettle-cooked potato chips.

As regional award winners, both Levin and Shearer and their companies are eligible for consideration for Ernst & Young’s national Entrepreneur of the Year program, whose winners will be announced at an awards gala in Palm Springs, Calif., on Nov. 17, 2007.